With every step up the ladder toward the NHL, Prince has shown the ability to adapt and excel.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound center shows strong hockey smarts and an instinctive offensive game in setting up teammates or unleashing his heavy shot.

The native of Rochester, N.Y., started his path to the NHL with Kitchener in the Ontario Hockey League after he was selected in the 13th round (No. 261) in the 2008 OHL Priority Draft. Prince joined Kitchener for the start of the 2008-09 season as a 15-year-old, appearing in 63 games and scoring three goals and 12 points.

The next season he was traded to Ottawa and finished with a combined 15 goals and 30 points. With Ottawa in 2010-11, Prince took on a more prominent role and scored 25 goals and 88 points in 59 games. Selected by the Ottawa Senators in the second round (No. 61) in the 2011 NHL Draft, Prince saw his production increase to 43 goals and 90 points, along with seven goals and 16 points in 18 playoff games, in his final season in junior.

Assigned to Binghamton in the American Hockey League for the 2012-13 season, Prince scored 18 goals and 35 points in 65 games.

In 2014-15, Prince was named a Second Team AHL All-Star during a 28-goal, 65-point season that resulted in his first call-up to the NHL. He made his NHL debut with Ottawa on Feb. 16, 2015 against the Carolina Hurricanes, recording an assist in 13:03 of ice time. Prince played one more game before being sent back to Binghamton for the remainder of the season.

Prince made Ottawa's opening-night roster to start the 2015-16 season, scoring his first NHL goal on Nov. 25, 2015 in a 5-3 victory against the Colorado Avalanche, and finished the game with two goals and three points.

After 42 games with the Senators, however, Prince was traded to the New York Islanders on Feb. 29, 2016. He appeared in the final 20 games for the Islanders, scoring three goals and five points to earn a regular spot in the New York lineup for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In New York's second-round, series-opening victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Prince recorded his first career multigoal game in the postseason with two goals in the first period. He became the youngest Islander to score two goals in a playoff game since Brad Lauer against the New Jersey Devils in 1988, and the first to score two goals in the first period of a playoff game since Duane Sutter against the New York Rangers in 1982.

On July 1, 2016, Prince signed a two-year contract with the Islanders.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• AHL Second All-Star Team (2015)
• Traded to NY Islanders by Ottawa with Ottawa's 7th round pick (Nick Pastujov) in 2016 NHL Draft for NY Islanders' 3rd round pick (later traded to New Jersey -- New Jersey selected Brandon Gignac) in 2016 NHL Draft, February 29, 2016.