The New York Islanders are still churning along towards the Stanley Cup, but the front office still has to make preparations for next season. With that in mind, the team has loaned prospect Simon Holmstrom to Vita Hasten HC of the Swedish second league. The team does not specifically state whether Holmstrom will be back for the 2020-21 season in North America, whenever that begins.
Selected 23rd overall in 2019, Holmstrom is part of a prospect pipeline in New York that is still quite well stocked. Even as a teenager this season he was part of a Bridgeport Sound Tigers team that also included Kieffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom, two other first-rounders that are still waiting for their real big break in the NHL. Though he didn’t by any means dominate the minor league, Holmstrom did record 15 points in 46 games as one of the youngest players in the entire AHL.
There is an obvious “wow” factor when you watch Holmstrom, especially when pitted against players his own age. His puck skills and acceleration are excellent and though he wasn’t able to use that offensive upside on a routine basis in the AHL, you can bet he’ll find success playing in the Allsvenskan to start the year.
Holmstrom’s contract will slide this season and can again next year should he fail to play in ten NHL games. That would mean his entry-level deal, signed in 2019, could end up stretching all the way to 2024.