2026 Freshman Focus: Clarkson University
Clarkson University hasn't won the ECAC since 2018, and with a load of freshmen coming in, can they get back to their winning ways under coach Houle, and can these incoming freshmen make a difference on day one?
Video Transcript
Outside of Anders Lee, the Islanders have five pending free agents and just over $11 million in cap space.
So really not a lot to work with here.
Mike, where do you see Matthew Darsh taking this team next season, you know, with, with the assets that he has, and what do you think should be the priority for this team to add?
Well, it's funny because the same thing that I've said for five years when Lou Lamorello was the general manager and with, with the Islanders, you know, Matthew Darsh comes in and you would think that he'd recognize, well, this team needs to score more.
They've been good defensively for mo- the most part over the last five or six years, but they just don't have enough offense.
And what does he do?
He goes out and signs a two-way, or trades for a two-way center in Braden Schenn and trades for an aging Andre Pellet.
It d- it didn't make a lot of sense, and now you hear, you're starting to hear rumors about Matthew Barzal maybe wanting out or them possibly sh- shipping him out.
I mean, that's sort of counterproductive to what I think they should be doing.
They should be looking for, offense, and I don't think, you know, it may be too unreasonable to requ- to, to think that Cole Eiserman, their first-round pick from a couple years ago, can step into the lineup.
He played, I think, 12 games in the American Hockey League.
He may not be ready, but that's the direction.
They need to, need to get younger and faster and get more offense, and the moves that Darsh made last year, went completely in the, in the other direction.
If it wasn't for Matthew Schaefer, this team would be a basket case.
