During last season’s playoffs, Oliver Wahlstrom had a goal and two assists in five games before getting hurt. Once he was deemed to be healthy, he never made his way back into the lineup.
Could the young right-winger have made a difference in the Stanley Cup Semifinals against Tampa Bay, especially in the 1-0 loss in Game 7?
We’ll never know, but that was the past and Wahlstrom is very much part of the Islanders present and future, especially when you think about the performance that he turned in Tuesday night in the Islanders’ 4-1 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago. Wahlstrom scored a pair of goals during the Isles’ three-goal third period, but it was his hard work behind the net that helped to set up Anthony Beauvillier’s first period goal that gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead.
The 21-year-old Wahlstrom didn’t get credit for an assist on the goal, but there’s no doubting that his tenacity in fighting for the puck directly led to the goal being scored.
“When Wally is moving his feet, good things happen,” said Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz. “The puck follows him. He creates some stuff.
He also gets some opportunities.”
Wahlstrom now has three goals in his last two games, and will look to add to that total Thursday night in Columbus. Well aware that Trotz and the coaching staff like to lean on veteran players and have zero tolerance for a lack of attention to focus and structure, Wahlstrom is starting to look like the player that the Islanders envisioned when they took him in the first round (11th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
His play without the puck is getting better and better with each shift and each game.
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“I think it’s a big part of what we do as a team…you know details in the game,” said Wahlstrom. “I just kind of put my head down and work hard wait for goals. Once you keep working, they’ll come so I’ll put my head down and keep working.”
Last season, Wahlstrom started to find his scoring touch in the NHL as he found the back of the net 12 times in 44 games. This season, he finds himself on the Islanders’ third line playing with center Jean-Gabriel Pageau and left winger Zach Parise, a free-agent signing by the Islanders this past off-season. Sometimes hard work can be infectious and Wahlstrom is certainly learning a thing or two from the veterans that he’s playing with.
With Wahlstrom’s powerful shot, Pageau’s playmaking ability, and Parise’s ability around the net, this line has a chance to do some special things.
“I think our chemistry is getting better and better,” said Pageau. “When you have a shooter like this on your line, you definitely try to use his shot. He’s got an outstanding shot so I’m just trying to give him the puck and let him release it.”
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And that’s what Wahlstrom did on Tuesday night.
With the Isles up 1-0 in the first minute of the third period, Wahlstrom intercepted a pass by Blackhawks center Henrik Borgstrom, danced around defenseman Jake McCabe, and beat Marc-Andre Fleury through the five-hole. Later in the third period, Wahlstrom took a feed from Pageau and blasted home his second goal of the night.
Wahlstrom played a complete game and it was probably the best game that he’s played in his brief NHL career.
“When he’s watching the game and he’s not participating at the level he was (Tuesday night), he just blends in,” said Trotz. “But when he’s a high participant, he can make things happen and he gets rewarded for it.
When Wally gets open, he can shoot is as good as any young player in the league. When Wally is having success, he’s moving his feet, he’s able to get open or create some loose pucks so he can get that shot off.”
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There’s no denying that Wahlstrom has a world-class shot, but if he is going to be a success in the NHL and be the sniper that the Islanders have been craving for, then he has to combine his lethal shot with superb play without the puck and a physicality that he has also displayed at times.
“Just talking to the coaching staff before the season…just play up and down my wing and keep the game simple and get my shot off,” said Wahlstrom. “I’m playing with really good players right now. I have Pager and Zach so just learning from them and building off of it and just staying consistent.”
Wahlstrom is not only playing with some really good players, but he’s also playing for a future Hall of Fame coach that doesn’t have a whole lot of patience with young players who don’t buy into the Islanders’ system and structure. There were times during training camp and the pre-season games when it looked like Wahlstrom might be ticketed for the AHL, but he took his spot on the opening night roster and thus far has shown that he belongs.
With the Islanders’ new home UBS Arena set to open next month, don’t be surprised if Wahlstrom gives the new building a new nickname: Wally World!
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