The stated purpose of the program is to provide a vehicle for athletes to develop as hockey players and to use these gifts to further their educational careers.

Players are prepared for the long-term future as productive citizens while being constantly reminded to give the game of hockey its due respect for lessons learned.

[2] The next major change for the Islanders was in the fall of 2012 when they announced that they would be one of the founding members of the new United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL).

Their former Junior A team now competes in the National Collegiate Development Conference of the USPHL.

The Islanders also field teams in the USPHL Premier and Elite Divisions (equivalent to the former Tier III Junior B designation).