Islanders Prospect Report: Nov. 6, 2023

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.

Here are this week's updates on Islanders prospects: 

JEFFERIES’ TWO-GOAL NIGHT

Alex Jefferies potted a pair of goals for Merrimack in his second game of the season on Saturday. 

The Islanders’ 2020 fourth-round pick (121st overall) scored twice in a 5-4 loss to Maine on Saturday. Merrimack was trailing 5-1 after two periods of action before Jefferies recorded the second and fourth goal in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.

The 22-year-old forward took nine shots across his first two games of the season. Jefferies has also been solid at the dot, going 5-for-8 on Saturday and 7-for-13 in faceoffs in Friday’s 2-1 loss to Maine.

He’s coming off a season of career highs, with 41 points (14G, 27A) through 38 games played last year.  

GILL REACHES CAREER MILESTONE

Justin Gill picked up five points for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the past week, but one point is particularly the most meaningful among the five.

On a night where the 20-year-old center had a three-point performance (1G, 2A), Gill recorded an assist on an empty net goal for his 200th point in the QMJHL in Wednesday’s 4-2 victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes. He tacked on two more points to that total after that game, with an assist each 5-3 victory against the Blainville-Boisbriand on Friday and Saturday. 

The Islanders’ 2023 fifth-round draft pick (145th overall) leads the QMJHL in points (30) and assists (22) in his first season with Baie-Comeau. 

The Montreal native made his QMJHL debut on Sept. 9, 2019 for Charlottetown. He played 236 career games in the QMJHL spanning parts of six seasons, recording 83 goals and 119 assists. 

FINLEY BURIES GOAL IN 5-4 WIN

Quinn Finley kicked off the scoring for Wisconsin in Friday’s contest against Michigan, which resulted in a 5-4 win for the Badgers.

The Islanders’ 2022 third-round pick (78th overall) drove to the net and buried the first goal within the first five minutes of the game. 

Building off the 5-4 victory on Friday, the Badgers took a 2-1 win on Saturday in their back-to-back set on home ice to preserve their perfect 4-0-0 home record. Wisconsin is riding a six-game winning streak with a record of 9-1-0 overall to lead the conference. Their next matchup is set for Nov. 17 when they visit Michigan State. 

Finley is coming off three seasons in the USHL, as the freshman winger has five points (3G, 2A) through his first 10 games of NCAA play. The 19-year-old took 22 shots over that span. 

STATS

CHL:

Isaiah George | London (OHL) | 15GP, 3G, 2A, 5P, 2PIM
Justin Gill | Drakkar de Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) | 16GP, 8G, 22A, 30P, 18PIM

Liiga:

Aleksi Malinen | JYP | 15GP, 0G, 2A, 2P, 0PIM
Jesse Nurmi | Kookoo | 14GP, 0G, 1A, 1P, 0PIM
Matias Rajaniemi | SaiPa | 16GP, 0G, 1A, 1P, 2PIM

Allsvenskan:

Dennis Good Bogg | AIK | 3GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, 0PIM
Alexander Ljungkrantz | Almtuna IS | 13GP, 8G, 3A, 11P, 4PIM
Calle Odelius | Djurgardens IF | 8GP, 0G, 3A, 3P, 2PIM

USHL:

Tomas Machu | Youngstown | 14GP, 0G, 3A, 3P, 24PIM

NCAA:

Cameron Berg | North Dakota (NCHC) | 8GP, 1G, 4A, 5P, 2PIM
Quinn Finley | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | 10GP, 3G, 2A, 5P, 2PIM
Alex Jefferies | Merrimack (Hockey East) | 2GP, 2G, 0A, 0P, 0PIM
Danny Nelson | Notre Dame (Big Ten) | 9GP, 2G, 4A, 6P, 4PIM
Zachary Schulz | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | 5GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, 0PIM