It has been quite the year for NY Islanders forward Simon Holmstrom. Coming off the best season of his career, where he scored 25 goals and added 25 assists, the 24-year-old Swede signed a two-year extension worth $3.625M annually and became engaged just last week.
After being selected 23rd overall in 2019, Holmstrom had taken longer in his development than the Islanders would have hoped, but is starting to pay off dividends.
Simon Holmstrom could break out this season
Entering his fourth NHL season, Holmstrom’s numbers have improved over each season, gaining more trust from his coaches as evidenced by his 16:52 of ice time per game in 2024/25, 3:33 more than the season before.
With a new contract inked and expectations higher than ever, can Holmstrom take his development even further in 2025/26?
Depending on how his training camp and pre-season go, Holmstrom could potentially start the season on the second line alongside Mat Barzal. With Barzal returning to center, a player like Holmstrom could benefit from Barzal’s playmaking and distribution.
Holmstrom has been incredibly efficient when shooting the puck. Last season, the Isles winger capitalized on 20.8% of shots, 12th best in the NHL among players to play in at least 30 games. And this number isn’t an outlier in Holmstrom’s career. In 2023/24, he had an identical shooting percentage.
Though he only had two power goals last season, it could be difficult to come by time on the man-advantage for Holmstrom. With the additions of Jonathan Drouin and Maxim Shabanov, there will be multiple forwards vying for PP time.
If Holmstrom comes out of the gate hot, Patrick Roy won’t have any choice but to give him more time on the man-advantage, which would give him a great opportunity to top the 60-point mark for the first time in his career.