If Danny Nelson ends up making it to the NHL, expect a familiar refrain when Islanders games are broadcast nationally: “Nelson, who played defenseman in high school …”
The second-round pick, selected No. 49 overall by the Islanders on Thursday, said in his chat with reporters in Nashville on Thursday that his stint as a defenseman was only for a year and out of necessity for his team. He’s played forward all his life, and plans to do so in college at Notre Dame and, one day, for the Islanders.
When Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson recruited Nelson, though, he would have been happy either way.
“I really felt like he might have a better career up front just because he’s big, rangy, got a good shot, he does some good things offensively,” Jackson told Sports+ over the phone Thursday. “So I was excited about him coming to Notre Dame as a forward, and I told him that. But we also told him we’d take him either way.”
As you would expect, Nelson is said to have good ability in his own end, and will be on the penalty kill as a freshman at Notre Dame next season. Doubtless, that was part of the appeal for the Islanders.
But that is not to overlook his offensive abilities — only to accentuate them.
“Same instincts as a defenseman down low in his own end, but that’s not the reason we recruited him. We’re hoping he can be a contributor offensively,” Jackson said. “A lot of times you hear people talking about the ceiling and things like that. I think he’s on the rise. He hasn’t played forward consistently in the last several years. Just this year he played wing quite a bit, then he ended up at center at the end of the year. … I just think his athleticism, he’s got a good attitude for development purposes, just in the fact that he wants to be a player and he does the things that are necessary for him to develop.”
It’s not yet clear whether Nelson, who stands 6-foot-3 at 203 pounds, will end up playing down the middle or on the wing in college. The two-way ability and stature, though, suggest he should be a center.
General manager Lou Lamoriello made clear that the Islanders project Nelson as a forward, not a defenseman.
The question is whether his skating and hockey sense will improve to the point of being an NHL player. As with any 17-year-old draftee, Nelson also will need to get stronger and continue developing his entire game once he gets to college.
Asked in Nashville about his timeline, Nelson was short on specifics, but mentioned playing in South Bend for “potentially a couple years” before moving to the pros.
“For me, it’s gonna be about developing his poise with the puck to where he can make plays,” Jackson said. “He’s got a big frame and he’s a guy that will attack the net and be a factor in that area of the ice, but I’d like to see him — if he’s gonna play center — continue to work on his ability to make poised plays, whether it be off the rush or in the offensive zone.
“He can do things on his own. I’d like to see him be able to distribute a little bit better with a little bit of calmness. Not throw pucks away or try to do too much. I think part of it is he’s just not as experienced as other guys in playing up front.”
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12 to the rafters?
Since — barring something extremely unforeseen — Josh Bailey now has played his last game as an Islander, here’s a question: Would you retire No. 12 in his honor once Bailey is officially done playing?
The precedent here does not require a Hall of Fame career — Bobby Nystrom, John Tonelli and Butch Goring have their numbers hanging in the UBS Arena rafters. Bailey, however, would be the first non-Dynasty player to join them, most notably ahead of Ed Westfall, Patrick Flatley and Pat LaFontaine (the absence of Westfall, the team’s first captain, is by some margin the most baffling).
Bailey’s argument centers mostly on his longevity, though contrary to the social media abuse he’s gotten in recent years, the winger was a pretty good player, too.
Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy are the only Islanders with more career assists. Those three, plus Clark Gillies, John Tavares and Brent Sutter are the only ones with more points.
To be sure, Bailey never resembled a superstar and had his deficiencies as a player. But playing over 1,000 games as an Islander, acting as a bridge between the woeful days of the late 2000s and today, is a compelling argument to build a case around.
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has interacted with Bailey as a teammate, staff member, reporter or otherwise with a bad thing to say about him.
Whether that ends up being worthy of a number retirement or not, it will doubtless result in an induction to the team’s Hall of Fame one day. And the ovation Bailey will receive if he returns to UBS Arena as an opposing player next season should be rousing.
More notes from the draft
• Lamoriello said sixth-round pick Zachary Schulz’s captaincy of the U18 Team USA was a factor in picking him, as was his compete level. Schulz, who compared his game to Lightning veteran Ian Cole’s, figures to be a very defense-oriented defenseman.
• Schulz, Nelson’s teammate at the USNTDP last year, said the second-round pick is one of his closest friends. “He’s an unbelievable player, unbelievable person and works so hard at what he does and he supported his teammates,” Schulz said. “That’s all you can ask for.”
• Matt Maggio’s recent success as an over-age pick played a role in the team’s thought process when it came to Justin Gill, a 20-year-old out of the QMJHL. The Islanders have carved out a niche here in recent years, with William Dufour falling in the same category.
• Dealing away the team’s 2026 second-rounder in the Bailey trade means 2025 is the only year before 2027 in which the Islanders currently have their full complement of picks.
• If you’re big into comps, here’s who more of the Islanders’ picks used to describe their games: Danny Nelson — Brock Nelson; Jesse Nurmi — Carolina’s Sebastian Aho; Justin Gill — J.T. Miller. Seventh-round pick Dennis Good Bogg was not at the draft and did not speak with reporters.
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