New York Islanders fantasy preview 2026-27.
13 skaters and 2 goaltenders clear the pool line. Matthew Schaefer leads at 2.11 blended ESPN points per game. The club ranks 15th in the league in blocks and 27th in power-play points. Every figure below is a completed season or a published calendar.
Every NY Islanders name in the 2026-27 pool
Sorted by desk rank in the format selected above. Any header re-sorts. Counting columns are 2025-26 season totals. The value chip is consensus rank minus desk rank: mint means the desk is higher on him than the four published boards, coral means the room makes you pay.
| Pos | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55of 400 | Matthew SchaeferSoph | D | 19 | 2.11 | — | 2.11 | — | -0.02 | 23-36-59 in 82 | 18 | 222 | 40 | 111 | 56% | 47 | -8 |
| 76of 400 | Bo Horvat | C | 31 | 2.10 | 1.76 | 1.99 | -0.58 | 31-26-57 in 68 | 16 | 226 | 51 | 38 | 59% | 82 | +6 | |
| 82of 400 | Alexander Romanov | D | 26 | 1.42 | 2.05 | 1.97 | — | 0-1-1 in 15 | 0 | 17 | 31 | 31 | — | — | n/r | |
| 117of 400 | Mathew Barzal | C | 29 | 1.82 | 1.67 | 1.81 | +0.21 | 19-53-72 in 81 | 20 | 184 | 29 | 50 | 65% | 116 | -1 | |
| 155of 400 | Ryan Pulock | D | 31 | 1.56 | 1.71 | 1.66 | +0.01 | 3-24-27 in 76 | 1 | 93 | 49 | 148 | 32% | — | n/r | |
| 176of 400 | Kyle Palmieri | C | 35 | 1.60 | 1.50 | 1.59 | — | 6-12-18 in 25 | 5 | 71 | 19 | 9 | — | 217 | +41 | |
| 219of 400 | Brayden Schenn | C | 35 | 1.40 | 1.62 | 1.49 | +0.43 | 18-21-39 in 80 | 9 | 119 | 180 | 41 | 36% | 210 | -9 | |
| 270of 400 | Jean-Gabriel Pageau | C | 33 | 1.32 | 1.43 | 1.36 | -0.05 | 17-18-35 in 74 | 1 | 81 | 115 | 51 | — | — | n/r | |
| 272of 400 | Emil Heineman | LW | 24 | 1.51 | 1.07 | 1.36 | -0.39 | 22-9-31 in 82 | 4 | 174 | 247 | 54 | — | — | n/r | |
| 282of 400 | Tony DeAngelo | D | 30 | 1.27 | 1.58 | 1.34 | +0.54 | 5-30-35 in 76 | 7 | 148 | 33 | 70 | — | — | n/r | |
| 302of 400 | Adam Pelech | D | 32 | 1.23 | 1.39 | 1.30 | -0.08 | 4-12-16 in 82 | 0 | 122 | 66 | 124 | — | — | n/r | |
| 327of 400 | Simon Holmstrom | RW | 25 | 1.22 | 1.44 | 1.26 | +0.10 | 19-22-41 in 79 | 4 | 100 | 16 | 45 | — | — | n/r | |
| 388of 400 | Calum Ritchie | C | 21 | 1.16 | 0.67 | 1.16 | +0.42 | 13-17-30 in 65 | 11 | 79 | 17 | 34 | — | — | n/r |
- 55 Matthew Schaefer D · age 19 · mkt 47 2.11blend 2.1125-26 —24-25 -0.02H2−H1 18PPP 222SOG 40HIT 111BLK 56%PG% 23-36-59 in 82-8
- 76 Bo Horvat C · age 31 · mkt 82 1.99blend 2.1025-26 1.7624-25 -0.58H2−H1 16PPP 226SOG 51HIT 38BLK 59%PG% 31-26-57 in 68+6
- 82 Alexander Romanov D · age 26 · mkt n/r 1.97blend 1.4225-26 2.0524-25 —H2−H1 0PPP 17SOG 31HIT 31BLK —PG% 0-1-1 in 15n/r
- 117 Mathew Barzal C · age 29 · mkt 116 1.81blend 1.8225-26 1.6724-25 +0.21H2−H1 20PPP 184SOG 29HIT 50BLK 65%PG% 19-53-72 in 81-1
- 155 Ryan Pulock D · age 31 · mkt n/r 1.66blend 1.5625-26 1.7124-25 +0.01H2−H1 1PPP 93SOG 49HIT 148BLK 32%PG% 3-24-27 in 76n/r
- 176 Kyle Palmieri C · age 35 · mkt 217 1.59blend 1.6025-26 1.5024-25 —H2−H1 5PPP 71SOG 19HIT 9BLK —PG% 6-12-18 in 25+41
- 219 Brayden Schenn C · age 35 · mkt 210 1.49blend 1.4025-26 1.6224-25 +0.43H2−H1 9PPP 119SOG 180HIT 41BLK 36%PG% 18-21-39 in 80-9
- 270 Jean-Gabriel Pageau C · age 33 · mkt n/r 1.36blend 1.3225-26 1.4324-25 -0.05H2−H1 1PPP 81SOG 115HIT 51BLK —PG% 17-18-35 in 74n/r
- 272 Emil Heineman LW · age 24 · mkt n/r 1.36blend 1.5125-26 1.0724-25 -0.39H2−H1 4PPP 174SOG 247HIT 54BLK —PG% 22-9-31 in 82n/r
- 282 Tony DeAngelo D · age 30 · mkt n/r 1.34blend 1.2725-26 1.5824-25 +0.54H2−H1 7PPP 148SOG 33HIT 70BLK —PG% 5-30-35 in 76n/r
- 302 Adam Pelech D · age 32 · mkt n/r 1.30blend 1.2325-26 1.3924-25 -0.08H2−H1 0PPP 122SOG 66HIT 124BLK —PG% 4-12-16 in 82n/r
- 327 Simon Holmstrom RW · age 25 · mkt n/r 1.26blend 1.2225-26 1.4424-25 +0.10H2−H1 4PPP 100SOG 16HIT 45BLK —PG% 19-22-41 in 79n/r
- 388 Calum Ritchie C · age 21 · mkt n/r 1.16blend 1.1625-26 0.6724-25 +0.42H2−H1 11PPP 79SOG 17HIT 34BLK —PG% 13-17-30 in 65n/r
NY Islanders are 15th in blocks
Six categories, summed across every NY Islanders skater in the pool for 2025-26, each drawn against the league average of the same sum. The tick on every track is that average. A middle club in both halves of a category league; the edge here is player-by-player, not roster-wide.
- G 180 lg avg 194 23rd
- A 281 lg avg 329 26th
- PPP 96 lg avg 130 27th
- SOG 1636 lg avg 1644 17th
- HIT 893 lg avg 909 17th
- BLK 806 lg avg 789 15th
Where the blended points sit
Share of the club's total blended points per game contributed by forwards, defencemen and goaltenders in the pool. A club heavy in the D band is a club whose value survives a league that starts four defencemen.
Deep at centre, barren at left wing
Ordered by blend inside each column, tinted by the same number on a fixed league-wide scale. Darker is better, and an empty column is the club telling you where you will have to shop elsewhere. Every tile links to the player.
Centre 6
6 deep · most in the league
Horvat1.99 +6 Barzal1.81 -1 Palmieri1.59 +41 Schenn1.49 -9 Pageau1.36 Ritchie1.16Crease 2
NY Islanders against the other 31
Draftable stock
3 NY Islanders skaters inside the desk's top 100 — 18th of 32
Every club, sorted. DAL lead with 5; the thinnest club has 0. A tall bar is a roster you will keep bumping into in the first eight rounds.
Power-play concentration
56.3% held by the top three — 13th-most concentrated
Above the league median of 55.2%. The names outside the top three are even-strength assets.
Sorokin is a workhorse
Last season's starts, split between the goaltenders the pool ranks here. The calendar puts 13 back-to-backs in front of them, and those are the nights the starter does not get.
The tick is the league median busiest-goaltender share, 64.7% across the 32 clubs with a pool-ranked crease. Sorokin sits at 65.9%.
| Goaltender | GS | W | SO | GAA | SV% | Blend | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilya Sorokinage 31 · mkt 63 | 54 | 29 | 7 | 2.68 | 0.906 | 2.25 | Starter |
| David Rittichage 34 · mkt n/r | 28 | 14 | 2 | 2.76 | 0.894 | 1.40 | Tandem |
Power-play points are normally split in NY Islanders
- 1 Mathew Barzal C 20 PPP · 20.8% · 27.8% of his own points
- 2 Matthew Schaefer D 18 PPP · 18.8% · 30.5% of his own points
- 3 Bo Horvat C 16 PPP · 16.7% · 28.1% of his own points
56.3% is a league-typical split: a first unit that takes most of it, a second unit that is not decorative.
0 in, 2 out
Only moves that changed a ranked player's club are tracked. Every blend on this page is computed from the player's own history, so a summer arrival brings his numbers with him.
Departures
- Noah Dobson listed MTL on ESPN/NHL boards
- Anders Lee avoid in standard leagues; ceiling capped
The NY Islanders schedule edge
The only input on this page that is already known. It does nothing to a first-round pick and a great deal to your last two bench spots.
Season opens 2026-09-30. Mint tiles help you; coral tiles cost you.
What this roster already did
Brayden Schenn put up 3-1-4 with 7 shots on 2023-11-11 for STL, worth 9.2 ESPN points. It is the 36th-biggest single game in the desk's ten-season file.
Ilya Sorokin owns the 23rd-best G season in the ten-year file: 2022-23, 62 games, 31 wins at 2.34, 3.37 ESPN points per game.
5 NY Islanders names to keep on the shelf
Where they play now and their NHL games so far. None of these are draft-night picks in a standard 12-team league. They are the names that change this page next August.
- Matthew Schaefer New York Islanders NHL 82 GP · 59 P 82 NHL games
- Victor Eklund Djurgårdens IF SHL 43 GP · 24 P · 0.56 P/GP 1 NHL games
- Cole Eiserman NCAA 32 GP · 28 P · 0.88 P/GP no NHL games yet
- Kashawn Aitcheson OHL 56 GP · 70 P · 1.25 P/GP no NHL games yet
- Malte Gustafsson SHL 27 GP · 3 P · 0.11 P/GP no NHL games yet
Reading the NY Islanders board
Nobody inside the top 50. 3 inside the top 100. Matthew Schaefer is the ceiling at 2.11, 55th overall. Bo Horvat (1.99) sits 0.12 back. A shared top, not an anchor.
Shape: 15th in blocks, 27th in power-play points. A middle club in both halves of a category league; the edge here is player-by-player, not roster-wide.
Kyle Palmieri is the widest gap: desk 176, market 217. 41 slots in your favour.
Three players hold 56.3% of the club's 96 power-play points. A league-typical split, which makes the third name the underpriced one.
33 off-nights of 84, 14th in the league. 13 back-to-backs, 20th-fewest. Neutral at the bottom of your roster.
Ilya Sorokin started 54 at 2.68 and 0.906. Workhorse volume, and volume is most of what a fantasy goalie is.
0 in, 2 out on the tracked ledger, headlined by Noah Dobson leaving. Average pool age 28.5. 4 trending up, 5 down. Next in line: Matthew Schaefer.
What this page does not know
Caveats, printed as the builder wrote them
- There is no projection here. Every rate is a weighted blend of what already happened, 0.6 on 2025-26, 0.3 on 2024-25, 0.1 on 2023-24, so a player whose role is about to change will be mispriced by exactly the amount his role changes.
- The DNA bars are club sums, not rates. A club with more pool-ranked skaters sums higher, which is the point: it measures the fantasy roster you can draft, not the average player on it.
- Power-play share is a proxy for first-unit time, not a measurement of it. It reads last season's points, so a club that rebuilt its top unit in the summer will read wrong until the season corrects it.
- The depth chart uses the pool's listed position. It is not a line-combination projection and no club has confirmed any of it.
- PG% is joined from a 250-player game-level build. Where a skater is missing from that build the column is blank rather than estimated.
- Roster membership follows the live NHL roster feed as of 2026-08-31. Training-camp cuts, waiver claims and September trades are not in it.
- Goaltender start counts are last season's, from whatever club the goaltender played for. They are workload evidence, not a depth-chart declaration.