2023 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews: New York Islanders
The 2023 DailyFaceoff Fantasy Hockey Projections has projected stats for over 650 skaters and goalies.
The Fantasy Hockey Team Previews have all the projections for that team and mini-bios for all the Re-Draft and Dynasty relevant skaters and goalies. We will release the previews from September 5th through September 14th.
| Anaheim Ducks | Columbus Blue Jackets | Nashville Predators | Seattle Kraken (Sept.13) |
| Arizona Coyotes | Dallas Stars | New Jersey Devils | St. Louis Blues (Sept.13) |
| Boston Bruins | Detroit Red Wings | New York Islanders | Tampa Bay Lightning (Sept.13) |
| Buffalo Sabres | Edmonton Oilers | New York Rangers (Sept.12) | Toronto Maple Leafs (Sept.13) |
| Calgary Flames | Florida Panthers | Ottawa Senators (Sept.12) | Vancouver Canucks (Sept.14) |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Los Angeles Kings | Philadelphia Flyers (Sept.12) | Vegas Golden Knights (Sept.14) |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Minnesota Wild | Pittsburgh Penguins (Sept.12) | Washington Capitals (Sept.14) |
| Colorado Avalanche | Montreal Canadiens | San Jose Sharks (Sept.12) | Winnipeg Jets (Sept.14) |
In addition to the Fantasy Hockey Previews, Daily Faceoff is previewing all 32 NHL teams for 2022-23, with a new in-depth breakdown dropping every weekday! Click here to find every preview in one place.
Skaters
Mathew Barzal
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.6 | 19.5 | 44.3 | 64.4 | -0.5 | 37.3 | 2.6 | 15.2 | 17.8 | 183.3 | 10.7% | 18.5 | 245.4 | 25.4 | 35.9 |
Failing to hit the 60-point mark for the second year straight, Barzal has only surpassed 62 points once in his five-year NHL career. In 2021-22, 75 players reached the same 62-point mark, showing how middling Barzal’s fantasy production has been over the last four years. His 15 goals last season ranked him 187th throughout the entire NHL, while his 161 shots were 152nd best. Add a weak minus-15 rating and only one game-winning goal in 73 games, and you have a damaging fantasy anchor. The 25-year-old may have all the flash and pizazz to pass eye tests, but until he proves to be a point producer like we witnessed in his first year in 2016-17 (1.04 P/GP), expect the same mid 60’s point production that we’ve seen in recent years. He relied on an 11.8 on-ice SH% in his rookie season but has not been over 9.9 since.
Brock Nelson
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.6 | 27.9 | 24.7 | 53.1 | -1.8 | 32.1 | 8.0 | 3.5 | 11.5 | 180.9 | 15.4% | 17.9 | 546.8 | 42.5 | 43.4 |
Fresh off his first 30-plus goal (37), 55-plus point (59) season, Nelson enters 2022-23 as one of the hottest players in the NHL’s second half of last season. Finishing seventh in league-wide goals (23) and 43rd in points during the season’s final 44 games, Nelson enjoyed top 50 second-half fantasy production, fueled by a heavy increase in his shot production (2.45 shots/game) and an incredibly high 21.3 SH%. Nelson consistently shot around 14 percent from 2016-to-2021, so expect him to finish with 25-to-30 goals as his SH% comes down significantly.
Anders Lee
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 77.1 | 26.9 | 20.3 | 47.3 | -0.4 | 37.2 | 6.9 | 4.7 | 11.5 | 181.3 | 14.8% | 17.2 | 84.8 | 35.9 | 98.3 |
Lee enters 2022-23 having established himself as a productive NHL goal scorer, surpassing the 20-goal mark in six of the last eight seasons while averaging 29 goals per 82 games throughout the same time. His 28 goals in 2021-22 ranked him second among all Islanders as he failed to reach 50 points for a third straight season. In addition, Lee has never amassed more than 23 assists in any of his 10 NHL seasons, capping his overall fantasy value as a one-tool player. While his production has never been league-winning, he routinely finds himself with 30 goals and 20 assists at season’s end. That’s passable fantasy production and makes him a reliable winger option in the final couple rounds of your fantasy draft.
Josh Bailey
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.6 | 14.5 | 33.3 | 47.8 | -2.1 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 9.0 | 10.8 | 101.4 | 14.3% | 17.0 | 58.0 | 31.6 | 22.5 |
Bailey comes into 2022-23 following his sixth career 40-point season (44), which saw him finish seventh among Islanders skaters in points. His extremely low shot volume limits Bailey’s upside. He has failed to surpass 100 shots in three straight seasons. A direct result was only 14 goals in 2021-22 on 16.1 SH%. Bailey has only 36 goals in his last three seasons (196 GP), an abysmal 0.18 G/GP pace. The right-winger is a shell of the player who scored 70-plus points in 2017-18 as he hasn’t eclipsed 56 points in a season since then. Much like his surrounding castmates, at 32-year-old, Bailey’s fantasy relevancy is likely in the past; a similar mid-40-point season should be expected. He’s a weekly streaming option at-best.
Noah Dobson
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.0 | 11.1 | 34.2 | 45.2 | -1.0 | 21.0 | 2.8 | 16.2 | 19.0 | 181.5 | 6.1% | 22.1 | 0.0 | 144.3 | 85.9 |
Finishing ninth in goals (13), 15th in points (51), 7th in game-winning-goals (4), and 17th in shots (190) among defensemen, Dobson quietly broke out in a big way as one of the top free agent steals of the 2021-22 fantasy season. Joining the 50-point club in his first full 82-game season, Dobson did it all as he found himself quarterbacking the Islanders’ top power-play unit on a nightly basis (22 PPP). The sky is seemingly the limit for the flashy 22-year-old as he looks to lead the Islander’s top power-play and defensive unit again. Dobson comes into the season as a solid No.2 fantasy defenseman with top-15 upside. He should continue the double-digit goals and 30-plus assist pace he started last season.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 78.9 | 19.9 | 20.9 | 40.9 | 1.8 | 26.5 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 10.5 | 128.4 | 15.5% | 17.2 | 734.7 | 60.7 | 156.3 |
Pageau enjoyed his best season as an Islander, scoring 18 goals with 39 points. His career trend of struggling to produce shots continued as his 126 shots ranked him ninth among all Islanders skaters. Pageau holds little fantasy value as he has never eclipsed more than 24 goals or 43 points in any of his 10 NHL seasons. Similar 20-goal, 20-assist production is likely for the Islanders’ No.3 centre, who provides a little extra value in leagues that count hits and/or faceoff wins.
Anthony Beauvillier
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 77.0 | 17.1 | 21.4 | 38.6 | -1.8 | 16.2 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 7.4 | 158.9 | 10.8% | 16.6 | 5.0 | 25.4 | 58.4 |
2021-22 will go down as a season to forget for Beauvillier. His 12 goals and 7.8 SH% were his lowest since 2016-17, with his 34 points ranking him 240th among all skaters. The left-winger has yet to reach 40 points or 160 shots in his six NHL seasons, lending doubts that a breakout will happen. Beauvillier enters 2022-23 in the same position as the last couple of seasons; a player with all the tools to make a splash in fantasy but will likely fail to make it happen. Until his shot volume improves, he’ll top out near 20 goals, and his assist production to date does little to inspire confidence.
Oliver Wahlstrom
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 72.0 | 16.8 | 13.6 | 30.4 | -1.6 | 58.9 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 10.2 | 162.3 | 10.3% | 13.3 | 6.8 | 23.6 | 106.6 |
Wahlstrom entered 2021-22 as an intriguing breakout candidate after he scored 12 goals in 44 games in his rookie season. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to expectations as he produced worse goal and assists per game numbers than his prior season. His 24 points placed him 11th among the entire Islanders roster. At 22 years old, Wahlstrom’s best years are still ahead of him, but until he starts playing more minutes at 5v5, he can’t be trusted for reliable production. He’ll pick up a decent chunk of power-play points throughout the season, but you can’t roster a forward playing 12 minutes per game.
Goalies
Ilya Sorokin
Sorokin emerged as a fantasy star in 2021-22, finishing behind only Igor Shersterkin for the league’s top save percentage (.925%) and Jacob Markstrom for most Shutouts (7). His 2.40 GAA ranked him 4th in the NHL while playing the 14th most minutes. Last year, the Islanders were a bottom-10 offence in the NHL, limiting his win upside. They did nothing in the offseason to get better, so it’s hard to imagine Sorokin improving on his 26 wins, especially with Semyon Varlamov still taking starts away from him. Still, he’s one of the best young goalies in the NHL and should have elite splits, making him a reliable No.1 fantasy option.
Semyon Varlamov
Now in his mid-30s, Varlamov finds himself on the backup side of a platoon. However, he is still a reliable No.3 fantasy option that should see around 30 starts. In three years with the Islanders, he has posted .918 SV%, which ranks seventh in the NHL over that span. Additionally, Varlamov would become a low-end No.1/high-end No.2 if anything were to happen to Sorokin throughout the season.
Remaining Islanders Projections
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPA | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| Ryan Pulock | D | 74.0 | 6.5 | 22.6 | 29.1 | 4.3 | 10.7 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 5.8 | 163.2 | 4.0% | 22.1 | 0.0 | 150.6 | 118.2 |
| Kyle Palmieri | RW | 74.0 | 18.3 | 17.6 | 35.9 | -1.2 | 42.6 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 9.8 | 159.2 | 11.5% | 15.6 | 15.0 | 22.3 | 80.3 |
| Adam Pelech | D | 78.4 | 3.8 | 20.1 | 24.4 | 10.6 | 35.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 108.8 | 3.5% | 21.3 | 0.0 | 121.7 | 103.6 |
| Zach Parise | LW/RW | 78.6 | 15.6 | 18.8 | 34.4 | -0.4 | 20.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 8.8 | 143.8 | 10.8% | 15.2 | 35.3 | 44.7 | 46.5 |
| Scott Mayfield | D | 75.3 | 3.8 | 15.4 | 19.2 | -1.3 | 52.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.2 | 3.8% | 19.2 | 0.0 | 127.5 | 94.2 |
| Alexander Romanov | D | 80.0 | 2.8 | 10.8 | 13.6 | -4.7 | 49.7 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 113.8 | 2.5% | 19.8 | 0.0 | 129.3 | 216.2 |
| Robin Salo | D | 64.5 | 3.5 | 13.1 | 16.6 | -5.5 | 16.4 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 74.2 | 4.7% | 16.6 | 0.0 | 71.7 | 46.9 |
| Casey Cizikas | C | 74.1 | 11.0 | 7.3 | 18.3 | -1.0 | 44.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 93.0 | 11.8% | 13.8 | 517.5 | 40.7 | 141.1 |
| Cal Clutterbuck | RW | 71.5 | 6.2 | 10.0 | 16.2 | -3.4 | 16.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 76.8 | 8.1% | 13.3 | 7.7 | 32.8 | 240.8 |
| Matt Martin | LW | 74.5 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 10.3 | -1.5 | 52.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 75.0 | 7.3% | 11.3 | 6.6 | 29.0 | 244.5 |