The potential steal of the last draft has reached an agreement with the New York Islanders
The New York Islanders have agreed to a three-season entry-level pact with Finnish forward Aatu Raty. He was a second round pick of the New York team in the most recent amateur draft.
Raty is not considered an ordinary player. He was once seen as a potential first overall pick in the 2021 draft, but he fell apart last season. He kept slowing down offensively, which pushed him out of the first round of the draft. In 47 games, combined over two seasons, with Karpat's team in the Finnish top division, he accumulated a low total of 10 points, which is very low production for a player of his caliber. Furthermore, Raty is considered a late bloomer, as he will be 19 years old this November, which must have been another reason for his fall in the draft.
However, despite all that, Raty makes Lou Lamoriello look like a genius. At the World Junior Hockey Championship summer tournament, Raty was one of Finland's headliners. What you can tell from this is that he obviously didn't appreciate going so low in the draft. The new Islanders property showed the full extent of his talent at the tournament. He accumulated a total of 14 points, including 6 goals, in 6 games, good for first place in scoring. We finally got to see the real Aatu Raty, to the delight of his new boss Lou Lamoriello.
Since he signed an entry-level contract with New York, he will be available to play with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders' school club. He may not have had a great experience in Finland, but maybe he is built for North American field hockey. We'll find out very soon. Very nice catch for the Islanders, who will inevitably make other organizations regret turning their nose up at him...
Check out some of his moves:
