This Day in Isles History: June 27

June 27, 2009 - The Islanders picked a pair of mainstays in the late rounds of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, selecting Casey Cizikas in the fourth round (92nd overall) and Anders Lee the sixth round (151st overall).

Since 2012, Cizikas has been a regular in the Islanders lineup and has compiled 262 career points (114G, 148A) throughout 897 games in his 14 seasons with the team.

Cizikas has earned the Bob Nystrom Award twice, which was created in 1991 to recognize an Islanders player that exemplifies leadership, hustle and dedication. He's also been a shutdown defender on the penalty kill for years.

The Islanders' current captain was an absolute steal in the sixth round of the 2009 draft. At the time, Lee was undecided on whether he would attend the University of Minnesota to pursue playing football and hockey in college or attend the University of Notre Dame and focus on hockey.

Lee spent three seasons at Notre Dame where he helped the program reach its second Frozen Four in program history. Upon pursuing his professional career in 2013, Lee scored his first NHL goal on his first shot of his first game in The Show. Lee became a mainstay with the Islanders in 2014.

During his 14-year NHL career, the forward has amassed 507 points (289G, 218A) throughout 841 career games. Lee scored a career-high 40 goals in the 2017-18 season, becoming the first Islander in over a decade to do so, and is a nine-time 20-goal scorer. Lee led Islanders with 29 goals and set a career-high 25 assists in fifth career 50-point campaign in 2024-25. On Oct. 4, 2018, Lee was named the 15th captain in franchise history.