Ruslan Iskhakov went from being a forward with a Uconn team that is still trying to establish their Hockey East presence, to now knocking on the New York Islanders door as a top prospect.
The Moscow native has never seen a negative +/- season line since he started playing in Connecticut. He is a point machine who doesn’t take up valuable playing time in the penalty box, averaging under a minute-per-game last season.
Iskhakov put up a 51 point season in 2022/23 with the Bridgeport Islanders. So far through 5 games this season the Russian has accounted for 6 points, with 4 coming from assists. He has already demonstrated his clutch ability this season, scoring an OT winner in the season opener against Rochester, which sealed his first AHL multi-goal game.
Being in the AHL, Iskhakov is automatically on a 2-way contract. If an injury does occur or if a lower depth-charted player struggles, the 23-year-old could find himself playing at UBS on the third or fourth line.