Ruslan Iskhakov’s two games with the Islanders late last season ended up being his only games with the club.
The 23-year-old, who led AHL Bridgeport in goals and assists last season, is signing with CSKA Moscow in the KHL, an industry source told The Post.
Championat, a Russian news outlet, initially reported the news.
![Ruslan Iskhakov is headed to CSKA Moscow.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/37-new-york-islanders-waits-80267590.jpg?w=1024)
Iskhakov, the team’s second-round pick in 2018, was considered one of the better prospects in the organization. But the writing was on the wall as he struggled to get a call-up despite posting strong numbers in the AHL.Â
His 5-foot-8 stature posed issues in the NHL that were immediately evident when Iskhakov finally did get the call in the last game of the regular season.
With Matt Martin hurt in the playoffs, Patrick Roy tried inserting Iskhakov in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Hurricanes, but the winger failed to make an impact over limited minutes.
“He did OK,” Roy said after that game. “Seriously, it was not easy, come on, coming in like this. For the bit he played, he gave us what we thought he was going to and I was very pleased with what I saw.”
![Iskhakov was a second-round pick in 2018.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/ruslan-iskhakov-37-new-york-80261789.jpg?w=1024)
Iskhakov was one of four restricted free agents the Islanders had yet to sign; Simon Holmstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom and Dennis Cholowski are the other three.
Wahlstrom filed for arbitration ahead of the league’s deadline.