The New York Islanders have agreed to terms with their top 2021 NHL draft pick, forward Aatu Räty from Finland, on a three-year entry-level contract.
Räty, selected in the second round (52nd overall) last month, is a high-skill player who fell in the draft but impressed in the World Junior Summer Showcase immediately afterward. It’s hard to balance the general pre-draft scouting impression — especially during a pandemic-year draft — with where a player was viewed a couple years prior (some saw him as a potential top-five pick), and further with how he does in a short exhibition tournament afterward.