In advance of Saturday’s lockout, the New York Islanders bid adieu to their three most recent first-round picks.
Nino Niederreiter, taken 5th overall in 2010, was sent to AHL Bridgeport while Ryan Strome (5th overall, 2011) and Griffin Reinhart (4th overall, 2012) were sent to OHL Niagara and WHL Edmonton respectively.
Niederreiter, 20, played six games in Bridgeport last season after spending the majority of the season with the Isles.
He’ll be joined on the Tigers by Isles teammate Travis Hamonic, and it’s expected the pair will greatly bolster the AHL roster. Hamonic in particular -- the highly-touted defenseman led the Isles with a plus-six rating last year and was third on the team in TOI (22:25), third in hits and second in blocked shots.
As for Strome and Reinhart, they’ll both begin the year back in junior. This was likely going to be the case regardless of labor strife -- Strome is 19, Reinhart’s 18 -- but there was a possibility of the pair making an impression and perhaps sticking around out of training camp.