New York Islanders select Cole Eiserman No. 20 overall in 2024 NHL Draft

The New York Islanders have got themselves a full fledge American Sniper.

On Friday at The Sphere in Las Vegas, the Islanders selected Cole Eiserman in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft, No. 20 overall.

Eiserman dominated the draft rankings last year and made a case to go No. 2 behind Macklin Celebrini for quite some time. After a bit of a shift in the prospect landscape, Eiserman’s stock started to trend downward. But that didn’t stop the American sniper from still going in the first round.

Eiserman smashed Cole Caufield’s goal record with the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) with 127 after an all-star performance at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championships, leading the tourney with nine goals. Only three players in the program’s history – Eiserman at 127, Caufield at 126, and Phil Kessel at 104 – have surpassed the 100-goal mark.

Eiserman tallied a whopping 58 goals and 29 assists for 83 points in 52 games and an even more lopsided point threshold in the USHL, where he has scored a couple of hat tricks this year with 25 goals.
Eiserman represented the USA at the 2023 Under-18 Men’s World Championship, where he scored a tournament-leading nine goals. While at the Under-17 Men’s Championship, he tallied a leading 12 goals and 20 points in just seven games.

“There isn’t a prospect with a better shot in the draft, and he’s now the all-time leading goal-scorer in USA Hockey National Team Development history,” Daily Faceoff prospect expert Steven Ellis said. “I thought he had an up-and-down U-18 World Championship, but he really showed how much energy and violence he can bring at times. Defensively, Eiserman can be invisible, though. I think the upside is still huge but at this point, you’re going to need a more defensively responsible center to take the pressure off him. The right usage will allow Eiserman to be a star, and I truly believe in him.