This time, Islanders Country won't have to wait as long for an exciting top prospect as they had to for Ilya Sorokin to make his way from Russia to Long Island.
After a game seven loss in the opening round of the playoffs, the season now over for Jukurit in Liiga, the top hockey league in Finland, and that means the countdown is on for Finnish center Aatu Ray, the Islanders' second-round pick in this past June's NHL Draft, to make his way to North America. Raty started the season with Karpat, but was loaned to Jukurit where he scored 13 goals to go along with 27 assists for 40 points in 41 regular season games.
He only had two points in seven playoff games, but that doesn't diminish the excitement and the anticipation for his arrival in North America.
"It was a learning moment for him," said Michel Anderson, a blogger for eyeonisles.com and an expert on the prospects in the Islanders' system.
"[Raty] is the number one prospect in the pool. He's 19 years old and he was the top line center for the second-best team in the league. There's a lot to be happy about here and there's a lot that he can take and learn from."
Without a first-round pick in the 2021 draft, the Islanders had to wait until the 52nd overall selection to make a pick and they took Raty. The gifted 6-foot-2, 187-pound center with a left-handed shot has already signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract with the Islanders. Raty was with the team for training camp and played in two pre-season games back in September before being sent back to Finland.
Had Jukurit advanced past the first round of the playoffs, Raty would have likely stayed in Finland to prepare to play for Team Finland in the World Junior Hockey Championships this August in Edmonton. But with the American Hockey League season winding down, there could be an opportunity for Raty to get in a few games for the Islanders' minor-league affiliate in Bridgeport.
Raty could be here very soon.
"It would take about a week," said Anderson. "You've got processing at the end of the year, getting all your stuff together to move, visas sorted out and so on and so forth. A week makes sense."
Now there is a chance that Finland could invite Raty to play in the World Championships, the tournament that features professional players participating after their league seasons are over, but the expectation is that the Islanders would like to expedite his arrival.
"That's going to be up to the Islanders to decide in concert with Aatu Raty," said Anderson. "I would imagine that the Islanders will be more geared towards bringing him over to North America as soon as possible. They have an incentive to bring him over as soon as soon as possible to get him acclimated to North American ice to become a better player as soon as possible for them."
If Raty was to arrive in North America in a week, he could join the Bridgeport Islanders for their final four regular season games. The B-Isles have road games on Friday April 15th at Lehigh Valley and Saturday April 16th at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before finishing up their season with home games on Friday April 22nd against Springfield and Saturday April 23rd against Hartford.
Right now, Bridgeport is fighting for a playoff spot so the addition of Raty would not only create some excitement for the fan base but he could also possibly help the team punch their ticket to the playoffs and get some more experience before coming to New York Islanders training camp in September.
"I think the Islanders are going to try to bring him in as soon as possible and say hey you got an NHL future and kind of dangle that for him and he'll come over for that," said Anderson.
It has certainly been a tough and frustrating season for the New York Islanders after back-to-back runs to the NHL final four, but the Isles have shown recently that the group is still capable of some special things down the road and perhaps just needs some tinkering this off-season to re-establish themselves as a Stanley Cup contender.
Raty will very likely start next season in Bridgeport, but his impending arrival will give the team and the fan base a glimpse of what may lie ahead.
"There's a lot to look forward to with this kid," said Anderson.
If Aatu Raty does come over to North America in time, Islanders fans may want to plan on making the short trip north to Bridgeport on April 22 and/or April 23 to see him in action.
