Islanders Prospect Report: March 31, 2025

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.

BU PUNCHES TICKET TO FROZEN FOUR

Cole Eiserman and Kamil Bednarik are headed to the Frozen Four.

BU defeated Cornell 3-2 in overtime on Saturday in the NCAA Regional Final to advance to the Frozen Four, where four teams are in the hunt for the NCAA Men's Hockey Division I Championship.

Eiserman, who was selected 20^th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, recorded two shots in the win while Bednarik, who the Islanders drafted 61^st overall in 2024, won eight of 15 faceoffs in the win and recorded one shot on goal.

Preceding Saturday’s big win, Eiserman was the hero with two goals in Thursday’s 8-3 win over Ohio State in the NCAA Regional semifinals. The 18-year-old got the Terriers on the board 1-1 when he scored in the slot off the draw to make it 1-1 in the second period. He scored again in the third period to make it 6-3, recording his fifth multi-goal game of the season and 23^rd goal overall, which ties for the team lead. Eiserman is riding a five-game point streak in an important time of the year, with 10 points (7G, 3A) in his last five outings.

Eiserman’s impressive efforts earned him Hockey East Rookie of the week, the team announced on Monday.

BU is vying for its sixth title as they head to the Frozen Four for the third consecutive year and 25th Frozen Four appearance in program history. BU will take on Penn State in the semifinals on Apr. 10.

RICTHIE RACKS UP THREE ASSISTS

Calum Ritchie was productive in the first two games of the postseason with three assists for the Oshawa Generals, who are knotted at one game apiece with the Brampton Steelheads in the OHL playoffs.

Ritchie contributed two assists – both on the power play - in Friday’s 7-4 win in Game One including a primary helper on the game-winning goal. The 20-year-old center recorded an assist on the General’s lone goal in a 3-1 loss in Game Two on Sunday.

This marks Ritchie’s fourth career playoff run in juniors. He posted a career-high 30 points (8G, 22A) through 21 playoff games last season when the Generals were swept in the OHL finals.

NURMI AND KNIGHTS JUMP OUT TO 2-0 SERIES LEAD

Jesse Nurmi recorded an assist for the London Knights in a 6-1 win over the Owen Sound Attack in Game Two of Round One of the OHL playoffs on Friday.

Nurmi’s assist marked his first career playoff point in the Canadian Hockey League. The Islanders’ 2023 fourth-round pick (113^th overall) completed his first season in the OHL with 31 points (9G, 22A) for the Knights through 58 games of the regular season.

The Knights are no strangers to going deep in the postseason, as they reached the Memorial Cup Final last year. London followed that up with a dominant regular season with 112 points and a record of 55-11-2-0 (W-L-OTL-SOL).

PULKKINEN JOINS BRIDGEPORT

Defenseman Jesse Pulkkinen took the next step in his hockey career, coming over to North America for the first time after being assigned to the Bridgeport Islanders after six seasons in the JYP system in Finland.

The Islanders’ 2024 second-round pick (54^th overall) played his first two games in Bridgeport after he racked up eight points (3G, 5A) through 38 games with JYP of Liiga, Finland’s top league. The 20-year-old defenseman recorded three shots in his first three games in the AHL.

STATS

CHL:

Jesse Nurmi | London (OHL) | 58GP, 9G, 22A, 31P, 10PIM

Jesse Nurmi | London (Playoffs) | 2GP, 0G, 1A, 1P, 0PIM

Calum Ritchie | Oshawa (OHL) | 47GP, 15G, 55A, 70P, 50PIM

Calum Ritchie | Oshawa (Playoffs) | 2GP, 0G, 3A, 3P, 2PIM

Finland:

Jesse Pulkkinen | JYP (Liiga) | 38GP, 3G, 5A, 8P, 26PIM

Sweden:

Dennis Good Bogg | Ostersunds IK (Allsvenskan) | 15GP, 0G, 0A, 0P, 9PIM

Dennis Good Bogg | Mariestad BoIS (HockeyEttan) | 20GP, 1G, 2A, 3P, 25PIM

Marcus Gidlöf | Leksands IF J20 (J20 Nationell) | 9-2-0, 1.73 GAA, .924 SV%, 3 SO

Marcus Gidlöf | Leksands IF (SHL) | 11-6-0, 2.33 GAA, .908 SV%, 1 SO

KHL/VHL:

Dmitry Gamzin | CSKA Moskva (KHL) | 7-8-6, 2.24 GAA, .928 SV%, 2SO

Dmitry Gamzin | Zvezda Moskva (VHL) | 6-1-1, 3.31 GAA, .894% SV% 0SO

USHL:

Xavier Veilleux | Muskegon Lumberjacks | 55GP, 6G, 32A, 38P, 18PIM

NCAA:

Cameron Berg | North Dakota (NCHC) | 26GP, 12G, 10A, 22P, 16PIM

Quinn Finley | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | 37GP, 20G, 20A, 40P, 31PIM

Zachary Schulz | Wisconsin (Big Ten) | 28GP, 2G, 9A, 11P, 10PIM

Danny Nelson | Notre Dame (Big Ten) | 36GP, 13G, 13A, 26P, 35PIM

Tomas Machu | Providence College (Hockey East) | 30GP, 2G, 4A, 6P, 27PIM

Cole Eiserman | Boston Univ. (Hockey East) | 37GP, 23G, 11A, 34P, 27PIM

Kamil Bednarik | Boston Univ. (Hockey East) | 38GP, 2G, 16A, 18P, 28PIM