NY Islanders Have Promising Goalie Prospect Developing

Which goalie has been developing well for the New York Islanders?

Apr 11, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders head coach Peter DeBoer speaks to the media after their game against the Ottawa Senators at UBS Arena. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Islanders are getting set for the rest of the offseason and putting in the work for next year. However, as the team starts to plan for the future, they have to be really pleased with how their prospect pool looks. 

With a new regime led by Mathieu Darche taking over, he will be trying to create some sustained success. That is going to start by ridding the team of some of the bad contracts that are on the books. 

New York hopes to be in a much better cap situation next season with some players being in the final years of their deals. Furthermore, while getting cap flexibility is important, they are also building up their prospect pool. 

The Islanders have really seen a lot of development in this area, and that will be key for the team going forward. While it has been some of the skaters that have received most of the attention, they also have some good young talent in the net as well. 

Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about the top 20 goalie prospects in hockey. For the Islanders, they were able to have the 16th-ranked player on the board. 

Dmitri Gamzin Will Be Prospect to Watch 

Feb 26, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; View of a New York Islanders logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team during the third period at Bell Centre. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The talented Russian goalie is currently playing in the KHL and was a fourth-round pick by the Islanders in 2024. New York is no stranger to having talented Russian goalies on their team, with Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin being the talented one-two for the team right now. 

With Gamzin having a couple of years left on his deal in the KHL, it will be a while before he would be ready to come over to try to be a goalie in the NHL. 

However, the results for him in the KHL last year were impressive, and he is certainly a player that the Islanders should be keeping an eye on. In 40 games last year, he totaled a 22-10-6 record, 1.49 GAA, and .938 save percentage. 

In what ended up being his final season in the KHL, Sorkin put up some similar numbers, totaling a 1.50 GAA and .935 save percentage. 

With some similar numbers, perhaps Gamzin will be able to follow in Sorkin’s footsteps one day. While time will tell with some more years in the KHL, Gamzin is certainly an appealing prospect to keep an eye on.