If a casual hockey fan was asked who the Islanders’ leader scorer is this season, the obvious guess would be Mathew Barzal, and that would be the correct answer as he leads the Isles with 17 points through 23 games. But what if someone was asked who is second on the Islanders in scoring?
Who would the casual hockey fan guess as the right answer?
JG Pageau? Josh Bailey? That would be incorrect, as they are tied for fourth with nine points.
Brock Nelson? No, he is third with 11 points.
The correct answer would be right wing Oliver Wahlstrom, who has eight goals and five assists for 13 points, the second-best point total on the Islanders. Wahlstrom has played in all 23 Islanders games this season, but he did not register a single assist over the first 18 contests. Over the last three games, Wahlstrom has been on fire with a goal and five assists for six points as he has registered three straight multi-point games.
Wahlstrom, who has three goals and eight points over his last five games, has been extremely effective because he has been able to focus on playing a complete game instead of focusing on his powerful shot.
“We all know he can shoot the puck,” said Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz. “We all know he has that ability but just understanding when to use it…when it’s most effective…moving the puck. Lately he’s had more awareness.”
But the awareness and the scoring, especially in the assist category, has not yet translated into an increase in minutes as his time on ice over the last three games have been 12:38, 10:15 and 9:49. His offensive production has also not yet earned Wahlstrom a promotion to the top line. He has, however, been a big factor on the surging Islanders power play including a pair of goals in the Isles’ 4-3 overtime loss in Detroit back on December 4th.
“Just execution,” said Wahlstrom after the loss to the Red Wings, a team the Islanders will face again on Tuesday night in Motown.
“I think the most important thing is the breakout. It hasn’t been pretty this year. We just gotta hone it down and keep working on it. We gotta keep working.”
To further illustrate how Wahlstrom has transformed his game recently, he only has four shots on goal over the last three games and did not even register a shot in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Devils at UBS Arena. But in the Isles’ first win in their new home this season, Wahlstrom picked up an assist on Noah Dobson’s first period goal and then beautifully set up JG Pageau for an insurance goal in the third period that closed out the scoring.
Wahlstrom has gone from having a “shoot first” mentality to keeping his head up and looking to distribute the puck.
“He was trying to score so much that he would bury that head and try to go end to end,” said Trotz. “I think he’s starting to use all of his tools a little bit more and the focus factor of being a pro I think is coming more and more each day.”
And with each passing day and game, Oliver Wahlstrom’s game continues to get better and one would think that it’s only a matter of time before he takes a spot alongside Mat Barzal and Anders Lee on the Isles’ top line. If he continues to play the complete game that he has shown he can play over the last five games or so, Wahlstrom is also going to assist his coach.
If his time on ice begins to go up, it will mean that Barry Trotz won’t have to answer questions about it anymore during his sessions with reporters.