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Cole Eiserman

Islanders’ Cole Eiserman Likely Returning To Boston University For Sophomore Year

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Top Islanders prospect Cole Eiserman is expected to return to Boston University for his sophomore season in 2025-26, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com and The Hockey News reports. He’ll wait at least another year before considering signing his entry-level contract.

Selected 20th overall by the Isles in last year’s draft, Eiseman is the crown jewel of New York’s prospect pool by a gargantuan margin. He checked in as the No. 18 prospect in the league in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s winter 2025 rankings, the only Islander in the top 100. He’s among the top three up-and-coming left-wingers with truly elite shooting talent, although drawbacks in other aspects of his game caused him to fall out of the top 10 in 2024.

He made strides in those areas in his freshman year with the Terriers, though. He also finished fourth on the team in points and led them in goals with 25-11–36 in 39 games, helping them advance to the national championship game. It’s easy to see why, assuming the Islanders don’t envision him in the NHL next year, he’d prefer developing in the collegiate environment that’s treated him quite well thus far. New York’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport isn’t a desirable development destination at the moment – they’re set to finish last in the league by a wide margin with a 15-48-4-3 record through 70 games.

But overall, Eiserman’s post-draft year should inspire confidence in his selection, especially that late in the first round. He also managed a point per game for the United States at this year’s World Juniors despite averaging the least ice time of any forward. While he’ll never be a premier play-driver, he’s a slam-dunk future first-line winger and top power-play fixture in a supportive environment. It’s hard not to see him in the NHL beginning with the 2026-27 campaign.

Wild Notes: Mermis, Johansson, Eiserman

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Most of the Wild’s roster will be back next season. Only a select few players who ended the season with the team are free agents, and none of them were consistently in the lineup.

At least one of those expiring depth players won’t be back next season, though. That will be veteran depth defenseman Dakota Mermis, who will head elsewhere searching for a one-way contract, The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports.

Set to hit unrestricted free agency for the third time next week, the 30-year-old Mermis played a career-high 47 games in 2023-24. It was his seventh season seeing NHL time, serving as a top-four minor-league option with depth recall potential for the Coyotes, Devils and Wild since making his debut in the 2017-18 season.

An undrafted free agent signing by Arizona in 2015, 64% of Mermis’ NHL experience came this season. He cleared waivers to begin the campaign and wasn’t on the opening night roster, beginning the season with AHL Iowa, but was recalled a week later with injuries affecting the Minnesota blue line and was shuffled between leagues over the next two months.

Mermis then remained in the NHL for the balance of the season after a recall on Dec. 14. He averaged 14:15 per game for the Wild, adding three goals and eight points with a -2 rating. He’s not the biggest frame in the world (6’0″, 195 lbs) but plays a physical game and has plenty of leadership experience in the AHL, where he’s served as a captain for two seasons and an alternate captain for four.

The Illinois native’s possession numbers were solid, controlling 49.5% of shot attempts and 47.9% of expected goals at even strength, per Hockey Reference. After logging minor-league time in eight of his nine professional seasons, he’ll look to land a full-time NHL look, likely as a team’s extra defender.

Elsewhere out of the State of Hockey:

  • Forward Marcus Johansson could be a trade candidate this summer with the Wild looking to optimize their limited cap space, posits Harman Dayal of The Athletic. The 14-year veteran has one season left on his contract at an only mildly consequential $2MM cap hit, but he struggled last season with 11 goals, 30 points and a -15 rating in 78 games while again averaging over 15 minutes per game. However, he holds a full no-trade clause that significantly complicates any potential move. Entering the summer, the Wild do have $6.25MM in projected cap space with a nearly full roster size of 19, per CapFriendly.
  • The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and FloHockey’s Chris Peters spoke to The Athletic’s Joe Smith about options for the Wild with their no. 13 overall pick in this week’s draft. U.S. National Team Development Program goal-scoring record-breaker Cole Eiserman, who we mocked to Minnesota in our 2024 Mock Draft, was among the players discussed.

West Notes: Wild Draft Plans, Campbell, Klimchuk

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Wild fans gained some insight into their team’s plans at the draft later this month thanks to The Athletic’s Joe Smith, who spoke at length in an interview with director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett in an interview published Wednesday.

Notably, he shouted out general manager Bill Guerin’s willingness to be active on the draft floor, suggesting they’ll try hard to move up from their 13th overall pick if their scouting staff believes it to be the right choice. However, Brackett thinks the likelihood of being able to execute such a move will be extremely difficult this year thanks to the depth of prospects available in the top 15 range. “Teams in those spots are very happy with their choices that they have,” he said.

In regards to who the Wild might take with their No. 13 pick, Brackett didn’t disclose any names specifically. He did, however, have complementary words for U.S. National U18 Team goal-scoring record-breaker Cole Eiserman. He entered the year as a consensus top-three pick but fell down most draft boards to the mid-first round throughout the season, with concerns rising about his play in the defensive zone and his ability to exit his own zone in transition. But he remains the best pure goal-scorer available in the class, with Brackett saying he’s “proven it at every level and continues to do so.”

Other tidbits from the West:

  • Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff listed Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois as his top buyout candidate this summer but acknowledged that general manager Rob Blake said during his end-of-season media availability that it wasn’t something they were planning on doing. That brings us to the No. 2 candidate on his list – Oilers netminder Jack Campbell, who spent nearly the entire season on assignment to AHL Bakersfield after putting up a .873 SV% in his first five games of the season. He was decent overall in the minors, though, compiling a .918 SV% and three shutouts in 33 games played. There’s likely a path back to NHL minutes for Campbell somewhere, but after falling to third on their depth chart despite boasting a $5MM cap hit, it’s unlikely to be in Edmonton. He has three years left on his deal, so a buyout would leave the Oilers with a cap penalty for the next six seasons ranging from as low as $1.1MM next season to as high as $2.6MM in 2026-27.
  • The Jets’ AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, added Morgan Klimchuk to their coaching staff as an assistant Wednesday. The 2013 first-round pick of the Flames was a top-flight scorer in junior hockey but only managed one NHL appearance before announcing his retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now 29, Klimchuk had spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals.

San Jose Sharks Win 2024 NHL Draft Lottery

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The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery has finally rolled around, giving solace to the 16 teams that missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks lead the odds race, with the Sharks boasting a hardy 18.5 percent chance of winning the first-overall pick. The list of runner-ups is rounded out by fringe playoff contenders in the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings, who share 0.5 percent odds at the top slot.

The 2024 NHL Draft is certainly one to be excited for. It features strong talent throughout the first round, including hotly-debated talents like Finnish standout pro Konsta Helenius and Russian big man Anton Silayev. It’s a contentious draft that kicks off a string of strong classes, with James Hagens and Gavin McKenna headlining the next two drafts.

This year’s deciding order is as follows:

1. San Jose Sharks
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. Columbus Blue Jackets
5. Montreal Canadiens
6. Utah Hockey Club
7. Ottawa Senators
8. Seattle Kraken
9. Calgary Flames
10. New Jersey Devils
11. Buffalo Sabres
12. Philadelphia Flyers
13. Minnesota Wild
14. San Jose Sharks (via Pittsburgh Penguins)
15. Detroit Red Wings
16. St. Louis Blues

The Sharks have officially won the race for superstar prospect Macklin Celebrini – the consensus top prospect in the 2024 NHL Draft. Celebrini recently became the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award as college’s MVP, adding to a trophy case that’s incredibly full for his age. He’s a dynamic and incredibly intelligent centerman capable of finding and making plays in all three zones.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks, Ducks, and Blue Jackets will be left to sift through a rich list of top defense prospects, including Artyom Levshunov, Sam Dickinson, Zeev Buium, and Zayne Parekh. Forwards like Cole Eiserman or Cayden Lindstrom could fight their way into the top spots as well, giving teams plenty of options with their lottery winnings.

Big Hype Prospects: Eiserman, McKenna, Hemming, Beaudoin

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The 2024 World U18 Championships have ended with a bang, with Team Canada scoring four goals in the final 10 minutes of the Gold Medal game against Team USA. The charge was led by the incredible pairing of star prospects Tij Iginla and Gavin McKenna, who combined for four of Canada’s six goals. The duo headlined what was a historic U18 tournament worth breaking down. So we’ll once again borrow the Big Hype Prospects series from MLB Trade Rumors and take the time to break down some of the top performers from one of the best pre-draft tournaments of the season.

Four Big Hype Prospects

Cole Eiserman, RW, USA U18 (NTDP)
56 GP – 57 G – 31 A – 88 TP – 6 PIM – 6 +/-

There were some amazing records broken during this year’s U18s. Cole Hutson (2024) became the highest-scoring defenseman in National Team Development Program history, James Hagens (2025) broke Nikita Kucherov’s tournament scoring record, and Gavin McKenna (2026) became the highest-scoring Canadian in the event’s history. But it’s Cole Eiserman’s shattering of the NTDP’s goal-scoring record that sticks out as the most pertinent. Eiserman has totaled 127 goals in 119 games with the U.S. NTDP, breaking Cole Caufield’s record of 126 goals in 123 games. Eiserman now sits atop a highly decorated list, after scoring at a dazzling 1.07 goals-per-game pace. And yet, he faces undoubted questions ahead of the 2024 Draft – with many doubting Eiserman’s consistency and energy off the puck. Eiserman certainly showed the intensity he can bring at U18s, looking like America’s most effective forechecker in their semi-finals matchup with Team Slovakia. But he struggled to bring the same north-to-south pressure consistently, and was even held without a goal during USA’s bouts with Switzerland and Finland – a rarity for Eiserman. He’s been a star since he was nine-years-old, looking like the standout in a Brick Invite that featured multiple members of Team USA and Team Canada’s lineup. Having the spotlight for that long places a heavy weight on draft-year prospects – made evident by Oliver Wahlstrom’s continued growth. Eiserman will face similar challenges, as he tries to build out the rest of his skillset around a goal-scoring ability that’s historically-great.

Gavin McKenna, LW/RW, Medicine Hat (WHL)
61 GP – 34 G – 63 A – 97 TP – 21 PIM – -4 +/-

The U18s skyrocketed the draft stock of many of 2024’s top prospects. But it was the 2025 and 2026 classes that had the strongest showings – with Hagens and McKenna fighting to one-up each other every single game. And while Hagens took home the tournament’s MVP award, it was McKenna’s hat-trick that sealed Canada’s Gold Medal win. The performance was a perfect close to what’s been an amazing season for McKenna, who came just three points shy of cousin Connor Bedard’s WHL U17 scoring record. McKenna is an incredible prospect who simply sees the game quicker than anyone else. He’s able to work the puck through the smallest of gaps and make hockey moves in the tightest of spaces, helping him cut around defenders and score from anywhere. McKenna never stops moving, either – making sure he makes a mark every single shift and standing up to the call for added minutes when his team needs him. He is simply a star – and one that isn’t draft-eligible for another two seasons. There’s no telling just how good he’ll be if this is where he’s at at 16. Medicine Hat may have had an early exit this season, but they’re undoubtedly eager for next year – and the prospects of reuniting McKenna with top 2024 prospects Cayden Lindstrom and Andrew Basha.

Emil Hemming, LW, TPS (Liiga)
40 GP – 7 G – 4 A – 11 TP – 0 PIM – 3 +/-

Looking away from the glitz-and-glamor of this year’s tournament, it was maybe Emil Hemming who showed the most pro-ready traits. He was incredibly smooth all tourney, making plays cleanly and confidently in the offensive zone and using slick skating to create space off of defenders. And he had plenty of chances to show off just how hard his shot was – with opponents giving him plenty of space at the tops of the circles. The tournament was an encouraging showing from Hemming, who’s looked prone to playing slow or unengaged in the Liiga. But that’s a pro league – and among his peers, Hemming made crisp plays and matched pace beautifully. He’s showed pro-ready traits all season, flexing strong positional awareness and working with teammates well, but Hemming’s newfound tempo could be a substantial boost to his hefty style. Hemming has been considered a first-round prospect for much of the season, but his responsible and reliable U18s could now push him into the high-20s for teams looking for impact players sooner rather than later.

Cole Beaudoin, C, Barrie (OHL)
67 GP – 28 G – 34 A – 62 TP – 27 PIM – 2 +/-

If any player were to rival Hemming’s title as the U18’s most impactful power-forward, it’d be Cole Beaudoin – who looked absolutely locked-in in every one of Canada’s games. Beaudoin is another hefty forward, who made up for a lack of speed with an unmovable strength and frame. He’s powerful in every aspect of his style, driving down the boards hard and doing well at taking opponents out of play with big hits. Beaudoin was a dynamic penalty killer too, squaring up to opponents well and using a quick, long reach to break up plays. Combined with his heavy frame and sharp processing, Beaudoin was simply hard to beat at the U18s. He was a key matchup against Team USA’s Hagens and Eiserman, and shut both players down well. While his offense could certainly be more inspiring, Beaudoin’s ability to shut down play and win back possession in his own zone could be strong enough to get some NHL teams looking at him early.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Cole Eiserman Decommits From University Of Minnesota, Joins Boston University

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1:55 p.m.: Later Wednesday, Eiserman announced on his Instagram page that he’s committed to Boston University, opening up the possibility for Celebrini and Eiserman to be linemates at the college level should Celebrini stick around for a second season. The move surely vaults an already strong BU team into the national championship conversation for each of the next two seasons.

1:20 p.m.: American-born left-winger Cole Eiserman won’t be playing college hockey at the University of Minnesota starting in 2024-25, per Evan Marinofsky of the New England Hockey Journal. The presumptive second-overall pick in next year’s 2024 NHL Draft has de-committed from the school and plans to join a university closer to his Massachusetts home.

Eiserman is already off to a hot start this season, leading the U.S. National Development Program’s U18 squad with five goals and eight points through four games. Across major public scout rankings early in the 2023-24 league year, he is the consensus second-overall choice behind Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini, who will suit up for Boston University this season despite not turning 18 until after the collegiate season is over in June.

After recording 86 points in 50 games with the USHL’s Chicago Steel in 2022-23, Celebrini could be one-and-done at the collegiate level with a strong freshman season. The same could be said for Eiserman, although he will spend at least one season after his draft year playing in college – initially expected to be with Minnesota. He’s taken a more slow-burn approach to his development.

That approach has paid massive dividends thus far for Eiserman, who’s racked up video-game goal totals in nearly every level he’s played. He scored 26 goals in just 20 games for the U18 team last season and scored 43 goals and 72 points in 40 games across a larger sample size for the U17 squad as well.

It’s been the same story internationally, too. Eiserman represented the US at both the 2022 World U17 Hockey Challenge and the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship, notching 12 goals in seven games at the former and nine goals in seven games at the latter. In fact, Eiserman has scored over a goal per game in every league and tournament he’s played in dating back to 2020-21 when his publically available stats began.

That all lines up to make this a consequential loss for Minnesota, who unexpectedly lost star pivot Logan Cooley this summer as he turned pro with the Arizona Coyotes. He’ll be replaced in the lineup by Chicago Blackhawks 2023 first-round pick Oliver Moore, but he’s a risk to turn pro after one season as well. It’s also an extremely consequential move for the NCAA’s Hockey East conference, which will likely gain Eiserman’s superstar talent for the 2024-25 season.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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