Eiserman Sharpening the “Finer Details” of His Game in Second Year at BU

There are a lot of reasons Cole Eiserman’s teammates at Boston University look up to him.

The Sophomore is part of BU’s leadership group, serving as an alternate captain on a team where freshmen outnumber juniors and seniors by a two-to-one margin. But Eiserman doesn’t rely on the A on his sweater, or his status as a first-round pick, to lead a young Terriers team. He relies on his work ethic to set the tone.

“I think I've grown a lot this year,” said Eiserman, who the New York Islanders selected 20th overall in 2024. “Now I’m one of the older guys now because of how young the team is. I’m a lead by example kind of guy, so I have to dial in the details and do everything right. It’s easy to do it when it's expected.”

Eiserman has 18 points (12G, 6A) through 25 games this year, in a season that has come with its challenges and triumphs as the 19-year-old winger continues his development at the NCAA level. Eiserman missed four games with a lower-body injury he sustained on Oct. 25, a setback after starting his sophomore year with six goals through his first six games. After a slow start to 2026, Eiserman has racked up five points (4G, 1A) in his last six outings.

“It's been an up and down season,” Eiserman said. “I was playing well, then got hurt, so I’ve battled that. Then as time goes on, I’ve had some ups and downs confidence-wise, just got to try to dial in and keep it going. But it's on a positive note right now.”

Eiserman is a pure goal scorer, known for his elite shot that produced a 25-goal campaign in his freshman year, which led all NCAA rookies. He’s still laser focused on driving offense, but he’s also trying to improve all areas of his game - including his play away from the puck and nailing those finer details - to prepare him for the pros.

"I'm just working on the little habits that will put me in a better spot to kind of do my thing," Eiserman said. "So that's just kind of be in the right spot, stopping and starting, being engaged, being physical, working on the finer details of my game."

He racked up six power-play goals last season and has five this year – including a beautiful snipe in the 2026 Beanpot against Boston College – but his role on the man advantage has evolved. He’s used as a game changer, not just to score goals but to shift momentum and keep possession.

“Other teams game plan stuff, my role has had to change a little bit, supporting pucks and not always having that shot all the time,” Eiserman said. “So, it's just getting used to causing some momentum and not just looking to score all the time.”

Eiserman comes from a hockey family and says that he “didn’t know life without hockey” when he was growing up. His brother Shane was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft, while his dad and his other brothers Billy and Chris all played college hockey. Eiserman always has a pretty big support system in the stands.

“My mom and dad are at every game, no matter where it is, and my niece and nephew and brothers come to games,” Eiserman said. “It's awesome.”

Aside from his family being at nearly every home game, Eiserman’s mother, Dianne, drops off cleaning supplies whenever possible.

“She makes sure we have all the cleaning supplies we need so the room doesn't turn into…what it could be with eight guys living here,” Eiserman said with a laugh.

Eiserman is roommates with teammate, and fellow Isles prospect, Kamil Bednarik, who was selected by the Islanders in the second round of the 2024 Draft (61st overall). The two have different personalities but get along so well as friends for years, as they both came up through the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) before NCAA hockey.

“When he’s in his room playing Xbox and just chilling out, sometimes I go in there and bug him a little bit and just kind of do whatever,” Eiserman said. “But he's Bedsy, if that makes sense, he's a pretty quiet guy. He's awesome to be around. And, you know, he's got a really, really funny laugh.”

Both Isles prospects shared some milestones together this season. They competed for Team USA in this year’s World Juniors – it was the second trip for Eiserman, who won gold last year, and first time for Bednarik – though they did not medal in the tournament.

The pair also competed for and won the Kelley-Harkness Cup when Red Hot Hockey returned to Madison Square Garden between BU and Cornell in November. Eiserman got an assist on Bednarik’s first period power-play goal while Eiserman buried the game-winner in the third period in the 2-1 victory for the Terriers.

There were some VIPs in attendance to watch Eiserman and Bednarik, as Isles GM and EVP Mathieu Darche, Assistant General Manager Steve Pellegrini, Assistant General Manager, Director of Player Personnel Ryan Bowness and Special Assistant to the GM Matt Martin were all in attendance and chatted with Eiserman after the game.

“It means a lot, they’re very supportive,” Eiserman said. “Awesome people. Great people to talk to and have conversations with [about] how to get better and stuff like that. They're very good with their prospects. They know what they want and I know now what I have to do to be there one day. They’re at a lot of games, and it's nice when they're there and can talk to them after.”

Eiserman understands the culture within the Islanders organization and is working hard on the ice and bonding with other prospects in the system as he strives to make the pros. When he looks back on Islanders development camp last summer, it was a strong building block, which he’s using to build off of this year.

“They’re trying to build a culture around there, and we all understood that,” Eiserman said. “Because you never know if you're going to play with each other in the AHL or NHL. So always got to get to know everyone and make sure ready when you get there.”

During the matchup at MSG, Eiserman couldn’t help but get a feel for his future goal – suiting up for the Islanders against the New York Rangers one day in the NHL.

“Ever since you’re young, you dream of playing the NHL, and obviously, when you're playing at an NHL barn, you try to look around and soak it all in,” Eiserman said. “There’s still little kid inside of me that, when I’m on the ice, it feels like that little kid is playing. Hopefully I can play there again one day.”