If you don’t know the name Ryan Strome by now, you should get to know it. Before he was drafted, he was a highly scouted center for the Niagara Ice Dogs. At 18 years old, Strome was a first round, 5th overall draft pick by the New York Islanders in the 2011 draft. He would spend two more years with his OHL team and last season posted up 94 points (34 goals, 60 assists). Once his OHL season was over, he got a head start in the AHL playing 10 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers where he had seven points (two goals, five assists).
This season, Strome is with the Sound Tigers yet again, falling short of a roster spot out of training camp this past preseason. But it’s not what you think as the 20-year-old Strome has been great in the AHL on an 8-10-1 Bridgeport team. Just last night, Strome potted one goal and added two assists, putting him in the lead for points in the AHL as a rookie. In 23 games so far this season, Strome has 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) making him more than a point per game player. Strome is also currently riding an eight game point streak.
The big question here is whether we will see Strome called up to the big league, to try and help what seems like a never ending Islanders rebuild. Coming into this NHL season, the Islanders had high expectations to perform and be a consistent contender after making the playoffs last season. That just simply is not the case as the Islanders are last in their conference, and 29th in the league. The fact of the matter is that the Islanders are injury ridden and lack the defense and goaltending necessary to win, but that’s another story. As of late, the Islanders are having trouble scoring as well, except for of course John Tavares.
The three centers that are behind Tavares are Frans Nielsen, Casey Cizikis, and Peter Regin. Nielsen got off to a hot start and currently has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists), but over his last 10 games, has only had one goal and one assist. Casey Cizikas currently has three goals and four assists, but has found his scoring touch as of late, and is great in the defensive end. And then there is Peter Regin, who has one goal and three assists, and no points in the last 10 games. So as you can see, after Tavares, there just is not much scoring coming from the center position.
Now, no one is saying Ryan Strome is going to be the answer to the Isanders problems, but at this point in the season, a change is necessary as the Islanders have lost eight in a row. This seems like a good opportunity for Strome to be called up, and make other players such as Nielsen and Regin battle for positions to play. Anyone who has seen Strome play has said that this kid is the real deal and he will succeed at the NHL level, either now or in the near future.
Now, Garth Snow is being cautious not to make another mistake as he did with Josh Bailey and Nino Niederreiter, where he called on these players too early and stunted their growth. But Strome is ready and he knows it, as he stated it in interviews before. There is no reason why players like Peter Regin or even Frans Nielsen as of late shouldn’t take a seat and give the kid a go, as the competition for roster spots should also create a spark in the offense and help win games.
The team really has nothing to lose here, if Strome is successful, it could provide a spark to a struggling club while their is still enough time to get back in the playoff race. If for some reason Strome isn’t ready, nothing is lost by giving him five or 10 games to see what he can do and then sending him back to the AHL for more seasoning. Quite simply, even the worst case scenario is not that bad.
Strome has earned the callup, its time for the Isles to give it to him.
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