After years of wallowing in mediocrity, things are finally starting to look up for the Islanders. They made the playoffs last year after a 5-year hiatus and played hard against the Penguins in the first round but lost in a tough six-game series.  In a few years they will move from the decrepit Nassau Coliseum in Long Island to the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn.   They have a legitimate young superstar in Center John Tavares, as well as a developing cast of players that give them depth, such as forwards Matt Moulson, Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo, Mikael Grabner and defensemen like Travis Harmonic, Thomas Hickey and Andrew MacDonald.  They have veteran power play specialist Lubomir Visnovsky to man the power play from the blue line, and an experienced goalie in Evgeni Nabokov as their starter in goal, with Kevin Poulin as the future goalie in waiting playing the role of backup netminder.  They also have some prospects with loads of potential in forwards Ryan Strome, Kirill Kabanov and defenseman Calvin DeHaan.  The Islanders are unlikely to win the Stanley Cup this year, but they should make the playoffs again, and maybe make it to the second round. Goalies    The Islanders signed veteran goaltender Evgeni Nabokov to a one-year contract to be their starter again this season at a price of $3.25 million. This indicates that they do not yet believe that young Kevin Poulin is quite ready to take over the starting job.  While Nabokov is 38 years old, he did have a solid year last season with a 23-11-7 record a 2.50 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and 3 shutouts.  Unfortunately, Nabokov got lit up in the playoffs against Pittsburgh with a .842 save percentage and a 4.44 goal against average.  Nabokov's career save percentage is .912, despite the fact that he played many years for some very good San Jose teams.  That number translates out to him being essentially an average NHL goaltender. Remember, he is an aging average NHL goaltender who is starting on an improving team.  We expect him to get around 30 wins this season.  The 23 year-old Kevin Poulin has had several shots at playing in the NHL, including 5 games last season, but needs more time.  Expect Nabokov to play about 60 games this season. Defense The Islanders will depend on veteran Visnovsky to be the one controlling the point on the power play. Visnovsky has a lot of offensive skill, and he once scored 68 points for Anaheim as recently as the 2010-2011 season.  While he scored only 14 points in 35 games last season, he was behind Mark Streit who has since departed for Philadelphia.  The real key to the Islanders defense will be the progress of youngsters Travis Harmonic and Thomas Hickey.  At 23 years old, Harmonic has demonstrated a lot of talent and he has good size at 6'2" and 206 pounds.  Expect him to get a lot of top quality ice time this season.  Hickey is not big at 5'10" and 170 pounds, but he has a lot of speed and is highly skilled.  Andrew MacDonald is a solid defenseman, and he could score about 25 points, but he will likely not see a lot of power play time.  Beyond these players, there are no other defense players on the Islanders to consider fantasy-wise. Offense The Islanders have a lot of talent on offense. They were an amazing 7th in the NHL in scoring with 2.8 goals per game last season. This is primarily because of John Tavares and Matt Moulson.  Beyond his obvious skills, Tavares has an amazing ability to sort of disappear on the ice.  All of a sudden he gets the puck near the net, and there is no one around him.  It is really hard to explain it. Their power play scoring percentage was also good, ranking 11th with a 19.77 score.  This also indicates that they have offensive talent.  Beyond Tavares, who will likely score 100 points this season, and Moulson, whom we think can score 70+ points last season, be aware of Pierre-Marc Bouchard. The Islanders are considering playing Bouchard on the top line with Tavares and Moulson.  Bouchard once scored 63 points for Minnesota in 2007-2008.  If he plays on the top line he could duplicate that, but only if he stays healthy.  Right wing Michael Grabner is one of the fastest skaters in the NHL and he once scored 34 goals. Last season he had only 21 points in 45 games, but 16 of them were goals.  He is a pure sniper.  After five years in the NHL the Islanders really need young center Josh Bailey to step up and produce.  We believe that the 24 year old can score 50+ points this season.  The one interesting forward for the Islanders is Kyle Okposo, who has been a bust so far despite big expectations.  There is some talk about him playing on the top line, as opposed to Bouchard. His fantasy value would, obviously, go up if that were to happen.  We have him at 50+ points, but if he plays with Tavares, and finally begins to understand how to play in the NHL, who knows.  29 year-old Frans Nielsen should be good for about 50 points, but no more than that.    Prospects The Islanders top prospect is 20 years old center Ryan Strome. He just tore up the OHL with ridiculous numbers.  He has tremendous skill and speed, and he is a future star player.  The Islanders must salivate at the idea of him playing with Tavares at some point in time.  Calvin DeHaan is their best defenseman prospect close to playing in the NHL.  He is very speedy and mobile and should be a top four defenseman in the NHL.  Right wing Kabanov has great speed and is very shifty.  He struggled with injuries in the AHL last season, but he could be a top six forward one day.  First round pick defenseman Ryan Pulock, selected at number 15, has a big shot, but he is a few years away. Fantasy Hockey Outlook The Islanders have a number of high quality fantasy players. Center John Tavares should be drafted very early in the first rounds. He has a decade of scoring 100 points a year ahead of him. Matt Moulson has long been considered dependent on Tavares for his numbers, but this guy can play.  Like P.A. Parenteau, if he played with another team people would see how good he really is, but playing with Tavares doesn't hurt.  Pierre-Marc Bouchard is a real wild card.  He tends to get hurt, but right now he is scheduled to play on the top line.  While we have him at about only 40 points, that number would, obviously, go higher if he stays healthy and plays with Tavares.  Defenseman Visnovsky should be drafted in the early middle rounds, and Nabokov is a solid second goaltender.  Forward Ryan Strome will be a big star, so don't forget about him in keeper leagues.