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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simon Holmstrom could break out this season<\/p>\n Entering his fourth NHL season, Holmstrom\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n With a new contract inked and expectations higher than ever, can Holmstrom take his development even further in 2025\/26?<\/p>\n 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\u2019s playmaking and distribution.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t an outlier in Holmstrom\u2019s career. In 2023\/24, he had an identical shooting percentage.\u00a0<\/p>\n