On the Islanders Beat

BIg Deal, As long as this team has stunk I've sat depresssed through it. I see light at the end of the tunnel hopefully its not a train. MAybe in two years we can make it happen but unless we can pick up a couple of ufa's this team will competively lose the majority of their games again this year. I hope July 1st turns out well

The defense is not that bad, and we have a good goalie, who when healthy is a great goalie. A decent defense a great goalie and Ted's ability to coach might potentially put this team in the middle pack.

tamby is a joke, a pacifistic joke.

I dont have any reason to be confident that the current Islander prospects will pan out. What reason would I have? No one involved in the organization has a shred of credibility except Ted, who gets chastised for wanting to win now and playing more cpable vets. So, the same fans who whine about the draft(who the hell knows how any of these picks pan out), whined about not playing the Bridgeport Tigers in Long island. You have your wish, now, shut up.

Can we stop mentioning Tambellini as a prospect. He will be 25 years old this year. The average age of an NHL player is like 26. He's not a kid anymore. He's a tweener. Like Papeneau.

This year is put up or shut up time for Tambellini.

And Gillies, I think you oversimplified some people's thought process in playing the kids. I'd rather see what the Islanders have in the system than fill the team with middling veterans for the sake of having names on the team. His season in the AHL wouldn't have convinced you Comeau is a player, but his time in the NHL showed he was. This is a rebuilding year anyway, so why not take stock of the players to keep and which needs truly exist within the organization?

I'm really intrigued, by the way, with Eric Nystrom as a UFA. He would definitely be interested in coming home and following in his dad's footsteps....in addition, he's willing to drop the gloves (even if his talent in that is questionable). This could be a very good pickup.

Tambellini wont turn 25 until April 13...(after the season ends)

For those who can't count....that means he will be 24 for the entire season.

Try doing some reasearch next time

The Islanders did amass a nice group of prospects for all of those already shooting these guys down. As for next season, there is no reason to get upset if we do bad. We are expected to do bad and that means some great pick in next year's draft. I don't care if we go 0-82-0 as long as we can see the kids playing some decent hockey and hopefully developing. As for Tambellini, this is it. He has one year to prove he can carry his game from the AHL to the NHL and he has all summer to prepare himself for that. Lastly, for the UFAs, the only UFA worth bringing to the Islanders is Georges Laraques and letting him skate on a line with Kip Brennan. That way, they can pummel the hell out of other team's top lines. We may not be able to beat other teams with our young talent, but we might as well just make sure they are scared to be on the ice on Long Island.

Before we all become "Oracles" (except for Steady, he IS the Oracle), let's see who we get starting July 1st. After the free agents have been signed, then we can start predicting as much as we want. I myself like the youth movement because we will be removing the dead weight of the youngsters this year instead of the veterans.

I hope Tambellini has a great year. He and Neilson both deserve at least one last chance to play for the big club. We will know by November or December. Put the Bridgeport line of last year together, and roll with it. If some are convinced that next year is already lost, then playing the kids is the way to go. It won't take Nolan and the staff long this year to see who stays and who goes.

I may be the only optimist here, but i don't think we'll be that bad if the kids get going in the right direction.

Netminder You brought up an very interesting point. Does the coaching staff that was here last year deserve to return? I am excluding Nolan, as he will undoubtedly be back. But what about the rest of the staff?

Does Gallant rate another chance after fielding the most pathetic power play I ever saw?

How about Dunham after allowing DP to play himself into the ground? Or is Ted to blame for that? Shouldn't Dunham have had some input?

Chabot and Lacroix were more or less non factors during the games but I am sure they did more during practices and strategy sessions. Any opinion on them?

And should Bryan Trottier have a bigger role?

Nolan can't do it alone. Opinions on the hired help?......Sir William

the coming season for the orange-sleeved ones is all about amassing ping pong balls, in the john tavares sweepstakes. i want 6 wins vs the manhattan islanders --after that just a few more. Tavares would look great in orange sleeves between okposo and petrov.

What does Bobby Nystrom do now for a living? Since leaving LI, I am out of the loop...I know Gillies was an insurance guy after playing.....Bobby Nystrom was always around the NVMC.....????

I am surprised he never became an assistant or anything???

I see Tochett became right hand mand to Melrose in Tampa....Bwahahahah....Thank God everyday we have Ted Nolan! What is Tockett going to do, take bets on the length of Barry's mullt by December?

Steady, Nystrom sells employee benefits services on Long Island, at least as of May last year.

As for Tambellini, I still have hope for him. He has a dynamite wrist shot, and last year I think he was trying to be too much of a banger to impress Nolan. He's horrible at throwing the body, though, and he just ended up taking himself out of position more often than not. If he stays a bit more patient, like Comeau does, then I think he'll put some goals up. Or maybe he needs to be traded to a faster, more offensive minded team like Buffalo to flourish. Or who knows...maybe last year really did show that he's nothing more than a career AHLer. But I agree he's not a kid anymore, and it's this year or bust for him.

I've always thought Nielson was a smart center, and hopefully he gets a good look this year.

My take on the draft:

There is no substitute for drafting a potential franchise player and they blew it again. Picking Filatov or Schenn would have restored a little credibility for this organization, both with the rest of the league and the fans. As Pierre Maguire (who I hate) pointed out several times, the top 6 picks in the draft represent players that you can build your team around. Nomatter how much scouting went into their decision to draft Bailey, in Isles County, they blew it again. I give the Leafs a lot of credit for their move because they identified how badly they needed someone who can counter Komisarek on Montreal and they got their guy. Yes, they gave up a ton to move up just two places in the draft but that is a clear sign to their fans that they are dedicated to winning. The Isles did that when they traded for Smyth. They did the opposite on Friday night and it was really such a blow to their supporters, me included.

What the Isles can’t seem to understand is that it takes more than grit, character, and toughness to win a cup. I like what Nolan brings to the team and the team is clearly trying to recruit “Nolan-type” players. However, to their detriment, they always pass on skill if it is packaged in a small frame or if it comes at the expense of some defense or grit. I think that’s a huge problem because you can’t win a Cup with 12 trent hunters. Although I liked the Smyth trade for it's message to Isles fans, I didn't like the crystal clear message that a talented, exciting player like Nilsson will never play for the Isles while Nolan is there. Nilsson will be a very good player for the Oilers and you need players (not many, but a couple) to win. They need to be there to run the power play, carry the puck down the ice, and actually score some goals. I think they viewed Filatov as a Nilsson. They saw him as a soft talent, not a warrior. The Isles seem to be modeling themselves after the Ducks but they don’t realize that the Ducks had Selanne, Perry, Getzlaf and other talent players. They also had a ridiculous defense and someone like Schenn, who some compare to Phaneuf, would have been a good start.

My take on the team next year:

You are deluding yourselves if you believe that:

1. We will sign a legitimate scoring winger after July 1st;
2. We will sign a legitimate power play point man after July 1st;
3. We will end up with one of the first two picks in the draft next year.

I am usually not so pessimistic and I hate to say it but we are looking at the worst case scenario. Our team next year will be full of hard-working players who will be well-coached and disciplined. With a healthy DiPietro, they will be too good to finish in the bottom 3 but not good enough to make the playoffs. This is truly a difficult pill to swallow because it is starting to look like we are destined for mediocrity until the team gets a new building to attract UFAs and drafts a little smarter so that we build around talent and grit. This is Year One of a Five Year Plan.

I think the Islanders blew the draft and I'm not surprised that either a committee of idoits or a backup goalie would be able to make an intelligent choice. The Islanders clearly have no clue. They needed to draft a potential impact player that can crack the line THIS YEAR, not in 3 years. This will have also created some buzz so they might have a chance to sell out a handful of games. Instead, the Islanders sacrified quality for quantity hoping that their top pick can develop into a 3rd liner. I see a year with no playoffs and a awful product with 5,000 people in the stands. I will be shocked if they sign a big time guy on July 1st. Instead they'll settle for the second coming of Jon Sim. I have not been on this blog for awhile and I have not heard from Hilbert Hears a Who in a long time. I'm always enlightened and entertained by his responses.

Gabe and Fred....

Why bother?

Wake me up when Bergenheim signs on the dotted line.

Funny how you 2 guys suddenly came in and piled on after almost everyone posting here had gotten over it. Gabe, if this is Year 1 of a 5-year plan, wouldn't that almost by definition mean we're in the worst possible place at this particular moment? Seems to me that when a plan is first started, it's the farthest from completion. I'll admit to being angry, hell you can see me on the video from the draft party talking about how much I wanted a different player, but I have to say that I'm very happy to have a GM who behaves the way Snow does, potential bobbleheadedness notwithstanding. We had a very deep draft, to the point of people here being thrilled about guys we got in the lower rounds, and with the prospect cupboard bare there needed to be an infusion of depth at all levels. He showed with the Smyth deal that he is willing to roll the dice, and he proved during this draft that he's willing to make an unpopular decision because he thinks it's the best for the team. I don't see the same impulsiveness and absence of a plan we saw from Milbury every second of every day.

As for you, Fred, way to recycle the talking points from 2 years ago. Yes, we have a backup goalie that went to the GM's chair. It's old news. The committee structure is a formalization of something every team does (how many GM's that aren't named Holland or Lamoriello give out big-money contracts without the owner's approval, and how many people acquire a player without knowing the coach approves and will play him?). By your logic, and looking back on what we'd already known, you would have been screaming bloody murder if this team passed on Zherdev in 2003 and drafted Ryan Getzlaf. After all, Zherdev was called an impact player, and Getzlaf had question marks. Seems like the right move now, doesn't it? Nobody that isn't Steady the Oracle knows for sure what kind of career these kids will have, so to say this team is finished based on conjecture is just insane.

Also, if I recall, our friend Hilbert Hears a Who posts maybe 10-15 times a year, and I haven't seen him in months. Funny how you always compliment him, and he posts minutes afterward. It's almost like you're the same person or something. I want to play too: man that guy Nick is a genius and one of the sexiest men alive. I always look forward to reading his posts.

Gabe ... thanks for joining the party late ... and giving your analysis ... you feel like almost all of us Islander fans felt .... last Friday night that is ... but a large number of us did an about face after seeing what the Islanders got in return .... in a VERY DEEP DRAFT ... if you have looked at the players drafted .. FIVE of them were all ranked in the TOP 30 of the ISS rating ... the ISS is historically the most accurate of the rating systems because it's a composite ... and of course it's much more accurate than The Hockey News' and TSN's pundint driven analysis.

You have to keep in mind the rankings are a snap-shot of where that particular player finished among his peers in the opinions of scouts at the time final rankings are established ... these are 18 and yes ... even 17 year olds for god's sake ... I too had to remind myself of that.

Josh Bailey & Filatov are a tick different in skill level ... but from all accounts .. Josh was rated much higher in intangibles ... size, and hockey smarts with the vision and skills wrapped up in a more complete package ... hockey smarts has been a very under rated value among your average hockey fan because you can't see it on the score sheet. Keep in mind ... Filatov was spoke so highly of because of 3 major things ... his energy .... his wrist shot ... and the fact he was a pretty good speaker of English ... oh boy .... he speaks English .... we gotta have him.

I seem to recall we also possessed a Russian with a wicked wrist shot in the recent past.

You must of been listening to the pundints to much .... because the focus was mostly on the top 5 - 6 players at the draft. Now even they changed their tune for the most part. Fans in Toronto are now even second guessing the move up after their euphoric Friday night trade up for Schenn.

The Isles ended up with 5 players that could of been drafted just as easliy in the first round .... does it mean anything? Nope ... not until they are in an Islander sweater tearing it up in the NHL .... and that also goes the same if the Isles drafted Filatov ... or even Schenn ... a nice stay at home D-man with great "potential" and a booming slap shot.... but ya know what? We ended up getting a Finnish rocket launcer in Jyri Niemi (97 mph slap shot) .... look over the draft analysis again Gabe .... then get back to me with your Snow blew it attitude and back it up.

In reality Gabe ... neither one of us can really judge how well this draft shakes out for the Isles for a few years ... as we can't expect to see any of them fighting for a job in the NHL for the next year or two ... and then maybe 3 or 5 years down the line when they enter their peak improvement years.

Schenn .. sure ... he may make the Leafs this season ... good luck to him.

Oh ... and the FA period that you said the Isles will not get a legitimate scoring winger or power play point man ..... yeah, I agree ... we know that already ... there really isn't much out there this season.... and even if the Isles drafted Stamkos .... that wouldn't change that fact.

Isles are building a core of skilled, smart young guns ... they'll add the FA pieces when the team has evolved ... perhaps next summer.

Oh ... and you saying how Toronto showed their fans how they are committed to winning by trading up for the 5th spot ..... just as Snow showed at one time he was when he traded for Smyth .... HA!!! That's a great example Gabe ... lot of good that did the Isles ... and also one of the reasons the Isles had to do what they did this draft .... do you have another helpful example?

Fred.... my last post goes to you too.

My friend (and 505's as well) BD Gallof over at Hockeybuzz posted this interview with a scout over at McKeen's, who gave our draft a B+. I'm posting that segment here in its entirety:

***

Isles Draft Talk Continued . . .

Last night, I spoke to publisher of the McKeen's Hockey Draft Guide, Grant McCagg. Make sure to check out McKeen's Draft Guide and McKeen's Website. Always good stuff.

Grant gave the Isles a B+, one of top 5 drafts. But, there were a couple things they didn't like. Isles had a shot at the top 6 of top 75, and chose to move back. Especially did not like the fact we had a shot at Luke Schenn and did not take it.

"Luke Schenn might have been one of the best defensive prospects perhaps in the last 20 years. He is the kind of guy to build your defense around."

But, when I ask Grant about the Isles passing on Filatov or Boedker, he is far less disliking the Isles move. (The rated Boedker higher than Filatov, by the way).

Between Filatov and Bailey: "Might have picked Bailey. Bailey is a special player. And in terms of the Isles needs at center, seems reasonable. Isles didn't go wrong at building at center."

"Bailey is good. Could be a #1 center. 50-60 assist guy, plus leadership, character and smarts. In fact, we felt he was one of the top 3 smartest players in the draft. Won’t hurt on either end. Small town guy, very likable."

In fact, with Bailey and Trivino, the Isles might have their 1st and 2nd line centers all set down the line.

Corey Trivino: Skinny and a bit perimeter are his weakspots. Could turn into a solid 2nd line center. Lot of skill. Could be 2nd line. Not elite. But have that upside.

Aaron Ness: Could be a good powerplay QB. Small though. Tinier than Berard.
Ness won’t be your most defensive blueliner. As good as Del Zotto, though, who the Rangers took in round 1. Very comparable.

Travis Hamonic: does hit, but only will be so effective. 5th or 6th defenseman

David Toews: One teams head scout was very effusive on him. Flashes of a 1st rounder, perhaps. But inconsistent. Not a great skater, and only 5 foot 10 inches tall.

Jyri Niemi: Can’t skate very well. Bad reads and issues in own zone. Powerplay specialist, perhaps. Kind of guy who won’t be seen in the last minutes of a game if trying to hold a lead.

MAB part 2?

Kirill Petrov: Best pick on value. Big kid with skill. Could play on top 2 lines if all falls into place. Other McKeen's scouts think highly of him.

David Ullstrom: Big kid with scoring skills. Latebloomer.

Kevin Poulin: Interesting pick. Was a top 10 coming in last year. Character questions. Coach at nationals felt was one of those people you thought was least likely to be an athlete.

Kind of like Wade?

Jared Spurgeon: Mckeens high on him. Smart, skilled, yet tiny dman.

Justin DiBenedetto: Like it for a 7th pick. Not a bad player. Good junior. At the least will produce in ahl. Last two picks were good. Preferred over some other picks.

Grant felt our last two picks were excellent, and better picks than some of those before it. And, what should comfort us at night, is that he felt we had a much better draft than the NY Rangers.

Thanks to Grant and make sure to check out McKeen's Hockey.

I had a relative who worked with Nystrom in the 80's during the summer, this is when players had to work after the season was over because money is nothing what it is today.

Nystrom was the dumbest person he ever met and couldn't even spell the most common words of the English language, not exactly illiterate like Jacques Demers, but close to it.

Nick ~

I'd also like to add to your analysis posted from McKeen's hockey that as I speak with my friend Julien from that pro-scouting service company ... he said that they actually have to re-analyze the entire Islander prospect system ... because these picks vault the Isles to a much higher depth level then where they were at.

Julien's associate also mentioned that Snow's first great pick was making Janks (that is what he calls Ryan Jankowski) ... Asst. GM and head of amatuer scouting two years back.

Janks is one of the most talented scouting analysts that exists today and he's relatively young in his mid 30s. He comes from the Team Canada organization and knows Canadian talent and European Talent (Isles had him as a Euro scout apparently) VERY WELL....

They were very high on the Isles draft ... and put the Isles draft up there with other big winners LA and Tampa.... as Julien put it ... the Isles didn't get the biggest steak at the draft ... but they got the most hardy servings ... and dessert too.

And the best thing the Isles did was the players they took ... they are fully aware of the positives and negatives of each player .... and this time ... the Isles have a great development organization run by Trotts that can help improve the pluses .... and elimintate / reduce the negatives .... because ... as Julien put it .... EVERY player has flaws when they are 17 and 18 ... and the easiest things to work on at that age is skating, passing and defense .... it's much harder to teach a player to pass at high speed through traffic or thread the needle with an impossible angle shot ... and Hockey IQ is next to impossible to teach ... it's there or it's not ... and the Isles made sure they drafted kids with all the characteristics that would make them diamonds in the rough.

Julien pointed out that many of the players the Isles selected were in the process of moving up in huge strides in their skill sets during the last half of last season ... the Isles plucked them on the rise ... and it remains to be seen how much more they will rise next year in Juniors and College... because there were lots of foul language directed at the Isles draft table on Saturday from other teams'.

Julien also mentioned how in Canada ... there is a buzz about that team south of the border on this Long Island and how did they manage such a good draft.

Julien also said that a combo of Janks and Snow at the helm might actually become a power play management team ... because as naieve as Snow might come across ... he's actually schrewd and has a good head for business. Snow just needs to learn a little more tact when he addresses an issue ... notably .. the little back in forth between him and coach U of Minn. coach regarding Okposo moving on the pro-hockey ... and the Nolan / Snow exchange regarding playing Dubie over DP.

I know Snow still has much to prove to me ... but I'm encouraged ... he made a HUGE stride in the court of my own opinion of him ... and because I genuinely like Snow ... I'm pretty happy about that.

What happens to Sillinger? Does he retire?
They made qualifying offers to Nielsen and Walter, and they want to give them both legit shots… what happens to Sillinger?
there's just no room on this team for 7 centers... and no #1 in the bunch.

There have got to be some moves in July…

Tambellini-ToeDragger-Guerin
Okposo-Nielsen-Bergenhiem
Comeau-Walter-Hunter
Jackman-Park-Sim

??? Sillinger, Hilbert, Colliton, Bailey, Trivino

I'm not that high on tambellini, but if he can shape his game as a tenacious forechecker and a finisher with Comeau and Comrie on the PP he could make it a better team.
The previous post that said he only hurts the team when he finishes his checks was dead on. He's the only NHLer I can rememeber that leaves himself in a heap after delivering a hard hit.

The 2nd-3rd lines I constructed are prett much interchangeable jigsaw puzzles that will be moving guys from the ??? line in and out through November. Sim may be the only solid NHL 2nd line forward in the bunch, but who do you take the opportunity away from to give him the ice time he deserves.

I can't see Sillinger on the team and not playing... the same goes for Hilbert. Snow still has a lot of work to do.

FYI:

On the Isles website they are reporting that 5 Isles prospects were invited to the Team Canada development camp ... which kicks off the selection process to represent team Canada at the WJC .... the 5 players from one team is the highest in the NHL ... 3 is the next with Tampa, LA and Carolina all having 3.

That is a positive revelation.

I wonder how many other Isles' prospects will be invited to the other national teams' camps?

I'm really happy to hear that analysis. Did Julien mention any specific players that he liked, or was it the same that we've been hearing since the draft?

I have high hopes for Trivino...Going to BU he'll likely slot in as the 2nd line center behind Colin Wilson. He'll have a chance to bulk up and work on playing a smarter 2-way game. I hope it can benefit him. I also think college will give Toews and Ness an opportunity to develop and, dare I say it, grow a bit, both physically and as players.

As for Sillinger....Greg, this is for you: Can we please get an update on the current state of his injury? I'm not very optimistic since it's a hip injury and he's an older player, but there's been radio silence across the board on this. Any information at all?

You are right JP ... Snow still has a lot of work to do ... and I see some trades before the season even starts ....

Bailey has a chance to make the team this season ... Trivino ... 100% no ... he's committed to go to BU this fall and has to build up physically ... he's still a kid in a kid's body.

I guess I picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue!

While I'm here I might as well weigh in on the draft.
I think this was a positive for Snow. I wasn't sold on Filatov after seeing the condition that the combine workouts left him in. I would have thought he was going to be one of those guys with 40 goal potential, but he only plays in 60 games per season... and is done in about 7 years.
I didn't think that Schenn was worth the pick with Sutton on the payroll. They just signed Hillen and campoli is on the cusp of being a solid NHL puck mover. They needed a center, and they need a kid with character. Jordan Nolan played with Bailey all year, what more information could you get than when the coaches son is in a locker room with the kid... and the kid puts up top ten numbers. Bailey is a very good pick, especially when he helps you load up on second and thrid round picks.

that being said I am very confused about not making Spiller a qualifying offer. My logic being that he is much more valuable than Gervais, and would cost less over time.
Gervais had an excellent playoff series vs Buffalo, but disappeared again last year. He's a mediocre puck mover and when he's not playing physical he is LOST... and he doesn't like to play physical, because he is fragile.
He's a good character guy, but he is not a PHYSICAL character guy. This team needs that on the third pairing. Spiller grades out to be the 7th or 8th D on this team, but he's a nice fill in for divisional games when somebody is hurt or needs a rest.
They have Marty and Campoli are pretty much locks. That leaves two spots for Gervais, Meyer, Hillen, Kohn and anybody else they might sign. There isn't anybody in that group that scares anybody. Spiller isn't fast, but he does make you think twice before you dance arond the front of the net with your stick in DP's face (if you know what I mean).

Nick ~

Julien said it's more of a concensus of how the drafts went for each organization, and how it affects their prospect pool.

He said a player like Bailey could of been ranked higher or lower depending on a team's needs. Bailey has more upside ... so he could even surpass Boedker, Beach and Wilson because he's making bigger strides in his progress than any one of those three players ... and says vision that Bailey possesses is rare if Bailey can improve on his first couple of steps ... he's going to be on lots of highlight films.

Keep in mind ... Julien works for a pro-scouting organization ... they mostly watch players that were previously drafted ... so yeah .. they are getting their info from amateur scouts .... right now they are building profiles for ALL the drafted players.... and on a side note .... I know Zilch about Poulin ... but Julien said his colleague was very high on his potential .... the skinny on him is that he can be a brick wall on some nights ... and swiss cheese on others.. very inconsistent .. but when he's on ... he reminds him of his favorite goaltender .... Luongo ... LOL!! One can only hope. However when he's off ... he looks like he's over compensating and reminds him of a defender covering an empty net when the goalie is pulled for an extra attacker ... I said .... well ... thanks for clearing that up.

I keep hearing that the Isles thought Filatov would drop further. As much as has been said about Bailey, Isles seemed to also make Zach Boychuk and Colin Wilson think they were moving back for them. So, there might have been a lot of sweet talkin going on before...and to quote Pee Wee on the after:

"I meant to do that!"

I think Bailey was highly regarded, but Isles might have been playing some cards at the draft and got caught on the river.

I'm actually a co-worker of Fred & not an alias for him. I do frequent the boards but not as much as he does. Just wanted to clear that up.

As much as the idea of stockpiling draft picks could potentially be a good one, there's a good chance it could backfire too. I remember SI calling the 1999 NHL Entry Draft as one of the deepest in years, where the Isles had 3 picks in the top 10. They turned out to be Tim Connolly, Taylor Pyatt & Branislav Mezei. (Though to be fair, that was the year Patrik Stefan went #1 overall, the Rangers picked Pavel Brendl & Jamie Lundmark in the top 10 & the Sedin Twins were all the rage so everyone pretty much had a sucky draft - except Detroit who ended up with Henrik Zetterberg).

Let's say for argument sake that Snow did his homework & every prospect he picked this year becomes a star player, (highly unlikely but hear me out). This would mean that most of their contracts will be up around the same time. We wouldn't be able to keep them & we're back to where we started. Now of course, of the 13 selections in the draft, maybe 5 at the most will turn out to be NHL caliber players, (not NHL caliber stars mind you, but probably see at least a cup of coffee & possibly more). Why didn't Snow take some of the 2nd & 3rd round picks we acquired & trade them for a Mike Cammalleri or Alex Tanguay? That's pretty much what the teams that traded for them gave up. Olli Jokinen was traded for a couple of decent defensemen & picks. The Isles could've done that. Yes there's the argument that nobody wants to play on Long Island or for that team but Jokinen has been here before so he would've known what to expect. (Yes he would've had to deal with Andrew - you autograph seekers know about him - but it still would've been a better fit to get an established scorer over picks you hope work out.

I'm not a fan of drafting bloodlines. That's why Brett Lindros & Ted Drury didn't work out as well as Eric Lindros & Chris Drury. Eric Nystrom, though another top 10 pick, is not going to be the player Calgary thought he was. That's why he's unrestricted & should not be picked up by the Isles because there will be the comparisons to Bobby, which Eric will not come close to & he'll get booed off the ice. Toews's brother, whom the Islanders drafted, to me, is just another in a long line of players drafted for their name rather than their talent.

When you have high draft picks, the best bet is to hold on to them. Pittsburgh had Crosby #1 overall, Fleury #1 overall, Malkin #2 overall, Staal #2 overall, Whitney a high 1st rounder & Hossa, (who was drafted high in the 1st round by Ottawa & traded to Pittsburgh for another 1st rounder). Fine, Crosby is a once-in-a-generation player but the Pens didn't do too badly when he was out for a month this season. They had other highly drafted players make a high impact. If you look at the past Cup winners over the last 20 years, they have ALL had high 1st rounders on their team. (Pronger, Lecavalier, Staal, Modano, Sakic, Brodeur, Yzerman, Shanahan, etc.) Plus, they also either had, signed or traded for a "superstar" talent, (Hasek, Bourque, Recchi, Selanne, etc.). You win the Cup with talent, not just good, gritty hard working players. Those type of players should compliment the superstars & 1st liners, not try to BE the superstars or 1st liners. A team of 20 Trent Hunters will always lose to the team of 3 Alexander Ovechkins & 17 marginal players.

Let's hope Garth is not asleep on July 1 as he was last year when all the top free agents went to other teams while he had to scramble around to sign Jon Sim. While we're not getting Hossa or Campbell on our team, Michael Ryder, Kristian Huselius, Brendan Morrison, Markus Naslund & Ryan Malone could all be signed & instantly give us some respectability. If however, the Isles do nothing on July 1 & 2 days later sign Pavol Demitra, that'll tell you the mindset of the team.

Hilbert ... the Isles are rebuilding ... they are starting with a little bit of a head start ... they got players in the draft that they can build a core around Okposo and DP ... no leading FA is going to want to come on a rebuilding team ... that is 2 to 3 years of pain..... you can bring up all this first round overall picks al you want ... but the only way that falls in the Isles lap is if they finish dead last... which I would find it hard to believe the Isles would do.

FA's come after the core of players are established ... and like I said before ... you can't build a team from FA's ... you need a talented youth core to also entice a top notch FA .. because they see a winner.

This season will be another hard one ... I'm pre-pared for that ... but willing to endure that for a solid secure future.

Oh, by the way, here's a comparison of Zherdev to Getzlaf:

Gm Go A Pts
2005-06 Anaheim Ducks NHL 57 14 25 39
2006-07 Anaheim Ducks NHL 82 25 33 58
2007-08 Anaheim Ducks NHL 77 24 58 82
NHL Totals 216 63 116 179

Gm Go A Pts
2005-06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 73 27 27 54
2006-07 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 71 10 22 32
2007-08 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 82 26 35 61
NHL Totals 206 63 84 147

Zherdev has as many goals as Getzlaf & only 32 points less, most of which occurred during Getzlaf's breakout season last year. (I'd still rather have Getzlaf on my team but Zherdev is hardly a disappointment. Plus, put Ryan on Columbus & Zherdev on Anaheim & Nikolai would probably be the breakout star.)

Doesn't that reinforce my exact point? The day after the draft I posted analysis from the 03 draft that said Getzlaf had a ceiling as a 3rd line center and Zherdev was a dazzling talent who would form a deadly 1-2 punch with Rick Nash. If the pick that was panned at the time has more points than the guy projected to be a superstar, wouldn't that make the point rather than refute it?

Note to Garth, Ted, Guerin, DP, Witt, Comrie, KO and the rest of the Islanders....

Dear Islanders,

Don't bother.
Mail the 2008/09 season in.
Sit back, collect your millions and don't hurt yourselves.
Cuz your fans have already written you off.
Your fans are all self-appointed experts and in their infinite knowledge and competitive spinelessness they have determined that you guys are absolute worthless bums and don't stand a chance than anything better than a lottery pick next year.
So why bother?
Suppress your own inner drive for competitive excellence, the drive that has gotten you further in sports life THAN ANY OF THESE WORTHLESS POS COUCH POTATOES, and simply give your fans what they want and expect.
Which is a reason to whine and complain and make themselves feel superior because, "they know what's gonna happen".

And don't forget.......
Laugh all the way to the bank.....
Cuz it's their money you are collecting.
If they are comfortable and secure with a miserable season.....
There's no reason you should be any different.

Sincerely
Islander505

P.S.
I take comfort in knowing that YOU GUYS...are 100X better people and ATHLETES than your fans.

Well a lot has transpired since last Friday night when 19 Isles and I lost our heads after the Isles traded down to 9th.

Like 19 Isles I had time to reflect. He turned it around on Saturday. It took me time to look over the picks and compare how other teams did first.

I think all in all the Isles did a mighty fine job. We have to start supporting these kids and let them know we believe in them and welcome them to the organization with open arms. The venom for these kids is ridiculous. All they did was get drafted after years of playing in the most competitive amatuer leagues in the world.

19 was telling me how there were still downer fans posting like they knew the draft talent more than Snow and Jankowski, and call the draft a failure. Ya know what? We don't need fans like that.

I believe that sure, the Isles are going to have a long season. But in the process they are going to grow, and maybe perhaps jump into a playoff spot. 19 believes the Isles are always in it because of DP, and I'm with him on that.

Where we differ is that I think that it's going to take a big trade to get them there. I think that trade will happen now that the Isles have assembled some prospects. I see Gervais on the trading block possibly. Thoughts?

In my mind, I see that Snow has taken a cold, hard, analytical look at the talent here and has begun the process of seperating the wheat from the chaff. His vision for the future is a good one and he seems like he has the will to stick to it.

Snow appears to me to be modelling his team after the Sabres. A lot of good players, not necessarily great players and no one superstar like a Crosby or Ovetchkin.

Let's stop all that talk about last place, now. If you follow hockey at all you would know that Toronto has decimated their team and that they will be the front runners in the Taveras sweepstakes.
The Lightening may have more firepower, but they still have no one who can stop the puck. The Kings and Blues will take baby steps forward but not giant leaps. And several other teams are weaker because of player movement. The Isles may not make the playoffs but they will not finish last.....Sir William

The tale of the tape will be told here on July 1 St. If Snow is able to grab two young FA's and sign them to long term deals then the game is afoot. If he can't, then it will be all about which kids can cut the mustard and which ones can't. One way or another the heard will be thinned out. Snow has already started the process by not offering qualifiers to several "marginal" players. Look for a few others not to make the team in October and be placed on waivers........Sir William

Well for whatever reason the editor is holding my post about the draft.
In essence, I stated that the Isles coud have only picked one Schenn or Filtov. So all you doubters out there can make your choice and get back to us in 3 years and let us know how you feel about it then.......Sir Willaim

Sir W ~ Good analysis .... Kevin M told me yesterday exactly what you just said .... that after he had a few days to think about the draft want what we already have .... that the Islanders look like the Sabres did a few years ago... the key is to build a team where these players will want to stay in 5 or so more years ... I like what Tampa did with Vinny .... Since he's just hitting his prime ... that long term contract is structured both for the long term benefits of the team and for Vinny ... not too long ... and not short .....

If you noticed lately a lot of teams have been locking up their "franchise" players for really long terms. A good hedge against rising player salaries.

I heard about Straka going to a Czech League next year on the radio ... and of course they had to speculate that Jagr might follow .... what is the deal with Jags anyway? Is he waiting to see what he's worth on the open market? or waiting for the Rangers to make him an offer before July 1st?

It looks like the isles won't be alone in the "rebuilding" process.
The difference is that Sundin makes them instantly respectable again. We can offer Hossa the development rights to Eisenhower Park and all the Bay Scallops he can eat in a lifetime and he still won't play for us.

The key to turning this franchise around is by turning around it's image of instability. They can do that tomorrow by giving Nolan another 3 years, and make decisions on their arena that aren't anchored by the "Lighthouse Project".

JPinVA ~ Absolutely ... the Isles need to project an image of stabilty .... on the ice and off the ice ... just one or the other will not work alone.

Does anyone else believe that TO is jockeying to tank the season?

I think LA also sent that message since Tampa did a better job in 08 at tanking. Sending Cammaleri off was part of that plan.

The Isles are not going to do that.

Need I say that the comment at 17:31 was not me?

BTW troll, keep it up...
(That comment you left on the Met's blog yesterday under my handle was a beaut).
We just about got your identity and location zeroed in.

Hilbert:
Thanks for clearing the identity thing up. I think your point is that you can still do both, build a team for the future and still let your fans know you want to compete and not throw the year. You can still get a few good quality free agents and compete while letting you prospects grow. Being a long time Islander fan who will still go to a few games this year thanks to a company discount, I have zero confidence in this management team to get things done. Just be prepared for a long year. I think that anybody is crazy if you think you can count on DP. He is injury prone and selfish and is bound to break down again when he want to play every game and the coaching staff says yes. Also, I jumped in a little late on this blog due to work, home, family, etc. Normal stuff that us busy people deal with on a daily basis.