EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- Ruslan Iskhakov didn’t get the chance to make his NHL debut with the New York Islanders last season, but that didn’t mean the 23-year-old forward's first season in North America, with Bridgeport of the American Hockey League, was a failure.
Selected by the Islanders in the second round (No. 43) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Iskhakov was an AHL All-Star, with 51 points (17 goals, 34 assists) in 69 games.
Though he saw a handful of his Bridgeport teammates each play his first NHL game last season, Iskhakov said he remained resilient and used that as fuel to propel himself to a roster spot with New York in the near future.
“I'm not saying that's the only thing that you think about throughout the season," he said at Islanders rookie camp this week, "but when you see somebody's getting called up, it's not really the things that you can control, so you focus on the things that you can control and you running up you and just trying to get there."
Iskhakov (5-foot-9, 165 pounds) has speed and a strong set of hands, making him difficult to defend.
“There's clearly a lot of offensive ability there,” Bridgeport coach Rick Kowalsky said. “He's a tough guy to hit because he's so elusive, so deceptive with the puck, and he can move laterally in short bursts.”
For Iskhakov to take that next step in his career, he needs to work on his play away from the puck. That was "the biggest thing that I saw last year with him," according to Kowalsky.
“He's a guy that when he or someone does lose possession of the puck, he's got to get on that and use that low center of gravity and his quick feet to get it back," Kowalsky said.
“He can do it. It's just the willingness to do it all the time. And I think he learned a lot.”
Getting stronger was something Iskhakov focused heavily on this summer.
“I'm on the smaller side, so I've got to be stronger,” Iskhakov said. “I put some extra work in the summer.
“I’m not 6-foot-5, but I've got to be quicker and more aggressive.”
Iskhakov has spent several seasons developing his game to this point; he had 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in two seasons with the University of Connecticut from 2018-20; 38 points (10 goals, 28 assists) in 54 games with TPS of Liiga, the top professional league in Finland, in 2020-21; and 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 25 games with Adler Mannheim of Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the top professional league in Germany, in 2021-22 prior to his arrival in North America.
A year ago, he sustained an injury during training camp, which forced him to miss thepreseason.
“That was my first year playing on the wing," Iskhakov said. "I usually play center. I think I needed some time to adjust. I think at the end of the season, I played pretty good. Obviously, I had some ups and downs. But yeah, overall, I think I progressed, went forward, and my game got better and more mature.”
Iskhakov is older than most of the other Islanders prospects, but with age comes experience.
“He's a little bit older because of his play in Europe,” Kowalsky said. “But again, he's another guy that I talked to right away. He's really excited to be back here and keep going and get a year or two under his belt.”
