LOOK WHO CAME TO LONG ISLAND THURSDAY
John Tavares sighted at the Nassau Coliseum
5:35 pm - According to a pair of eyewitness accounts provided to Point Blank, potential 2009 first overall draft pick John Tavares spent Thursday on Long Island. The 18-year old center was spotted inside the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the morning and was said to still be on the grounds at 3:00 pm.
Repeated calls and emails to members of the Islanders organization by this writer were not returned. When we received evidence from a second witness who provided believable details, Point Blank decided to go with this story. In a shining example of a newspaper pro kicking a novice blogger’s butt, Greg Logan – citing a source close to Tavares – posted this report a half-hour ago.
The meeting with Tavares is just the first of several with highly-ranked prospects available in the June draft. Point Blank has already reported that prized Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman is scheduled to come to New York the first week in June. The Islanders have also set a date with Brampton center Matt Duchene.
A source tells Point Blank that the Islanders could have as many as 7 or 8 prospects in for visits. Whether those meetings are all with top-10 players – such as Magnus Pajaarvi-Svensson, Evander Kane and Brayden Schenn – for a possible trade-down at the draft is unclear at this point.
The Islanders could also have sessions with players under consideration with their 26th overall selection or in a trade-up to the middle of the pack. As we have speculated, prospects in this category include big and skilled forwards Zach Kassian, Carter Ashton and Chris Kreider.
It is intriguing, however, that the Islanders have kept the details of their visit from Tavares a secret and would not even respond to calls for a confirmation of the meeting. A day later, and not even Canada knew. That’s an NHL record, and admirable.
There’s the school of thought the Islanders are merely doing their homework on Tavares just as they will with Hedman, Duchene and the rest.
Then there’s another theory. John Tavares is the potential offensive star in this draft. Before some cage-rattlers started throwing around the names of Victor Hedman and even Matt Duchene as No. 1s after the Islanders won the lottery, Tavares had been the projected top pick for years. He’s No. 1 according to NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau and the International Scouting Service. He’s the People’s Choice – by a 75% vote, conservatively – in Islanders Country. And then understand Tavares has played his last game before the draft, as have Hedman and Duchene. There are no more games to scout.
So the question to ponder is this: would the Islanders spend a day hosting Tavares on the first grand tour – and keep it a state secret – if he is not truly No. 1 in their eyes?
I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything, nah. Give us your take in Comments.
82 Responses to LOOK WHO CAME TO LONG ISLAND THURSDAY
John Tavares sighted at the Nassau Coliseum
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shappy says:
I hope the showed him more of LI than the coli. We dont want him thinking the whole island looks like that dump.
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themass says:
Absolutely agree with rob on the first post. This got me soooo fired up. Now if the damn Lighthouse would get approved we could start talking
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bergie20 says:
considering we’re doing the exact same thing with duchene and hedman and possibly other players, i don’t think it means much. i really wish we could get this draft done with already. 6 more long weeks to go.
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Johnny Islander says:
Answer to the “question to ponder”…
Considering this is the franchise that will not divulge whether a player has a hangnail or requires amputation, and has been known to be less than forthcoming with information of other sorts in the past… Yes, their secrecy has no bearing, nor sheds no light on their intentions. We will probably find out about Hedman’s and Duchene’s vists in similar fashion.
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rob section 315 says:
Great story CB. So glad this was kept hush hush.. were is TSN now?
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YellowHat says:
He was actually seen hanging out with DP. In fact they looked pretty chummy as he pushed DP around in his wheelchair.
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Chris Mc says:
I really hope JT nailed the visit yesterday and cemented in Garths mind that hes the man. I dont care what anyone says, the fact that this is going down like covert ops and yet we knew about Hedman and Duchesne coming to visit and when, speaks volumes.
Im not comparing Tavares to Ovechkin so dont go crazy on me, but in 2004 the Caps had 2 first round picks…the 1st overall, Ovechkin. And then Number 29, Mike Green.
Take JT Number 1 Garth and then find the Isles their Mike Green with Number 26!
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Isle be Damned says:
With the exception of preventing a handful of reporters show up to ask him questions, I don’t see how keeping this meeting a secret is to anyones advantage. either way, nice to see they met with him already. i hope they liked what they heard.
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Yanks26 says:
Good news, good news. Hope he enjoyed his visit to Long Island and the old barn that he will(hopefully) help fill up for years to come. I wonder if he saw any Nigerian dwarf goats?
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Coach B says:
Speaking of the draft if you want to do a little scouting tonight, Jordan Caron and Rimouski play Kelowna in a Memorial Cup game tonight at 7 eastern time on NHL Network.
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G. HOWITT says:
I don’t think JT is the all around best player in the draft i like Brenyden Shenn. JT is the most Marketable with his goal scoreing….
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Mikey says:
Thanks for the scoop CB. I’m not sure what to make of this. You could also theorize that he isn’t their top choice, but they kept it a secret because they don’t want to get their fans’ hopes up. It’s hard to psychoanalyze these things.
On a related note, I don’t always agree with your opinions, but you have a right to your own opinion on your own blog. However, you do not have a right to your own facts. Your post says that Tavares has been the projected top pick “for years.” However, I just did a quick Google search and found reports from ISS and Red Line published October/November 2008 that have Hedman number one. That’s five months BEFORE the Isles won the lottery. I love your site, but it’s important not to twist the facts.
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AZS says:
A little credit would be nice!
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gary9-19-22 says:
Fall 2009, NVMC
Starting at center, numbber 91….. John TAA-VAAA-RAAAAASSSS.And the crowd shakes the old barn like it hasn’t in years….
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Rob76 says:
Gary-(13) From your lips to God’s ears
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Keep them all in the dark Garth.. Keep them guessing and begging….
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BringtheReign says:
its true. my buddy works at the garden city hotel and spotted him broke me the news. at least hes in a nice hotel out of uniondale.
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michael says:
nothing like some good disinformation!! make everyone thing you’re taking hedman, heck go ahead and tell tampa thats what your gonna do and bob m. and then turn around and take tavares and give everyone in toronto a big FU! ah, dreams..
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rb says:
I hope he left with a complimentary copy of Islanders 10 Greatest Games…for all the foibles of Milbury, Tavares can be the guy to restore a winning tradition — just like Steve Yzerman in Hockeytown
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JT = sellouts = media coverage from all over = lighthouse and one – higher ticket prices
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Neil says:
CB, you touched on it a little in your post, but I’d like to see you opine on this a little further one day. We all understand you can’t GM by what your fans want, but are the Isles truly aware of what the fan backlash would be if they don’t take Tavares. People talk about the business positives of taking JT. What about the reverse…the fans feeling the organization (again) has gone out of its way to stick their thumb in the fan’s collective eye? Might the season ticket base utterly collapse in protest? Might what support there is for the Lighthouse disappear? People eventually warmed up to the Bailey trade…imagine somethin 100x worse.
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KO21 says:
Hope he didnt try and sabotoge his chances!
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Matt says:
exciting to say the least.
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isles72 says:
I’m lovin the low key approach so far.
none of this amateur night ”Seen Stamkos” junk that the Dolts fed everyone last year.
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Solid point Neil!! Hope to me take JT and try to move up in the 1 round on there second pick….
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Dan says:
If this was football and the GM was Bill Parcells do you think that he would tell you a thing. Not a chance!!!! Why put all their cards on the table. Maybe some stupid GM wants to give us their entire draft so they can pick Tavares. Everyone looks to the negative so lets see what happens on draft day and then either cheer or vent and scream.
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leviticus says:
“So the question to ponder is this: would the Islanders spend a day hosting Tavares on the first grand tour – and keep it a state secret – if he is not truly No. 1 in their eyes?”
and the answer is, of curse they would!! The fans…and even this blog, will NOT determine who gets drafted…or at least it shouldn’t!
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This is a great sign. Absolutely no need to broadcast this meeting to the hockey world. You know the Toronto media would swoop down here and RUIN the entire meeting if they knew about it! Brian Burke himself would go undercover and try to sabotage John’s stay on Long Island. If the need to draft this kid is obvious to us fans, then I’m SURE it’s as obvious to Snow. Finally, I have faith.
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The Islanders dropped the secrecy of player injuries after Logan haranged them in his blog (never mind that the NHL instituted the rule), so I’m not worried about the Isles keep mum about a hangnail, or belly ache.
I’d really like to think that the fact that Tavares’ meeting wasn’t publicized is indicative that the team has him as their pick. I wonder if it is just Garth, Wang and the scouting staff meeting with JT, or does he find some players who can show JT what Long Island has to offer.
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beaker says:
# 11, dont believe everything you read on google. just because two places had that doesnt mean the consensus opinion was tavares at no. 1
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Anthony O. says:
“In a shining example of a newspaper pro kicking a novice blogger’s butt…”
CB, don’t say that. I come to this site multiple times per day, and Logan’s once a week. You are the epitome of a professional, and our Islanders community is grateful to have you. I think everyone else can agree…
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Jimmy Mac says:
Guys… Tavarses is the first pick overall.
He is the best player in this draft.
He has goal scorer hand. He has a great shot. He gets into position. He has great hockey sense.
He will most probable be comparable to Brett Hull… lots of goals. Power Play God…lol.
We need the marketing, people in the seats, and goal scoring over anything else right now.
Hopefully we sign Komi in the offseason… maybe 5 year 30 million.
We need a goalie to play at least 30 games, and be good enough to start all season if we need him too… DP Issues..lol.
Hopefully we will move out of the basement, and be a decent team all season.
Worst thing that can happen… we draft Taylor Hall next season… might be better than Tavarses.
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Steve says:
Great article in The Hockey News this week by Ken Campbell on how the Isles need Tavares to help get this franchise back on its feet, as he echos many of CBs sentiments. Glad JT is here, I hope it is permanent soon.
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StevieL says:
I hope he was in town being measured for a uniform!! I hope the Ice girls were around!!
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Blizzard says: JT IN THE HOUSE!!!!!
sorry, I got a little excited.
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Robert says:
Geez the rumors are flying… Did he get here on a saucer shaped object like the one that landed in Roswell?? I’m just waiting for my draft preview mags to show up so I can read about who we should target at 26, 31, 37…. The rest of these rumors are getting redundant.
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the secrecy doesn’t mean anything to me..all it means is that they didn’t want throngs of media and fans bothering the poor kid. I lost my faith in this organizaion a long time ago. The day I believe the Islanders draft tavares, will be on draft day, and I hear it from garth’s mouth! Otherwise, I will still be believing they will continue to mess with the fans emotions..No other team does this like the Islanders. Why? Because the Islanders have no clue what to do.
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Jim says:
The tension for all of us long suffering fans is just too much to take. I cannot imagine the fan backlash from this if JT is not the overall #1 pick even though he may not be the best overall player. I doubt that though, as how often can you draft a sniper of this caliber. If he scores 30-40+ goals for us, I’ll accept his defensive lapses. He can be taught to play defense. Did not Arbour teach Bossy? The kid has unbelievable hands and goal scoring instincts. What more could the Isles want at this particular stage in rebuilding. If we were farther along then I could see Hedman as the first pick, but we need some excitement and to put people in the seats. This really puts us at the center of media attention next season. I cannot see us drafting anyone else first at this point, but we will all have to wait and see . . . 6 more weeks, oh my God
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Railbait says:
CB, I distinctly remember reading a post on this site yesterday saying Tavares was at the Coliseum at that moment. It was in all Caps but was removed pretty quickly. So your blog had the info first.
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KevinT123 says:
Has anyone noticed that Tavares looks like Eli Manning?
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mrlbem says:
In that picture he does (thought the same thing, Kevin). But he looks like the Confident Eli–not the Deer in the Headlights Eli.
I hope they showed him the beaches on LI as well as Manhattan while he was here.
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#40 – I was the one who posted on this site that information …it was removed because it was classified as a rumor – which I understand – but for the record I was the one who had that scoop 1st …
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19 ISLE in NJ 22 says:
I like the way that went down… everything should be done on the down low … both parties don’t need a media circus interupting the business at hand.
The NVMC may have been an empty quiet cavernous void when he visited .. perhaps the electronic score boards said “Welcome to Long Island John Tavares” … but on opening night if Garth makes the right choice on June 26th… that kid will hear a THUNDEROUS WELCOME from Islander fans
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perhaps since we are over-analyzing this draft situation or because the isles didnt want a media storm but something is so bizarre about JT’s visit. It was no secret when garth and wang went to see him play his playoff game, so why be secret now? if nothing else, perhaps this is just to drive up the value of trade offers.
but seriously watching pittsburgh, wash, hawks……..you need a young offensive stud!!!!!!!!!! -
Willis says:
AZS – I saw your post yesterday before it was deleted as well – congrats on your part in breaking it lol!
Am I wierd for thinking that these three players will most likely make the rounds of the teams with the top picks? Wouldn’t it be prudent for those teams to have these meet and greets with a few players they are serious about? I don’t think we need to read anything else into it.
I am actually glad that they didn’t publicize JT’s visit. THAT would have made me think if that …circus… word.
Six weeks goes by real fast folks. Get outside when you can and stay busy. Before you know it, it will be time. Anyway, that’s what I’m trying to do. ‘Cept tonight.
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FIsles says:
Hedman was rated on par with Tavares a year ago already as a potential first overall pick. That is a fact. But none of it matters. It’s all about how NYI ranks them. If some respected scouting service suddenly decided that Paajarvi was the best prospect, it wouldn’t make any difference to the Islanders. The Islanders are not about to base their draft selections on other people’s opinions. They have their own evaluation process, and they’ll stick to that. Amen.
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Forgot to mention one thing. I think one major reason they kept this visit under wraps is because they wanted to avoid any possible media intrusion, which would have been expected if the date of the visit was public knowledge. Media intrustion would have interfered with The Process.
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sthomas says:
Thanks Mac..its becoming promising in HEDMAN country!!! Announce Hedman now so we can get the fans excited about the next great d-man in a generation. VICTOR..clapclap VICTOR,clapclap VICTOR clapclap!!!
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Webber says:
Couldn’t agree more with some of the posts saying they hope he didn’t get to see too much of the wasteland we call the coliseum. What an embarrassment that must be for whomever is showing him around. “And here’s where the sewage pipes burst and flooded the locker room with feces, but don’t worry, you won’t be playing here for too long because the town doesn’t want us and the fans don’t show up for the games”. Great sales pitch that must be. Maybe he will pull a Lindros after all.
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isles99 says:
the player tavares reminds me most of is eric staal….great around the net with great hands…..i wouldn’t mind staal’s production on the isles at all…….hedman fans need to wake up and realize that offense wins in today’s nhl supplemented with team defense and hot goaltending.
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rob76 says:
(49) What? Lost much? or am i just not getting your sarcasm?
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the post above me smells like a toronto maple leafs fan…..its no coincedence that tavares’ stock fell after the isles won the lottery folks
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MickeyBoy7 says:
Please Garth…do NOT blow this one.
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bryan says:
patience….it will all be settled soon
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Josh says:
At least they didn’t throw him in the Marriott with glorious views of the Meadowbrook, the brutalist Coliseum, or parking lots.
Chris, I’m not following your logic as to why the team didn’t want to publicize it if he’s their pick. Are you using Pelosi logic or what?
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Eric says:
Komisarik…5 years 30 million?? Are you kididng me for a stay at home dmen? I think he could get 5 mill a but thats aobut Try and Francois Beauchemin. 3 years 10-11 mill.
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*thats aobut it. Try and sign Francois Beauchemin.
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Will OC says:
Snowy is doing a thorough job, can’t hate on that…His track record is satisfactory thus far so I’m behind any decision he makes on Draft day. For the first time in ages I feel comfortable with an Isles GM, never thought I’d see the day.
I wouldn’t take Komisarek at 4.5 let alone 6 mil a year. Plus there is no way to justify giving Komi that money when your Norris quality Dman in Streit is only at 4.1.
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Jim Clark says: Let’s hope after seeing how rinky-dink our operation is, he doesn’t change his mine about not pulling a Lindros or Elway.
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Big Dally says:
Komisarek for the exact money Streit is getting take it or leave it. Yes he’s younger so I would front load the contract and add an extra year on. I love how Garth is handling this thing. He’s gonna take Tavares I think. Or he’s gonna trade down in the top eight, after someone really over pays for the #1 pick…it allows him to really weigh out his options. Like 007 keep it covert baby.
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Geli says:
The last thing we should be doing is showing him the coliseum. Now he’s sure to hold out…
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UIF says:
Just a visit…same as the others. In fact, if you want to drive yourself crazy and really read into it, you can just as easily say they kept it secret because they didn’t want people to draw the conclusion they were going to take Tavares since he’s not their number one. Ultimately, we just won’t know until June.
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Ryan says:
CB, What is the process when they bring someone in? Is it all interviews or is it more of a recruiting type of visit?
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4195mary says:
Don’t know what to make of the fact that Tavares arrives in apparent secrecy, while Hedman’s impending visit is common knowledge. Maybe we’re all over-thinking this a little bit.
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TimQ says:
Everyone is so hung up on Tavares, but the real issue is how do you make the team better (quicker). I think Snow is doing the right thing playing this close to the vest. What if he can swing a deal where he gives up the #1 to get 2 picks in the top 5 (e.g. Hedman, Svensson) without giving up anything else? He can let Brian Burke do the dirty work for him. I realize the whole star power thing, but it takes more than 1 player to get to a competitive level. I’m all for the team concept, and the idea that you focus all your marketing $$$ on a singular face seems ridiculous (and unfair to an 18 yr old)
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Not a Toronto fan, true blue Isles fan since 90′. I just haven’t stuck my head in the sand and forgotten the reality of what’s going on with our team. It doesn’t matter who they pick in the draft if the team’s moving so that’s the priority in my mind right now. I can’t get excited over a number one draft pick until we find out if he’ll actually be able to have a long career in the state of N.Y.
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I think if the Isles take Tavares … you can’t just market on a general “unknown” entity no matter how promising that entity is… I think perhaps using Bailey, Okposo and Tavares together … in a “Young Guns” type campaign would do best … it’s a team sport after all.
Not to mention … there are some more guns on the threshold of establishing themselves in the organization.
A Healty DP God willing with a 1B goalie will put this team back on track … Then shore up the D with UFA … because with cap issues … and a good young developing forward core … the Isles look a lot more attractive … and Streit can attest to that.
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#66, That’s just it, I think the real issue is whether or not our team is going to be able to stay on Long Island no? It seems like everyone has forgotten about this little detail of the teams future and that certainly isn’t going to help keep them around. The fans are the only ones pushing the lighthouse and if we give up who’s going to care, we have to keep the pressure on.
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Al S. says:
Sidney Crosby has 21 points in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs, if he scores 21 points in the next 2 rounds he’ll finish with 42. To put that into perspective our second leading scorer for the year was Kyle Okposo, a rising star in his own right, who finished the season with 39 points. Point being you cant teach scoring, I’m not suggesting Tavares is anywhere near the player Crosby is, but clearly we need Tavares.
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Mario says:
Why does everyone keep saying bad things about us: rinky dink operation, crappy area. They should have played him the leafs-isles series on the jumbotron so he could see how the old barn really rocks when the team is winning. JT JT
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nystrom23 says:
If this doesn’t piss everyone else if I don’t know what will…espn.com reports the nets will break ground in brooklyn this year…ps 2 years ago I spotted bruce rattner at as many as 5 games…care to add insight CB?
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NickyL says:
I want to believe this team will take JT but I can’t help but only see Hedman being picked and the Isles putting their spin on it to make it seem like its what the fans wanted. I bet they even rig that whole fan balloting thing and say “well, the majority wanted Hedman over JT”. I hope they prove me wrong and make the right pick, which is JT.
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doc says:
I think that the Islanders management is doing a great job of keeping the rest of the NHL on their toes… intrigue (in a good way) surrounding the Isles… GM’s are envious of Garth’s position. He has Tavares in his sights… what could be better.
As long as he takes him 1st that is.
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NHL.Com’s new mock draft has Brad Holland saying that the Isles will take Tavares at #1 and Ekman-Larsson (D) at #26.
Adam Kimelman’s draft says Hedman at #1 and Lehner (G) at # 26. Her is hoping we follow Holand’s advice! -
mapisles2025 says:
I want Tavares. A goalie with the 26th pick would be very wise…DP is done.
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Isles Dawg says:
I just have one question. Why would they keep Tavarse meeting a secret and let Ducshene and Hedmans out? Kinda funny that all of a sudden the team is getting a new Defensive Coach? Okay I had two questions…Something still is not right in Hempstead.
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Lou says:
This is a good sign. They already met him once and if they were dead set of Hedman they would not of even had JT come out.
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Victor Hedman says:
DONT DRAFT ME
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I highly doubt they will rig the balloting, to whoever said that above me. After all, the fans spoke right here on PB. They would look dumb when CB announced the lopsided results in favor of Tavares. It was over 90 percent of the fans wanting Tavares. Even if Snow is leaning towards Hedman, he’s going to have to pick Tavares. The fans have the final say. We pay salaries by showing up. By buying jerseys and other merch. Not taking anything away from Hedman, he might be great in time, Tavares is the one that will put butts in the seats. His face will be on the back of a greyhound advertising the Islanders. DP, not so much. Tavares will be the main picture on the calender,yearbook, magnetic schedule and so on. His jersey will sell more then any current Islander, none the less sell in Canada. It just makes sense….it just makes sense.
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The Hockey News just came out w/ their Draft Preview: Here are the Top 20 Rankings: 1- John Tavares..(C-6’0 195 OHL- 56-58-46-104).2- Victor Hedman-(D-6’6 220-Swe-43-7-14-21)…3-Matt Duchene-(C-5’11 200 OHL-57-31-48-79)…4- Jared Cowen-(D-6’5 218-WHL-48-7-14-21)…5- Evander Kane-(C-5’11 160-WHL-61-48-48-96)…6- Brayden Schenn-(C-6’0 192-WHL-70-32-56-88)…7-Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson-(LW-6’1 198-Swe-50-7-10-17)…8-Nazem Kadri-(C-5’11 175-OHL-56-25-53-78)…9- Jordan Schroeder-(RW-5’9 180-College-WCHA-35-13-32-45)…10-David Rundblad-(D-6’2 190-Swe-45-0-10-10)…11-Dmitri Kulikov-(D-6’1 195-QMJHL-57-12-50-62)..12-Simon Depres-(D-6’4 214-QMJHL-66-2-30-32)…13-Oliver Ekman-Larsson-(D-6’2 176-Swe-39-3-14-17)…14-Scott Glennie-(RW-6’1 182-WHL-55-28-42-70)…15-Jacob Josefson-(C-6’0 187-Swe-50-5-11-16)…16-Zack Kassian (RW-6’3 205-OHL-61-24-39-63)…17-Ryan Ellis(D-5’10 173-OHL-57-22-67-89)…18-John Moore-(D-6’2 180-HighSchool-USHL-57-14-25-39)…19-Peter Holland-(C-6’2 190 OHL-68-28-39-67)..20-Carter Ashton-(LW-6’3 200-WHL-70-30-20-50)..I will post #21 thru #40 later…
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Spartiarti - RVC says:
CB, you deleted that kids post saying he saw Tavares other day. I guess he was right.
Wow, The fact that nobody knew about this is reason enough to believe that all these Canadian Columnists that have inside sources that Garth and Co. are taking Hedman are full of it. Hopefully you are right CB and they view him as number one – they kept him on LI a secret but havent kept Hedman, Duchene and others a secret. Six weeks from tonight i hope that he is the newest Islander