By Warren Kozireski —
One day after trading up into the first round twice to secure Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier, the New York Islanders used all five of their remaining, second day draft picks on blueliners, including selecting the first Chinese-born player to be taken in the NHL draft.
After sitting out the second round, with their first pick on day two (82nd overall) the Islanders selected defenseman Mitch Vande Sompel of the Oshawa Generals. A Memorial Cup-winning teammate of 2014 Islanders first round pick Michael Dal Colle, the 5′-10″ blueliner scored 12 goals and 51 assists in 58 games for the Generals—the fifth highest scoring defenseman in the OHL.
“They (the Islanders) followed me a bit through the year and I talked with the guys a fair amount and I figured with all the Gens they have something might happen,” Vande Sompel said.
“You’re just happy to get picked. You have numbers in your head and, in the end, it’s not the number you get picked, it’s the number you do on the ice. I’m honored to be drafted by them and I look forward to the future.”
Tri-City in the Western League provided New York’s fourth round selection (112th overall) in Parker Wotherspoon. He set career highs in goals (9), assists (33) and points (42) in his second WHL season, led all team blueliners in points and was tied for fifth in team scoring. His brother is Calgary Flames prospect Tyler Wotherspoon.
The team went with some heritage in the fifth round selection for Islander Rich Pilon’s cousin Ryan Pilon. He scored 52 points (11 goals, 41 assists) in 68 games with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings—second among Brandon blueliners in points—and added 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 19 playoff games last season.
“Words can’t really describe it right now,” Pilon said minutes after being selected. “It’s happened so quick and putting the jersey on—it’s very humbling and I’m excited.
“It’s something that I’ve looked forward to my whole life and to be able to put on an NHL jersey is real special.”
The team then made NHL history in the sixth round selecting Andong Song. He becomes the first Chinese-born player to be drafted in the NHL Draft. A native of Beijing, China, he moved to North America at age nine, but captained the Chinese team at the 2015 U-18 World Jr. Championships (D-II). He was selected from Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, where he captained the team in his senior season.
The Islanders completed the defenseman sweep taking Petter Hansson from Sweden with their seventh round choice. He had a breakout season in his third year with Linkoping’s Jr. club scoring 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) in 38 games, while also appearing in 15 games for Linkoping’s SHL club, potting one assist.
