Islanders lose former first round pick on waivers.

The New York Islanders have just lost one of their former first round picks on waivers.

According to a report from National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman on Saturday afternoon, former Islanders first round pick Oliver Wahlstrom has not cleared the waiver process and has instead been picked up by a rival team in the NHL. The good news for the Islanders is that the team is not one within their division, but the bad news is that team is the Boston Bruins who do share the Eastern Conference with the Islanders.

Wahlstrom, whom the Islanders selected in the first round (11th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, is now the newest member of the Boston Bruins.

Wahlstrom has appeared in 27 games for the Islanders this season and has 2 goals and 2 assists for a total of 4 points over that stretch. Wahlstrom has 9 penalty minutes on the season as well as a plus minus rating of -6.

The Islanders took a calculated risk by putting Wahlstrom on waivers this week as he has a realtively affordable cap hit at just $1 million on a 1 year contract. Both his relatively manageable cap hit and short contract term made him a potential target for rival teams around the league and although he is now a Bruin there is no telling how many other teams may have also submitted a claim today.

Wahlstrom will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract which means the Bruins will still have a measure of control when his contract expires or a potential asset on their hands should they wish to move him to another team.

The only other player on waivers was also an Islanders forward, veteran forward Pierre Engvall, but Engvall is currently in year 2 of a 7 year deal that carries an average annual value and cap hit of $3 million per season. I simply do not believe that any teams around the league are interested in picking up that contract at this stage of the season, something indicated by the fact that he wasn't claimed.