Islanders Prospect Report: Mar. 30, 2026

Welcome to the Islanders Prospect Report, a weekly roundup of the Islanders' junior, collegiate and European prospects. Visit our In the System page for more prospect content.

LAURILA AND FINLEY SET TO MEET IN THE FROZEN FOUR SEMIFINALS

Sam Laurila and the No. 2 University of North Dakota will clash with Quinn Finley and University of Wisconsin in the 2026 Frozen Four semifinals, but they’ll wait a while to battle as the contest is slated for Apr. 9 at 5 PM.

Laurila, who was drafted in the fifth round (138th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft, has helped anchor a North Dakota defense that has yet to allow a goal through their first two games in the NCAA tournament.  

Across the ice, Finley, who was a third-round selection (78th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, has collected five points (2G, 3A) in Wisconsin’s wins en route to the Frozen Four semifinals.   

Against Dartmouth, the 21-year-old assisted on the game’s opening power-play goal before contributing to a pair of empty net goals to seal the 5-1 victory on Thursday.

Two nights later, Finley broke the ice 18 seconds into the second period and notched the secondary assist on the overtime winner to send Wisconsin the Las Vegas.

Finley’s five points lead the team through two playoff games. 

KVASNICKA TALLIES THREE POINTS IN FIRST TWO PLAYOFF GAMES

Jacob Kvasnicka recorded three points (2G, 1A) in the Penticton Vees opening two games of the Western Hockey League (WHL) playoffs, as they jumped out to a 2-0 series lead over the Seattle Thunderbirds.  

In Game 1, Kvasnicka found room behind the Thunderbirds defense and put on the moves to put the Vees up 2-1 in the second period.

The next game, the 18-year-old contributed on a pair of power-play goals, including the game-winning goal in the Vees’ 4-1 Game 2 win.

Kvasnicka led the Vees with 85 points (35G, 50A) through the regular season, and he now leads the team in scoring in the playoffs thus far.  

EKLUND FINISHES FIRST SWEDISH HOCKEY LEAGUE (SHL) SEASON

One chapter came to an end and another one began for Victor Eklund.  

After his SHL season with the  Djurgardens IF came to an end at the hands of a  3-0 series sweep by the Malmo Redhawks in Round of 16, the 19-year-old forward made the jump to pro hockey in North America with the Bridgeport Islanders. 

Eklund, who the Islanders selected 16th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, recorded 24 points (6G, 18A) in 43 regular season games and three points (3A) in three playoff games this season.

The Swedish forward, who signed his three-year, entry-level contract on July 14, 2025, wasted no time to make an impact with Bridgeport and scored the game-winning shootout goal in his AHL debut against the Laval Rocket on Mar. 27.

Eklund earned his first AHL point with an assist against the Providence Bruins on Mar. 28.  

STATS

CHL 

Kashawn Aitcheson (Barrie) OHL | 56GP, 28G, 42A, 70P, 97PIM 

Kashawn Aitcheson (Barrie) OHL Playoffs | 0GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, 0PIM 

Luca Romano (Kitchener) OHL | 55GP, 14G, 19A, 33P, 22PIM 

Luca Romano (Kitchener) OHL Playoffs | 2GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, 0PIM 

Burke Hood (Vancouver) WHL | 42GP, 18-18-2, 3.83 GAA, .892 SV%, 0 SO 

Jacob Kvasnicka (Penticton) WHL | 65GP, 35G, 50A, 85P, 21PIM 

Jacob Kvasnicka (Penticton) WHL Playoffs | 2GP, 2G, 1A, 3P, 0PIM 

Tomas Poletín (Kelowna) WHL | 43GP, 20G, 15A, 35P, 38PIM 

Tomas Poletín (Kelowna) WHL Playoffs | 2GP, 0G, 1A, 1P, 0PIM 

Jesse Nurmi (London) OHL | 30GP, 14G, 17A, 31P, 10PIM 

Jesse Nurmi (London) OHL Playoffs | 1GP, 0G, 1A, 1P, 0PIM 

KHL 

Daniil Prokhorov | Dynamo Moscow (KHL) | 23GP, 1G, 0A, 1P, 2PIM 

Daniil Prokhorov | Dynamo Moscow (KHL Playoffs) | 2GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, 0PIM 

Daniil Prokhorov | Dynamo St. Petersburg (VHL) | 25GP, 9G, 9A, 18P, 14PIM 

Daniil Prokhorov | MHK Dynamo Moskva (MHL) | 8GP, 3G, 3A, 6P, 0PIM 

Dmitry Gamzin | CSKA Moscow (KHL) | 40GP, 22-10-6, 1.49 GAA, .938 SV%, 8 SO  

Dmitry Gamzin | CSKA Moscow (KHL Playoffs) | 4GP, 3-1-0, 1.59 GAA, .935 SV%, 0 SO 

SWEDEN 

Dennis Good Bogg | Väsby IK (HockeyEttan) | 7GP, 1G, 1A, 2P, 6PIM 

Dennis Good Bogg | Karlskrona HK (HockeyEttan) | 29GP, 0G, 3A, 3P, 41PIM 

Dennis Good Bogg | Karlskrona HK (HockeyEttan Qualification) | 8GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, 6PIM 

NCAA 

Sam Laurila | North Dakota (NCHC) | 35GP, 1G, 9A, 10P, 29PIM 

Quinn Finley | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | 35GP, 17G, 16A, 33P, 22PIM 

Zachary Shultz | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | 12GP, 0G, 3A, 3P, 12PIM 

Danny Nelson | Notre Dame (Big Ten) | 36GP, 13G, 16A, 29P, 32PIM 

Tomas Machu | Providence College (Hockey East) | 35GP, 0G, 4A, 4P, 20PIM 

Kamil Bednarik | Boston Univ. (Hockey East) | 35GP, 5G, 11A, 16P, 20PIM 

Xavier Veilleux | Cornell (ECAC) | 34GP, 6G, 20A, 26P, 12PIM