The New York Islanders opted to use the 2020 NHL Draft to add organizational depth upfront with the selection of three forwards on Wednesday. The Islanders did pick up a defenseman and goaltender as well, but the focus for Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders scouting staff was at forward.

Alexander Ljungkrantz, Alex Jefferies and William Dufour won’t be making an impact on the Islanders roster for some time, but have the potential to be contributors in the years to come. The New York Islanders were limited in what they could do during the draft since they did not have a first or second-round pick this year because of the deadline acquisition of Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Click here for all of NYI Hockey Now’s coverage of the NHL Draft 

“You’d love to have as many first and second-round picks as you can, there’s no question about that,” Lou Lamoriello said. “Unfortunately we didn’t have it today, but fortunately we were able to acquire a player as we did in Pageau with our first and second picks.”

The Islanders president of hockey operations and general manager described the three forwards the team drafted as “all scoring individuals.” He added that the Islanders viewed Matias Rajaniemi as a defenseman with a high upside.

Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen was a player that the New York Islanders seem very intrigued by and actually helped get draft-eligible, Lamoriello told reporters during a Zoom conference call.

“The objective going into the draft is no different than any other draft,” Lamoriello said. “Trying to get the best possible players available that will allow you to sort of stockpile your assets. … That’s exactly what transpired today.”

So who exactly are the newest members of the New York Islanders? Ljungkrantz, Jefferies and Dufour spoke with reporters following their selections and gave some insight into themselves.

“The objective going into the draft was no different than any other draft, trying to get the best possible players available that will sort of allow you to stockpile your assets as far as development goes.”

More from Lou Lamoriello on the 2020 draft ➡️ https://t.co/Ef5L5lFyaR pic.twitter.com/jtohBtsJUG

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 8, 2020

Alexander Ljungkrantz

Ljungkrantz had 15 goals and 27 points for Brynas’ under-20 club in Sweden’s SuperElit league last year. He also won a bronze medal for Swedan at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The 18-year-old was at home with his family when the Islanders selected him with the 90th overall selection on Wednesday.

Here’s how Ljungkrantz described his play:

His style of play: “I would say that I’m a speedy forward who works hard and creates goal opportunities. I have a bit left to learn. It will be a process.” 

Who he compares his game to: “I don’t compare myself to any player, but I watch a lot of the speedy guys.”

Strength in his game:  “I would say my skating, my speed.” 

Alex Jefferies

The 18-year-old Gunnery prep school product had 33 goals and 69 points last season. Jefferies was eighth among New England Prep players in goals during his high school season with The Gunnery. Jefferies will play for Merrimack College this upcoming season.

Jefferies has already been on the ice with his Merrimack teammates.

Here’s how Jefferies described his play:

His style of play: “I’d definitely say I’m a goal-scoring winger. I definitely pride myself on scoring goals. I think I have a good shot. See the ice well, but I pride myself on being a 200-foot player as well and being good in the defensive end.” 

Where training was focused: “I think at the start it hasn’t been a lot of ice time at the beginning. I definitely focused on getting stronger, faster in the gym. That was my main goal and as things started to open up, you know the states are opening up, definitely got on the ice a lot. I was on the ice a lot this summer and spent a lot of time training. Just really focused too on getting faster. That’s been the big goal for me.” 

Who he compares his game to: “I think it’s hard to come up with a perfect comparison, but I think the closest for me is Oliver Bjorkstrand on Columbus. I like the way he shoots the puck. I think he’s a goal-scoring winger. He thinks the game well. I think we play similar in a lot of ways. We’re big players, but we’re not big, tough guys that run around hitting people. We just use our body to score goals and get to the net.” 

William Dufour

The QMJHL product had a career-high 55 points (28 goals, 27 points) last season. The 6’3,” 201 lbs forward was ranked 69th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and 83rd by Future Considerations.

Here’s how Dufour described his game:

His style of play: “I’m a big power forward. I think my best qualities are my offensive skills. I like to score goals. I like to shoot the puck. I like to have control of the puck to make some play in the offensive zone. I think I need to improve my explosion. For a big guy like me, it’s tough to explode (up the ice). In the summer I just trained a lot on those details.”

Focus of offseason training: “This summer I just trained a lot and focused on my last year and the way we were doing. I had a very good end of the season last year and this year I just want to try to produce the same thing as the end of last year. Keep working hard. This summer trained a lot and just worked hard on everything.”