Islanders Prospect Report: Mar. 9, 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.

AITCHESON SETS FRANCHISE RECORD WITH BARRIE

Kashawn Aitcheson continued to etch his name in Barrie Colts history with his 27^th goal of the 2025-26 campaign to set a new single-season franchise record for most goals by a defenseman.

Aitcheson, who was selected 17^th overall by the Islanders in the 2025 NHL Draft, achieved the feat on a power-play one-timer to extend Barrie’s lead to 4-0 against the Brampton Steelheads on Wednesday.

Aitcheson leads Barrie with 14 power-play goals this season.

Aitcheson leads all OHL defensemen in points (64) and goals (27) and is tied for fourth in assists (37). He is also second on the Colts in points and assists and third in goals.

POLETIN RETURNS TO LINEUP

Tomas Poletin recorded two assists over his first three games back in the Kelowna Rockets lineup. Poletin missed 11 straight  games with an upper body injury he suffered on Feb. 6.

In the first contest of a three-game weekend, the Islanders’ 2025 fourth-round pick (106^th overall), notched an assist on Kelowna’s second of three goals in their 4-3 overtime defeat to the Vancouver Giants.

Despite the overtime loss, Poletin and the Rockets clinched a spot in the 2026 WHL Playoffs, as Poletin will gear up for his first playoff run of his WHL career.

On Saturday, the 18-year-old's cross-ice pass on the power-play helped Kelowna score their eighth goal as they topped the Victoria Royals 9-2.

Poletin is up to 10 power-play points (7G, 3A) in his WHL rookie campaign. He has 33 points (19G, 14A) in 38 games for the Rockets this season.

FINLEY BOOSTS WISCONSIN PAST PENN STATE

Quinn Finley logged three points (2G, 1A) as No. 11 University of Wisconsin swept a two-game series against No. 6 Penn State. It was a rebound to the pair of games Wisconsin fell to the Pennsylvania program in on home ice earlier the season.

Finley, who the Isles drafted in the third round (78^th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft,

found some room in the slot and got the Badgers on the board to tie the game 1-1 in the series’ first contest.

The 21-year-old stamped the letter with a 5-on-3 power-play assist to finish the scoring at 7-3 in favor of Wisconsin.

The victory secured home ice for Finley and the Badgers in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal.

A night later, Finley picked up right where he left off and opened the scoring with a crowd-silencing tip-in just over midway through the first period.

The American forward is tied for the most goals (15) and ranks third with 28 points (15G, 13A) on the team this season. He has five points (3G, 2A) in his last five outings.

Finley and Wisconsin host The Ohio State University in that Big Ten Quarterfinal game on Mar. 11.

STATS

CHL

Kashawn Aitcheson (Barrie) OHL | 51GP, 27G, 37A, 64P, 79PIM

Luca Romano (Kitchener) OHL | 51GP, 14G, 19A, 33P, 20PIM

Burke Hood (Vancouver) WHL | 39GP, 17-16-2, 3.82 GAA, .894 SV%, 0 SO

Jacob Kvasnicka (Penticton) WHL | 60GP, 35G, 45A, 80P, 21PIM

Tomas Poletín (Kelowna) WHL | 38GP, 19G, 14A, 33P, 34PIM

Jesse Nurmi (London) OHL | 25GP, 14G, 14A, 28P, 8PIM

KHL

Daniil Prokhorov | Dynamo Moscow (KHL) | 17GP, 1G, 0A, 1P, 2PIM

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) | 37GP, 20-10-0, 1.54 GAA, .937 SV%, 7 SO

SWEDEN

Victor Eklund | Djurgårdens IF (SHL) | 40GP, 6G, 14A, 20P, 14PIM

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

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

NCAA

Sam Laurila | North Dakota (NCHC) | 32GP, 1G, 9A, 10P, 29PIM

Quinn Finley | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | 32GP, 15G, 13A, 28P, 20PIM

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

Danny Nelson | Notre Dame (Big Ten) | 35GP, 13G, 15A, 28P, 32PIM

Tomas Machu | Providence College (Hockey East) | 33GP, 0G, 4A, 4P, 20PIM

Cole Eiserman | Boston Univ. (Hockey East) | 30GP, 16G, 9A, 25P, 12PIM

Kamil Bednarik | Boston Univ. (Hockey East) | 33GP, 5G, 10A, 15P, 20PIM

Xavier Veilleux | Cornell (ECAC) | 29GP, 6G, 18A, 24P, 8PIM