DAY 2 NEWS & COMMENTS THREAD
Two goalies and center Casey Cizikas from St. Mike’s
12:35 pm – With the first pick in the sixth round, the Islanders select 6-2 center Anders Lee from Edina HIgh in Minnesota. He is also considered a strong football prospect who could be recruited to play quarterback in Division I.
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11:58 am – With the first pick of the 5th round, the Islanders draft 6-1 defenseman Anton Klementyev of Russia.
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11:23 am – Islanders trade the 91 to Phoenix for a third round pick in 2010. Considering the Coyotes are hurtin’ a bit these days, that pick will be earlier – probably a lot earlier – than 91 next year. With pick 92, the Islanders select 5-10 center Casey Cizikas, who was 16-20-36 in 55 games last season with St. Mike’s of the OHL.
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10:40 am – Islanders trade the 56 to get the 62 and 92. Greg Logan calls Garth Snow’s move “slick.” With the 62 the Islanders draft a 6-5 Swedish goaltender named Anders Nilsson. As I alluded to Thursday night, this is where the analysis ends because I don’t know much about the guy and won’t pretend to. The Islanders taking two goaltenders this early, though, is a story.
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10:27 am - Mikko Koskinen would appear to be another reach – after going with the obvious choice in Tavares, the NYI are certainly back to, uh, doing the unexpected. But it’s a fascinating pick when you consider the subplots. Koskinen is 21 in a month. There’s the Rick DiPietro health issue. There’s the old story about Charles Wang suggesting a sumo wrestler would make a good goalie. There’s the realization that the Islanders have two goalie coaches, plus a GM and head coach who were former goalies. Sudsie Maharaj is the team’s goalie consultant who does a lot of scouting, so this pick must have been made on his recommendation.
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10:13 am – I’m not down on Calvin de Haan. He has skill and I’m sure he knocked his psych testing out of the park. But two things: when the kid himself tells you he didn’t even think he’d go in the teens based on his agent’s counsel, that tells you something. And for the draftniks who loooove the move for de Haan, have you done the math on the picks the Islanders gave up to get him? Just asking.
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10:06 am – With the first pick of the day, the 31st overall, the Islanders select 6-7 Finnish goaltender Mikko Koskinen. We all agreed they needed size! “They were interested in me,” he tells NHL Network. “Size is my biggest weapon.”
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9:45 am - Good morning. Hope everyone enjoyed their Friday night. After paying too hefty a price to move all the way down from 26 to 12 and take smart and talented but not large or tough dman Calvin de Haan, today is essentially down to the two picks in the second round and maybe the 91st. I was consistent for the last month in saying they wouldn’t draft Landon Ferraro with the 26 or earlier. Despite dozen of readers Comments going against my prediction, the Islanders will not be drafting Landon at 31. He’s another 6-foot, 170-pounder. He has skill at forward, but it’s really about time the Islanders added some size.
338 Responses to DAY 2 NEWS & COMMENTS THREAD
Two goalies and center Casey Cizikas from St. Mike’s
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Jmont6 says:
de Haan will turn out to be a great pick. They probably could have stayed at 16 and got him but I don’t think we will be questioning that pick in 4 or 5 years. Good first day Isles.
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jethro09 says:
Take the best available prospect at #31 and I bet they take a goaltender with one of the two picks after #31.
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Joe says:
I want Morin or Panik.
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RHL Vin says:
CB…….Any rumors on trades? We heard Burke mention Lecavalier to Gainey last nite. Was that just Burke trying to get some info from Gainey or is there any truth to that?
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Doug says:
CB,
You’re too hard on deHaan. He could turn out to be a really good Dman…Do you thing they might trade Sutton or Witt for a pick?
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Billy-no-not-Jaffe says:
If we keep the pick, I am with ya CB. We need size up front AND on the blueline.
Maybe we trade down a bit to no lower than 35 and get another 2nd round pick in the middle of the round?? -
Jim says:
I hope they take Carl Klingsberg (6’3, 205lb LW) with #31 and a goalie with the #56.
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Jon says:
CB, I’m a huge fan, but to say they paid too hefty a price for de Haan might be a bit much when you’re no scout and have probably never seen the kid play. They paid a price, but clearly they saw something in him and to move from 16 to 12 to get him, only logical reason was that they felt someone was taking him between 13-15. It’s the classic decision, for for the sure thing or the one with a higher ceiling that needs more work. This was no top 5 pick, at that stage it’s all a bit of a crap shoot (see Ryan O’Marra for mid-level first rounders that are sure thing character guys…)
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goislesgo105 says:
Great night for the Islanders. Garth trades up to 12 to get the dman he wants and “with the first pick in the draft the N.Y. Islanders take JOHN TAVARES” SWEET!!
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Peter says:
CB – great work on this blog. Are you not happy with the De Haan pick, or do you just feel they gave up too much to get to 16 then 12? I’ve read a lot of positive reports on De Haan, so if they feel he’s the best, I don’t have a major issue in going up to get him.
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smittty says:
Panik or Budish
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EdTurner says:
If you do not have the NHL Network, you can watch the stream of the draft on NHL.com
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Harold C says:
I am not going to let the de Haan annoy me, but I was SHOCKED that they moved to 12 and then pass on Kassian. This kid is everything the Isles needed, and perhaps he wouldn’t have played this year, but he was tough, big, skates well and scores – what the heck else could you ASK FOR?? Anyway, The way I am looking at it is Snow still has the 3 of the top 31 picks, which is the pattern of the early Isles drafts back in the 70′s. BIG PICTURE, we’re getting three top flight prospects, one of them being a true # 1 overall and so let’s get on with it. As far as today, I was thinking Budish, perhaps Drew Shore. Klingberg is another possibility, yes?
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GD says:
Leopold is also a FA, so they just traded rights with each other,, all they gave up really was a pick..
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Bob says:
While I agree that the De Haan pick will probably pan out in a few years, its pretty amazing how the drafting of Tavares has mellowed some Isles fans. Just imagine if it was “anyone but
Tavares”/De Haan. There would have been a riot. Having made the right pick at 1 it has really become “In Snojanks we trust”. Oh well…off to the Isles team store to by a Tavares Jersey for my kid. -
By the way, is there anyplace on the internet where there will be a live feed of the draft? I don’t have the NHL Network, any help is appreciated.
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Ron says:
A goalie?!?!?!
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isles3113 says:
nice big goalie!!
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A BIG goalie
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we have our goalie
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dmen77 says:
wow!
TSN: “At 6-7, Koskinen is one of the tallest prospects available in the entry draft. He had a 1.91 GAA and 17-7-9 record for Espoo this past season.”
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Jason says:
great, another reach.
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dose says:
the maneuver to #12 was awesome. the pick itself seems bizarre, but snow is no dope. if they had a strong inkling someone would grab him before them and the kid pans out, then it was a great move. and, maybe there’s more action to come. also, the idea they don’t need another smallish, puck moving d-man is outweighed by how he fits the coach’s system, which by the way, seems to be gaining credence throughout the league. and, who knows what streit will be in 3 years. dehaan is a pick we can’t evaluate now, even if they MAY have gotten him later.
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MIKKO KOSKINEN Jul 18, 1988 VANTAA FI 6′ 5″ 187 FINLAND BLUES
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coral springs isle fan says:
Goaltender???? The guy is huge, but I would think there were bigger holes to fill.
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Isles fan Ken says:
DP watch out!
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notice how the guys on all the draft boards go right AFTER we pick. We’re just taking based on need, not the best available. They’re doing the opposite of drafting 101.
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Party on Wayne! Party on Garth!
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Alex says:
Well CB, there’s our addition of size…just not in the position everyone expected.
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the commentators didn’t even mention our pick and they’re talking about everyone picked after us. Great. What a waste.
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pained says:
I guess that confirms the serious concerns about DP.
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nystrom23 says:
#27, this was one of the big holes to fill, it was a little shocking though they took the goalie this early
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eye on the island says:
jason, i have to disagree, the de haan pick has nothing to do with need. its obvious the islanders board is different from that of the draft experts. if they really wanted to be savvy they would move back and still get their man. but saying they are drafting on need really isnt the case. esp considering the goalie probably wouldnt be ready for a few years and you can be sure they’ll take another one next year. they must have just have had him ranked real high.
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pj says:
a lot of you fans are dissapointing me. We got Tavares and you are still crying sbout every pick. Relax. Snow is doing a good job. No one here has any knowledge on anyone of these guys picked. Let things fold out, we should all be happy we got our man in jt after that let Garth do his thing. Remember Garth was a goalie, a big goalie, he obviously sees something in this kid. you people that are crying wil be the first was to say we should have taken duchene if he gets off to a better start. Relax and enjoy. we did good, things are getting better
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I actually think this was a great pick. These Finnish goaltenders always turn into something special, and this kid is 6’7 already. I was expecting possibly Roy or Pasquale, but I guess they want to go across the pond for this guy. I am excited to see who we get from now through the end of the draft. This is where teams are made or broken. Great job, Garth Snow.
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and o yea, can anyone tell me how the nhl network isnt free and yet mlbtv is???? the more popular sport could arguably get a lot more paying customers but realize the value in promoting the sport. bettman really is a joke
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Moose says:
I don’t like this pick at all. Get a big foward. We already had garth snow. 6-7? can he play defense?
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Tom B says:
COME ON!!! a goalie with the first pick of the second round.
Unless it lands in your lap (like Tavares) Snow is not showing me much.
SOOO happy we got JT. BUt lets get serious here. JT can’t do it alone.
other holes to fill than goalie this early. IMO
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miketee says:
From Red Line:
Red Line’s clear-cut choice in this category has to be humongous Finnish netminder Mikko Koskinen. Koskinen is a classic late bloomer who will be turning 21 in a couple of weeks and is barely still eligible for the draft. At a gigantic 6-7 and a spidery 187 pounds, he’s not nearly filled out yet and could grow big enough to blot out the sun in a couple of years. He came out of nowhere to perform well in the top Finnish league this season and is the draft’s ultimate wild card. Many teams sent their chief scouts over specifically to look at him in the second half, and if one or two clubs fell in love with what they saw, with the lack of top goaltending talent this year, there could be some teams feeling pressure to step up and take him early if they really want him. Though we’re not as high on him, Red Line would not be surprised to see Koskinen selected as high as the second round, perhaps even as one of the top two goalies to come off the board.
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That’s what I meant # 34. It would be nice if Button head talked about our pick.
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How do we know things are getting better? We made the one obvious pick a blind monkey could have made, and every pick since has been a reach. Do we need a goaltender? Yes. For THIS YEAR. Unless this guy makes the team this is a wasted pick. We don’t need a goaltender for three years from now.
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Chizzler says:
Awesome, finnish goalie, playes already in the finnish league, good choice.
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tond24 says:
nhl is free..on direct tv
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I hope he plays net better then he speaks.
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Nashville Takes Budish, Thrashers take Klingberg…ooooook.
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J.D. says:
Hey Botta. Any truth to the rumors that Florida really liked De Haan at #14?
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Zach says:
The big question is will Islander fans ever stop with the incesent whining. I can’t read the comments anymore because it’s too hard to watch the couch potato GMS tear apart every pick as if they know more than the guys who actually did the work. It was the same with Bailey and Okposo. And even when we picked up Streit fans were complaining that he was too small and wondering aloud as to why Montreal didn’t keep him. I guess this many years of suffering will do that to you but at some point we have to turn this negativity around into some faith and positive thinking.
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You guys are too much, this is an excellent goaltending prospect and he is coming from the new goaltending factory in Finland (Kipprusoff, etc.).
CB, I think you are being a bit hard on the Isles. I think the Islanders scouts probably have a better read on him and felt he was worth the picks to ensure they’d get him. If they thought he would have been there at 26 and 16 don’t you think they would have waited?
Do you really think they are dumb?
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NickyL says:
I don’t get all this bashing. People are greedy. Fans got the guy they want but now all of a sudden, its not good enough. I hate arm chair GMs. Until any of you become NHL scouts, trust Garth and Jankowski.
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Sab says:
I wondered about the second move to grab Calvin myself, but this is where you give Garth the benefit of the doubt, because over the past year and a half he has basically boosted his flexibility with picks to ensure he could get what he wanted this year…
I was hoping to see Landon in an Isles jersey but let’s see if this ‘tender can surprise us down the road…
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buddish 6’3 229..yeah we didnt need him at all..silly me i like fowards because we have none
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steve in tampa says:
While I don’t agree with taking a goalie at 31, Mikko was definetly #1 on my goalie wishlist
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Number 49 i could not agree with you more. I guess everyone at homes has there own scouting books on these players lol. Come on fellow isles fans stop complaining, you are all making this too unenjoyable. we have no goalie depth in our system. ricky gets hurt alot. we need this guy just in case.
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Also I wonder why people are against picking the goalie the Isles wanted before he was taken considering the fact that our number one goalie is basically crippled. This kid is huge in net and has played against some of the worlds best players in one of the worlds best leagues and has been very impressive.
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sheesh. now i’m starting to wonder if snow meant to pick duchene last night and said “john tavares” by accident, or if he changed his mind at the last instant just for the fun of it.
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All these whiners about Snow’s picks are making me laugh. For god’s sake, its a draft and there are risks. If Moore and Schroeder were such surefire picks why did they drop to 20 even after the Isles took DaHaan? And know in the second round which is really a crapshoot you guys rip on their pick of a goalie? Grabbing the first goalie of the draft is likely alot better then taking a chance on some players who dropped into the second round from the first. I didn’t think they would take a goalie this earlier but they obviously didn’t think much of the rest. But I guess some of you guys know better (just by reading THN and TSN rankings). You guys will complain about anything.
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StevieL says:
Boy I tell you! Outside of the obvious Tavares pick, it looks like the isles continue to march to their own drummer!! With 12 and 31 we obviously reached and gave up picks to do it! We passed on a lot of big name junior players and also players with size ( outside of goal! I wonder if he can fight?LOL) I guess we should give some benefit of doubt, but we could have landed some incredible names in this draft! Oh well, I guess we still are the Islanders!
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acisles says:
#50, I couldn’t agree with you more. You are bang on.
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Steven says:
Could not agree more 49 and 50. Some fans should become scouts or GM’s if they could do a better job.
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WM says:
The Isles have holes all over their roster. We’ve picked up a forward, a D-man, and now a goalie. Awesome!
People – chill! -
hyedray says:
My issue with De Haan….we could have stayed at 26 and probably taken him. In that area, I agree CB.
But, if he comes in an plays a substantial overall game and can become a top 3 defenseman on the Isles, it will be a great pick.
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Peter says:
Look, The Islanders had much more information than we have. They obviously loved de Haan and they obviously thought other teams also loved him enough that they couldve used a pick between 12 and 16. Its that simple.
Bottom line is the red line reports and all other draft rankings mean jack squat.
All I am saying is that the Islanders are not stupid they know where he was ranked by “pro” scouting services, but those don’t mean anything.
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Budish is intriguing for his size but his skating is considered slow. If he was such a prospect why wasn’t he taken in round 1 or with the first pick after the Isles 31?
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butch91 says:
I wonder if Snow still has his over sized pads, if he does the kid won’t even have to move.
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Max'n the Hamptons says:
Chris, do you think the islanders made the deal for 12 in hopes for ellis?
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Check out the goalieguild dot com (CB doesn’t allow links) to hear what he says about the Vaanta Vulture
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My Family says:
should have taken john moore with the number 12 pick. from the people i have talked to, those who have seen de haan play, they were not impressed. oh well…
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Islesnut says:
I think we take Tomas Tatar at 56.
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Madchef says:
Love the goalie pick….take the best one, we have alot of needs. Sure they can take a big foward at sme point…..stop the whining please this has been a good draft so far
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I would like Tatar or tomas Vincour at 56 now that Panik is gone.
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What is everyone having such a hard time with? If the Isles thought De Haan would have been there at 26 or 16 then they wouldn’t have moved up. They obviously knew that he wouldn’t be there. Also, anyone notice that DP missed the season last year? If this guy is the best goalie of his drfat then why not take a chance?
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Another reach, ugh….Hey Goofy Garth, take the BEST…PLAYER…AVAILABLE! If you don’t need someone at the position, use it as an asset. Where is the common sense?
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Islander Fan in Boston says:
CB – someone at the Islanders draft table was reading ISLANDERSPOINTBLANK.com
Right before they announced the De Hann trade they showed the Islanders table. A bald dude was reading your blog. Pretty cool dude. You are the man.
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b-ri says:
I like the goalie pick. Not only does he have size to help him, but he had 17 wins in the finnish mens league and a 1.91 GAA. Not too shabby. Also he is 21, so hes gone through a lot of the maturing process already, unlike an 18 year old. This is a kid that depending on what he wants to do could end up in north america this year perhaps. This makes me nervous though about rick if we are picking an overaged goalie with the first pick in the second round, but if it makes the team better so be it.
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here is the twist…
I will say, unless they know more than they are letting us know about Ricks health. it very well have been a good choice.you just figure this goalie may have still been available at their next pick still.
Could have gotten ferraro with this one.
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german islesfan says:
koskinen why not. finnish goalies are tradionell strong goalies. budish was my wish but now is it koskinen that’s life.
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trade!
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admin says:
My thoughts on Koskinen and de Haan picks added at top of story. With so few picks left, that could end my deep observations (lol) for the day. I’ll be around to update the picks. Enjoy the day…CB
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Trade, for what?
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Traded the #56 to the Blue Jackets
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Will the TSN guys just shut up and let us hear what the trade is?
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Tietj says:
I think Calvin de Haan at # 12 is a bad move. To trade up twice and lose 4 draft picks is to steep a price. There was a chance he could have still been available at 26. He have alot of holes to fill, it was unneccessary to move up so far and pay so much. If it wasn’t for the fans, I bet you Snow would have taken Duchene with the 1st pick. I’m dissapointed with Garth.
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nhl.com has mikko as 2nd best goalie in draft..hockey futures has him as a 3rd rounder..hockey news has him as 4th best goalie..but im just puttin it out there..but after J.T. i guess if snow drafted terrel owens no one would care
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FIsles says:
The whining is getting embarrassing. Koskinen stole the #1 job last season from former Flyers pick Bernd Bruckler who had been one of the top 5 goalies in the Finnish Elite League in the previous years. The kid definitely has promise and ability to be able to displace a proven veteran goalie.
#67, they moved up from 16 to 12 right before making the pick. Ellis was already gone.
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I’ll trust Garth when Garth gives me a reason to trust him.
What reason do YOU have to trust his judgement?
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orngfan says:
The Islanders have just made a trade. They have sent the No. 56 pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for picks No. 62 and No. 92.
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If people aren’t happy with Garths draft, you can always go cheer for the Rangers. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.
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derek says:
the dude is 6′ 7” had a .930 sv % in 30 + games
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Izzy Franchise says:
I’m not overall upset with de haan but i just think we gave up a bit too much. If we wanted him so bad i think we could have had him later on…plus if we were gonna trade up to 12, Kassian was right there!
again…im not mad really, its hard to be mad after getting JT lol
but still…..
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Islanders trade the 56 pick to Columbus for Picks #62 and #92
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Goalies are tough to judge, Remember trevor Kidd was ranked higher than Broduer, and when the Isles got Fichaud it was a big deal so you got to wait and see, but the reaching does bother me as the Isles are NEVER ahead of the curve as far as talent evaluation goes.
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traded 56 and got 62 and 92
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#56 for the #62 and #92. Nicely done, Garth.
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CB is also calling it areach…should he go root for the rangers too…
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Steve says:
I know these guys are professional scouts and know a lot more than I do, but what is wrong with conventional thinking. Way too many “hunches” for my taste…lots of pressure on this de Haan kid. Isles gave up nothing to get Tavares, but sure gave up a lot for this kid. But like I said many times…draft J.T. and then have your fun!
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ANOTHER GOALIE PICKED AT 62:
ANDERS NILSSON Mar 19, 1990 SE 6′ 5″ 220 SWE-JR. LULEA JR. G
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another goalie???
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potvin05 says:
Brayden McNabb??? please????
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Anders Nilsson with the #62
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Bruce says:
another goalie???
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Another f-ing goalie??? Clueless….
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MT says:
We got back the picks we traded away yesterday, so chill
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94: So all of a sudden CB is a hockey talent evaluator?
Steve(95): Why don’t the Islanders just fire all their scouts and pay the $5.99 for the The Hockey News draft issue?
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James says:
We needed goalies in the system, I like this move by Snow
Get yourself two decent goalie prospects, we are thin at goaltender in our system
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So much for adding size at forward and defense, eh?
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You’re kidding – another goalie??!!!!!
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I’m going out on a limb and saying they don’t have much confidence that Ridderwall or Waselosky are going to pan out.
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They have absolutely no depth at goaltender in the organization, these two picks are moves for the future
Smart move by Snow
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Merrick says:
Going back to De Haan, this kid may prove to be a star, but in my book, when you move up to 12, you take someone who is viewed as the best (or near) player on the board. While it may be true that the Isles felt De Haan WAS the best, the fact that the rest of the hockey world had roughly 15 players in front of him makes me believe the Islanders are outliers in their thinking–and they do not yet have a proven track record of ingenious draft insights for me to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I’d love to be proven wrong, but I hope we don’t end up looking at guys like Kassian in the same way we look at that other Zach in New Jersey.
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isles 14 says:
another goalie. what the hell is goin on?
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great another goalie..that should help
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Why can’t we ever be conventional? It seems to work just fine for other teams. You don’t need to be a scout to know that the Isles are reaching and not taking value picks. I hope Garth proves me wrong. I really do.
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Way to commit, I guess Garth didn’t have much confidence in Koshkinen! I wonder if the Jets are helping out with this draft plan! Seriously how is DP? I guess now we know.
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Conventional thinking would tell me that a point a game puck moving D-man who played with Tavares and is a rookie in juniors has a lot of upside and potential. We may all love that pick in a couple of years. It will be fun to follow his development.
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makes me really worry about DP
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I think Dipietro is done
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I’m not saying we know more than they do, but it is entirely possibly that we’re both clueless when it comes to drafting.
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Jethro from Finland says:
Koskinen was great last season and stole the number 1 spot in Espoo Blues, but before that i’ve never heard any talk about his potential. Of course he’s so big that probably needed more time to adjust to that growth. High risk high reward perhaps, but surprising for sure.
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bill scanlon says:
Wang just fired Snow and hired Mikko Koskinen as GM. Wang said “We needed size and youth in our front office and this is my guy”.
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OK so this tells me something. Either DP is very hurt and its more serious than we all thought, or our goalie prospects in the system arent that good.
I would trust garth though when it comes to goalies…he kinda used to be one.
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do any of you people realize who is ever drafted here is a couple of years away from making this team. Who cares what they draft. we have alot of depth from last yrs draft offense and defense, there is no goalie depth in this organization. so let him make these picks. apparently nothing can please any of you. they are building the farm system, nothing is wrong with that. i love to see any one you guys run a team.
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cant find any report on this guy…now thats funny..seems we was playing with bigfoot
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Chummlee says:
Why back to back goalies? Where are the picks to add depth to the lack of size in the organization?
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isles99 says:
snow will pay for missing tatar and morin. besides the obvious, snow has had a terrible draft
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Clearly they feel that what was once a strength is now a MAJOR source of concern at goalie. So much so that they pick two goalies back to back… remember Roy was a third rounder back in the day (Yo).
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islesfan999 says:
Maybe we can draft a big power forward and dmen??? for the next few picks…
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NYI Pole says:
maybe they know something about DP that we dont know
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Definitely no confidence in DP
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Sumo Goalie:
Are you following all the picks? If you actually looked at each player taken in the 2nd and 3rd rounds you will see that there are actually alot of teams who are ‘reaching’ with their picks. So, maybe the Islanders are being conventional?
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FINALLY PJ thank you
someone finally gets it
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John says:
We always fall in the middle of the road. We got Bailey instead of Filatov last year which turned out better. But then again we missed out on Luke Schenn. So we fell in the middle.
This year we essentially give up Campoli for the deHaan upside whcih could be good. But Moore will probably be better. Nothing gained, nothing lost. Just middle of the road.
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Anyone know anything about Nillson??
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i know that they lack goalie depth in the organization….that was one of their biggest weaknesses, so I guess we should shore that up.
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jesus, this dude is 6’5″
we’d be set if we were a basketball team.
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IsleofNJ says:
The isles are obviously drafting Future GM prospects !
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Wang is planning to start them both at the same time.
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stopthepain says:
What the draftniks who complain want to know is does management actually understand the drafting process? It’s not that deHaan is a poor selection – he can be a wonderful defenseman in a few years. It’s a question of value. The pick of this goalie and DeHaan remind me of the Jets using a high draft pick on Jeff Lageman. It’s not that he was a poor player, it’s just that he would have been available much later. If the player you want is going to be available much later, you TRADE DOWN and accumulate more picks either for this year or for next. The point is even if Koskinen and DeHaan turn out to be all stars 3 years down the road, the Islanders still wasted draftpicks that would have made them even better. That’s what makes for a poor drafting team – even if the talent ID is great, it’s the waste of precious resources that the Islanders desperately need to rebuild…
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GP – 37
G.A. – 2.05
M.P. – 2,198
Save Pct. – .927There’s Nilsson’s stats for last year.
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Rob says:
Can we play with two goalies??
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19 ISLE in NJ 22 says:
Why two goaltenders back to back??!! Is Garth trying to tell us something … what about getting the Isles some size upfront and on the blue line?
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they must have something up their sleeve.
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if DP is hurt you go get a free agent you dont draft goalie that can play 4 years down the road…you cant come out of such a fat draft with only one foward even if it is J.T…
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MJS says:
grabbing these goalies is probably not the worst thing. Regardless of whether DP is done for the rest of ever, the team had three goaltending prospects, two of them would project to be backups in the AHL and one of them may be able to come up to the NHL if he ever felt like leaving Sweden. So they are addressing a need. They just probably shouldn’t have gone back to back with the goalies.
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walygz says:
Anyone else a bit upset that Taylor Doherty the 6′ 7″ physical defensemen did not end up with the isles at pick 56 ?
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knowing Wang, he might want to start 5 goalies.
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build through the draft and get immediate help in the free agency market
how good would Gaborik look with Tavares and Okposo…..and how about Komisarek pairing with Streit.
have faith in Snowjanks, this picks won’t even see Bridgeport for another 2-3 years.
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Original Rob says:
Jeez, after the easy choice of Tavares, Snow is back to earning his “Smartest Guy In The Room” nickname. These picks are almost diluting how excited I am about JT.
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OMG, The Avalanche just took Tyson Barrie at 64 when The Hockey News had him at 77.
Why are they being so unconventional?
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Lance says:
I guess we know the health outlook on DP
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yeah 6’7 and 6’5 goalies….i here wang fired snow and isiah thomas is now running the show..
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Scott, East Meadow Long Island says:
JBo moved to Calgery
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maybe someone needs to check the water on the draft table, and whose putting it there. (a burke connection?)
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Back to back picks next? Isles will trade with themselves to swap picks.
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Jake says:
It’s pretty obvious to me they don’t think DP will be around in a few years..
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Isles fans will NEVER be happy lmao
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DpTheModel says:
Im done guys …. My modeling career starts now
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Justin Marques says:
Koskinen comes over this year and is a 1-2 year project, where Anders Nilsson has tremendous upside and is a 4 year
project. Now we have restocked the goalie area. Could they have done better? Possibly, yeah. -
Let’;s see, the GM is a goalie and the coach is a goalie.
We started the draft with four picks in the top 37 and besides the natural #1 pick in JT, those four picks result in two more players–Calvin DeHaan and Mikko Koskinen–and let’s not forget that these guys also cost us Chris Campoli.
I may not be a hockey scout, but I do believe I’m entitled to puke.
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The PolishPrince says:
I really don’t get all the complaining. We have NO goaltending depth. So many people are crying about size and grit which is prettty easy to add on the open market. I swear I wish I had a couple of cheese wheels to post to go with all the whining.
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John from ATL says:
Is Snow that stupid. I haven’t seen any of these kids play and I still believe I could have done a better job than Snow. I strongly believe if it wasn’t for the pressure from the fans, he would have picked Duchene too. He should have just stayed at 26 (de Haan would have been there), 31, 37 and 56 and taken four good prospects; and no goalies. Thanks to all the fans for forcing the Islanders to take Tavares.
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Even if the Isles took forwards or d-men with their 2nd round picks, they would still be years away from playing. Just like the goalies we took. We also have back to back picks in the 4th round. We can take size guys there. Also, we do have a first rounder for next year as well. We could do a d-man then who could step in right away.
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Eric Gelina who the Devils took and Eric Chiasson were two guys with size and skill I would have loved in the second round… Brian Dumoulin…
Funny hw the draft is pretty conventional with the players being picked resemble the rankings UNTIL the Isles get up there…
It ain’t always who you pick, it is also where you pick him (did you get good value), and we basically gave up four other prospects to draft Dehaan who could have been there later… NOT GOOD VALUE!! -
to the islanders credit, they do have a bunch of foward and blue liner prospects. very weak in goal and if you look at most of the european goalies around the NHL, they aren’t looked at as big prospects but come on the scene.
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I think DP will skate in August and play this year but when you have two repaired hips and a repaired knee and a couple of concussions you need prospects developing in your system. Goalie is the most important position on the ice. No name goalies sometimes become stars overnight; just look at the Capitals goalie.
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i dont hate the goalies (yes i do) but i think we are the only team takin goalies…guess we are outsmarting everyone..haha we gotem now garth
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John from Atlanta (162):
Please answer me this question: How do you know DeHaan would have been there at 26th? Were you on the floor speaking with the GMs?
Maybe you should change your name to John from the Draft Floor
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Is the draft on Cablevision? If so, what channel?
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I think Snow will address the size issue through free agency. He has the money to spend. Nobody they drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round was going to make the roster this year.
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DraftGuru says:
First of all Koskinen will come over now and compete in training camp for a backup role on the Islanders & probably be the starter in bridgeport. First of allthis guys has alot of size & last year 3 finnish scouts said the guy was always in position & RIGHT NOW his development was better the Mikko Kipursof at the same time.
Now the swede Goalie is more of a project but the Finnish Goalie will be playing games for the Islanders before the All-Star Break! -
Yeah, Garth made the right choice with #1 overall, but he must miss warming up because he keeps reaching!
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Ed J says:
2 goalies….
11 years left on contract w/current goalie….
result…..
either insurance or DP is done and that would be a dam shame -
hey smitty who cares the point is we traded 5 picks for him…thats 2 much and thats the point
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We do not know De Haan would have been their at 26? You cannot just make picks based on the Hockey News. The Isles scouts no more than any Isles fan. Let’s all relax and see how things work out. You cannot judge a draft until a couple of years down the line.
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Dumoulin would have been a project. He would be probably 4-6 years away from the NHL. I saw him play in junior first hand. Didn’t really stand out to me from the scorers booth, wasn’t flashy by any means. However he is going to BC i believe, but he played in a lower level junior league here in the US. a project to be sure
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They just traded…….AGAIN???!!!??
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another isles trade
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Strummer's Army says:
OK, I want Seth Hegleson with one of the next two picks. 6’5″ 220lb D who can fight and play the game.
I want it on note both Kassian and Doughty were selected one pick after the Isles could have had them. A bit strange getting to goalies early.
CB, now that Bouwmeester is in Cal if they can sign him they’ll have to dump some serious payroll. Logan reported the fans adn team weren’t happy with him last season so could they Isles make a package? Witt & Hunter are Cal type guys who’d fit very well in their system (better then in ours) obviously we’d need to give them something else in terms of value except the fact we are helping out their cap situation. What do you think? Phaneuf or Regher avaialable?
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well i guess we have the goalie market covered
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hey another goalie just went..and garth didnt get him…oh now hes pissed
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what did we get in this trade?
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Priest says:
Just turned on the draft, I like the trade. Getting a 3rd for moving down 5 spots in the second round is great.
About the goalie, was he expected to go at all? If he is that old, couldn’t he have been had for nothing after the draft?
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Obs says:
Let me guess, A Goalie?
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Chazz says:
@169 The Draft is on the NHL Channel = 401 if you get the $5 sports pack.
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the 77th pick was traded yesterday
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Tond
How do you know those picks were too much for him? Do you know how many of these 2, 3 round picks will actually play a game in the NHL? Its a pretty low percentage so maybe the Islanders really liked this kid and obviously knew he wouldn’t be there at 26 or 16.
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Smitty #150 – lol
John from ATL #162 – you’re probably right about it costing the team a lot to move up to take de Haan, but why would the team go out of its way to not pick up a goalie or two in the draft? That doesn’t seem to make sense at all, there is almost no organizational depth. And are you suggesting that the fans pressured Snow into making the moves he has? Or is it a conspiracy theory that since the fans pressured Snow into taking Tavarez, Snow went insane and has started making odd trades and swapping picks for no reason so that the voices in his head would be appeased?
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if you are tracking the draft from nhl.com their list is not updated for trades
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Austin H says:
Hope these “odd” moves all work out, but it seems the Isles draft train is off the track. Are either of these goalies ready to be a back-up on the Island next year?
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Two names for 91 and 92, one has size, the other speed:
Seth Helgeson
Ryan Bourque -
Where can I watch it on the net? My local tv is not broadcasting it.
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Seth:
Helgeson would be a good, tough one and I’m hoping Vincour might still be there.I’d also like to see them take Olivier Roy though, a goalie from Cape Breton, just to piss some people off here.
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you can watch on isles tv, livewire
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Wang “With all these goalies we can play some of them on defense. With all those big sticks and pads back there no one will score on us”.
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Guys chill …Garth needed depth on d & goalie – the fowards will come in free agency & we have a bundle of Fowards that are close
Joensuu
Trevor Smith
Justin DiBenditto
Corey Trivino
Matt Martin (This kid is Adam Graves Clone) -
5 picks bro…five picks 2 much…not ranking system has him in the top 20..thats how i know..its a reach.
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Left here still wondering if the Isles have anymore draft moves in the tank … I believe they still have to make up for the cost of the picks for selecting de Haan at #12 … The Isles probably even could of traded down from #16 to get another pick back if they wanted de Haan … unless like I said … his value among teams jumped recently. Good prospect … lots of picks though.
I guess we should wait for the dust to settle and hope we get a DiBo and M. Martin type out of this draft.
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Bourque is gone already, Rangers snatched him
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If you want to watch the DRAFT..
Go now to NHL.COM
Its Free and u can track the picks and listen to the live action -
nyislanders93 says:
NHL.com has a live draft feed. Just go to the homepage and it’s right there where the main news story is.
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Tond24, buddy, still not a strong argument for Snow not to trade up for someone they believe will be a top four dman.
I’d rather have a top 2-4 dman with a first round pick than a bunch of picks in the 2-4 rounds that are a crapshoot
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Tavares #1 says:
Obviously Snow knows more about DP and his injuries, he got the second best goalie in the draft. Good move.
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Helgeson or Lander. Please…..
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Tond24 – they got two of those picks back today.
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whatever goodluck to you and him…guess when everyone says hes not a top 20 guy its good to get him at 12 n overpay for him..you think hes worth because garth says so..i think hes not worth it because of 6 scouting services and 3 major sports networks..sounds right
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JPinVA says:
Just when you have a warm fuzzy… 2 goaltenders with pretty important picks. Mike Milbury just won’t go away…
“Rick will be ready by training camp”.. he forgot to mention what he’ll be ready for… RETIREMENT!!!
That contract is looking a lot better now. They were smart enough not to give Dipietro $6M/year for 20 years. -
I doubt Snow was the only one, which is why he moved from 16-12.
And who is everyone? If you asked scouts individually you would hear different takes on a player.
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Islanders trade the #91 pick to Phoenix for the 3rd round pick in 2010. Islanders will select after Phoenix at #92.
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kevin says:
when is oleg yashin suppose to be going lol
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MHOUS says:
Just got in this morning to find we drafted 2 goalies…wow..obviously i know nothing about them but very disappointed once again w/ the Isles. They make the obvious choice at 1 and then go off the track. All in all it looks like a poor job by Garth and crew.
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another GD trade…you have to be kidding me
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Good trade by Islanders…That trade can get us a quality depth player if we are in the playoff race in march
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MHOUS this team has ZERO depth at goalie, those picks were both very very smart
Every team is reaching in these rounds
With DP not 100% and a questionable future at best, it is very very smart for them to draft goalies for the system
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“They shouldnt take Tavares, they should take THE BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE.” So they scare us for three months telling us that their scouts may be saying someone other than Tavares may be THEIR best player, they take him thankfully, BUT…
Their next two picks are OFF THE BOARD. THEY PAY A STEEP PRICE TO MOVE 26 TO 12 TO GET SOMEONE OFF THE BOARD.
Then they bypass a ton of first round rated prospects with the first pick in the second round, take a goalie with an unknown past. If they waited until their next pick at 56, they could have had the second best goalie in the draft.
Even though its great we have Tavares, passing on Kassian, and all of the other moves, are very scary. Perhaps it was not Mad Mike, but a disfunctional scouting and front office.
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Brian says:
traded a latye 3rd this year for what is most likely an early 3rd next year
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Roland B says:
a 5’10″ center…Well it’s time to cut the grass, this draft is over.
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216 i agree 100%
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CASEY CIZIKAS Feb 27, 1991 TORONTO, ON CA 5′ 10″ 190 OHL MISSISSAUGA ST. MICHAEL’S
CENTER
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Isles select
Center Casey Cizikas -
hey, just what we needed! Another small forward who can’t score.. Awesome!!
Where the hell is the beef!!
NOT ONE BIG FORWARD OR DEFENSEMAN!!
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Where the hell is the beef!!
NOT ONE BIG FORWARD OR DEFENSEMAN!!
Posting Your Comment
Please Wait -
I like the first goalie pick, but I think if the draft had been something like Tavares/Despres/Koskinen/Morin (we don’t give up the 37 in this scenario) I’d be celebrating.
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DP says:
Goalie picks confirm the obvious, DiPietro will not finish out his 15 years. . .
As for Tavares, I don’t like that photo of him on the back of newsday. I know its posed, but he looks like someone with major attitude problems a la Chris Campoli etc. I know I’m in the minority but I would have felt better with Hedman or Duchene.
Also annoyed they passed on Kassian re his size and comparisons to Lucic, but he must of done poorly on his psych testing. TSN alluded to “psych issues” that he and his family have. -
PJ you’re off base, Isles had and still have no size on D or at forward. This was a major need in this draft and other than the obvious #1 pick, Snow and team have gone off the deep end.
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The Islanders needed size so they should have just drafted anybody with size, no matter how good they thought they were?
You can sign size at anytime.
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Alan says:
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and this is mine – everyone chill with the scouting/Mad Mike Gag! ENOUGH!!!! Go to games and cheer on the team…It’s one thing to have information on a great player like John Tavares, but it’s another thing to talk about players that you haven’t seen or heard about. The scouts have seen games, talked to coaches, etc. Let it go with this garbage!!!!
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Its like people forget about Free Agency and that there is another draft next year and years after. Even if we drafted size guys, they wouldn’t be playing for a few years anyways.
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Upgrade says:
Guys, I have to say we better be picking top 15 every year because I’m not sure this group has the foresight required to build a solid team. They make the easy Tavares pick but then move up when I don’t think they need to from 16 to 12, either Moore or Dehaan are there. 2nd round was blown. TB I think did alot more
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alan number 235 amen and thank you. I completely agree with you
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patrickflatleaver says:
MAYBE, just MAYBE they are drafting small speed players, and players who fit into Gordon’s system.
Just a thought.
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they drafted cizikas….if they were going to draft a center, theyw ere idiotic to pass on panik, ferraro, tatat, buddish, etc. im beg. to wonder if fans didnt pressure snow, he wouldt have drafted tavares
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here is the story isles had 10 picks 5 in the 1st 2 rounds..we came away with J.T. and a bunch of nobodys.
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Other then the goalies I am still waiting for the added size and toughness we were promised.
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watching this live feed, can we draft billy mays to help sell tickets and get the lighthouse built?
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PJ, are you watching the coverage? There is only ONE TEAM where you hear the experts say WOW THAT PICK IS OFF THE BOARD. One team dude, thats the Islanders. To make two trades and trade away five picks, pick the first goalie who btw did not make the world juniors and on and on. And then the commentators say they left this guy and that guy on the board, and lo and behold, those are the next picks after all of our questionable picks. See Kassian, Kulikov and Ferraro.
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Drafting these 18 year old kids is no easy task. You can do all the homework and it’s still a crap shoot. There is no reason to get bend out of shape when you need to wait a few years before judging a draft.
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tond24,everyone else also came away with a bunch of no one. thats what a draft is not every player is a stud. we got our stud. not for nothing even the stud is not a guarantee. so lets all just sit back cheer for this team and see what happens.
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I’m giving Garth the benefit of the doubt. Look at his pick of Debenetto, he takes him in the 6th round and the kids leads the OHL in scoring. We are restacking the cupboards. Nobody else could step in immediately.
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all those guys we left off the board we have in our system. we keep loading up on the same players in the system. thats why the are doing what they are doing in this draft. let the kids from last yr and before that develop. you are not going to have a great draft every single year.
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JT should be a great player and even JT has not done anything yet. None of these players are 100% despite what the experts are saying at the draft.
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Look at the young depth we have:
F: Tavares, Okposo, Bailey, Bergenheim, Comeau, Tambellini, Joensuu, Debenedetto, Smith, Figren, Petrov, Trivino, Rhakshani, Martin
D: Ness, Niemi, Kohn, Hamonic, Katic, Kessel
G: Koskinen, Nilsson, Lawson
Throw in some big boy FA signings, and we’ve got a playoff team in the next few years. I can’t wait.
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I think we could have gotten better value and not traded away so many picks… BUT I like the pick of the Finnish goalie… 6’6… if he pans out, gonna be fun to watch a freak like that in net!! and if he dont pan out, the other goalie is 6’5.. one way or another, we should be watching a freakishly tall goalie in net in a few years…
And although DeHaan was a stretch at #12, he is a smooth puck moving defenseman, that already has chemistry with Tavares…
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It looks like they don’t think to highly of the second and third round talent in this draft. But that’s ok. They got what they wanted: a star, a Dman with TONS of potential, and 2 solid goalie prospects as a backup plan to DP. Not every draft needs to be the greatest draft in the history of the team. We are well on our way!
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PJ and ALAN, its great that you are so supportive of the team, but have you been paying attention the last 15 years, what exactly has there been to root for? How many 30 goal scorers have they drafted and kept in the last 15 years? Go ahead, name em all…
You are right to say that I do not know the players outside the top 10, but I am watching the broadcast (and reading on the net), right this second btw, they are commenting if you wanted a quality goalie, you could have had plenty in the third round (they are basically questioning the NYI without mentioning them by name), and we went with essentially a FIRST round pick on a goalie, bypassing stud talent that fell out of the first round. Then our next pick is traded, and next pick is a goalie. All this after passing on Kassian, Kulikov and Ferraro, all of which got a wow from the experts at the time of the moves, and all three picked immediately after the ISLESshamWOW picks. Perhaps you are new the the Islander fan base, but year after year, this is the one organization that makes surprising picks, and btw, for a rebuilding team, organizational depth RANKED 29TH by hockey futures, thats some rebuilding process.
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Hockey Futures is written by a bunch of fans, I wouldn’t exactly put too much stock in what they have to say.
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I love the Koskinen pick and the rest are crap shoots, anyways. They’ve done well in later rounds with Campoli and Gervais so I have faith in the Scouting Staff.
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bob says:
>>F: Tavares, Okposo, Bailey, Bergenheim, Comeau, Tambellini, Joensuu, Debenedetto, Smith, Figren, Petrov, Trivino, Rhakshani, Martin
D: Ness, Niemi, Kohn, Hamonic, Katic, Kessel
G: Koskinen, Nilsson, Lawson<<
Besides Tavares and Okposo, the list isn’t impressive to me.
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IslesAL i get what you are saying. but the world does not go by what the experts say. All i am saying is give these picks a draft. as i stated before these kids are yrs away from playing. well jt will play next yr. the later picks are to build depth in the organization. you dont know who will pan out. but the experts are not always right. yes the last 15 yrs have not been great, but they are going to get better. i am not saying i am thrilled with these picks, but i am just sick of the whining and the crying. Thats all man. we had a good draft last yr. we got jt this yr, so what if we did not get everyone we wanted this yr.
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Why would “stud talent” fall out of the first round?
Also, if you really wanted Koskinen and thought he was the best goalie in the draft, why wait until the third round and risk losing him?
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any player drafted now is so far away who knows what they will be….forget about them for 3 years and then we can have the argument whether they are good or not
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Ok then, blast hockey futures, dont put too much stock there, instead go with the amount of 30 goal scorers we have drafted and kept over the last 15 years, and the amount of playoff series we have one during that timespan. And the amounts of wows after our picks, and how guys walking in the coliseum parking lot can name the guys we pass on who are all snapped up immediately after our wow picks.
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We need to foget what happened in the past. Even Bill Torrey’s last fews draft were not that good. Garth Snow has not been the GM for 15 years. There will be plenty of time to rip these moves if they do not work out. We got JT and things are looking good with the LH. I have hope for the future.
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I like the effect of my name in capitals – listen, I don’t like how you’re chastising me and saying I’m new to the fanbase — I’ve been to over 400 Islanders Games and I’m 21 years old – I’ve watched every single game, and was on my college hockey team — I’m not saying I know better than anyone else, but there is a reason why these guys are picked – the islanders needed goalies — could they have gotten Calvin de Haan at 26, maybe…but they wanted him — sure I wanted Kassian, Moore, Ferraro, but I’m not the GM, Garth Snow is.
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yeah why do the scouting web sites rank these players..its all a crap shoot..i know lets put all the names in a hat and then pull them out.(that might be real)..guys people are on this site to discuss the picks..i dont like them i thought we could really change the team by picking up 3 strong fowards early.(look how many teams took fowards with there top 2 or 3 picks).thats my feeling..sure if mikko is the goalie that wins us the cup..i buy everyone a beer a the parade
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Its hard to forget when we have the experts saying wow after wow, and we are making trades and moves for players ranked below the lower pick we originally had. I applaud your optimism, but its tough to put up with an organization that always thumbs its nose at the hockey experts, and has to show it knows better than the rest of the league. If we had the history of the Pens or Wings, perhaps so, but they have not shown the results. Snow may be new, but the scouting and organization have been drafting like this for 15 years.
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Tond, deal on the beer.
Hey, I wanted different players as well but I trust that Snow has a plan. Why not, he isn’t Milbury.
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People love to bring up how the Isles passed on Parise and now Ferraro. The Isles are not the only team to pass on these guys.
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Who cares what TSN, Red Line or whomever else has to say. Its their OPINION. In the end, it means jack.
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2 goalies speaks volumes about DP’s health! I think a healthy DP would have been at NVMC last night. Is he done?
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258 thats a great point, and why this draft is so frustrating, even tho we got JT, this draft was supposed to be the deepest at 20-40 rankings in a generation, they have been saying this for over a year, and I do not believe we picked one player ranked in that range, with the ton of picks we had. Oh yeah, my mistake, we did pick ONE, with the TWELFTH PICK!!!!
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but with the last couple of drafts we now a bunch of those 30 goal scorers in the system that will not be traded. did you ever think that maybe they want to give these kids a chance. we have a young enough team as it is. the team the was just on the ice this past season matured alot, now we have jt too add to that. we will add a d-man via free agency, and watch this team contend for the playoffs. what if we find out dp cant play, now we have 2 choices to develop. maybe thats the case why else would they take 2 goalies. It is all speculation, none of us are sitting at that table next to wang and snow.
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ill take you up on that beer tond lol.
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Actually, Al, after the top 15 this draft was considered a crap shoot. I don’t know where you are getting this 0-40 picks stuff from.
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WOW..
Devils just took the second BIG defenseman I wanted, first Eric Gelinas, now Seth Helgeson…
To make it worse, the Rangers took Chris Kreider who I loved and also Ryan Bourque who would have been a nice late round pick for us…
OUCH! -
Parise was the best on the board when the Isles drafted Neilsen. Do you really think the goalie with one year of playing experience ranked below Ferraro is going to be better? If this was the one questionable move, fine, lets shake hands and hope for the best as Isles fans. But again, the Isles have made many questionable unconventional moves in this draft.
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mtrico says:
Outside of the Tavares pick, this draft is a real head scratcher. I wish I knew more about these kids, but I don’t have a real good feeling at this point.
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Havent we heard last years and this years draft are the deepest in a long time #266. THe experts have been saying you couldnt go wrong at 20-40 because the talent level is so good, teams have different opinions, thus an unknown (why you use crap shoot perhaps) but the second round forwards and dmen were known as being a deep draft, which was the reason why, I thought, Garthie stockpiled picks last year, that this was going to be a deep draft.
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Dan says:
Isles needed goalies and they went out and got two potential. Don’t know what you can be upset about. They have quite a few young players and hopefully can add a decent free agent to take some of the pressure off of JT. I am happy with this draft. I mean especially in the later rounds who here knows anything about any of these guys….
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BR says:
To paraphrase a line I saw elsewhere, we’ve taken an elite scoring talent, a potential top pairing Dman, and a potential elite goaltender (who, at nearly 21, is ready and willing to step immediately into the AHL), with what amounts to 3 first-round picks. This has been a great draft for us thus far.
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PJ, taking two goalies is a good move, but the EXPERTS are saying you could have had quality goalies in the THIRD ROUND. This draft was known for its depth at forward and d (i.e. you can get quality F and D in the second round) and the Isles show once again that they know more than the experts. Again, if they have results, fine, but look at all the questionable picks in the last five years.
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ok isles fans i am out time to get drunk at a wedding. enjoy the rest of the draft. Lets go isles. lets hope a good FA peiod starts on wed.
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Deep in talent to the first 15-20 picks, but not in where they would end up. There hasn’t been any drafts where alot of the second rounders actually did anything in the NHL. The fact that people are complaining about picks in the second and third rounds is funny as hell. Total crap shoot.
And hey, why not bitch about all the teams that passed on Ferraro in the first round?
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No use complaining about who is drafted, but what is given up to draft them. Moving to 12 was expensive. No way to tell the situation on the floor, but we gave up a lot that we earned last year to do it. Getting the ‘Yotes ’10 3d rounder for a 90-something is a good move.
Anyone know what number JT will wear? Loved the old school blue jersey they put on JT!
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In a draft, everything will be scrutinized — it’s really true that you can’t please everyone — nothing is a give in. And in reference to Parise, that was Mike Milbury’s doing — you’re talking about a guy who triggered the Luongo trade. The man was an absolute disaster, and even now on TV he still sounds like a knucklehead. You can’t mix what he’s done in comparison with Snow. Snow has done well…not great, but relatively very solid…that’s all you can ask for in my opinion because these rankings are all subjective and in the end you never know
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If these experts are so smart why are they not running hockey teams? I cannot wait for free agency and we get past the Draft.
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Pretty clear the Islanders still don’t get it. Except in goal they’ve added no size. They continue to draft small players, especially on defense. SO these indications they gave to Logan and Botta that they knew they need to get bigger and tougher they seem to have forgotten about. I mean De Haan could turn out to be elite but other then Harmonic and Neimi there is no size and zero toughness in the entire organization on defense. It is disgusting. Who’s gonna be the defense De Haan, Ness, Spurgeon, this russian, Kohn, Katic, MacDonald? Is this the future we have to look forward to? If it is it’s depressing. Damn it Snow all your enemies are getting bigger and meaner and it’s like you don’t even notice. You have constantly iced a bunch of wussy’s and continue to do so. Way to ruin Tavares draft weekend.
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milbury ran a hockey team..was he smart?
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secmaster420 says:
WTF is Klementyev? He’s not on any lists! What rock did we find him under?
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Jimmy Mac says:
What an debacle.
We really need to overhaul the scouting staff.
I have no problem with trading up or down to get picks.
But the value of the prospects they picked in the spots they did is unbelievable.
To move upt to #12 to pick de haun..lol.
Whoever decided that should be fired.
I understand they are doing your own draft board, but you have to question your staff when they give you advice like that. You have to compare the draftboard with others.
Even last year with the Bailey reach.
They had a chance to add quality this year and blew it.
Basically they dropped back to #9 last year for nothing.
They should have stuck with Filatov, Boedker, or Hodgson.
We could be sitting pretty with Tavares, Hodgson, Kassian… not a bad line.
Draft Grade…. D.
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I think as Islander fans we suffer from post-tramatic stress
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No doubt. Some fans more than others.
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Jzimm says:
Of all the players who were taken in this draft, I have only seen Tavares, Hedman, Ellis, and Schroeder actually play. I can’t at all speak for any other player selected. After all, I didn’t hear about Henrik Zetterberg until the 2002 Winter Olympics, which was 2 1/2 years after he was drafted. And if you’ll remember back to 10 years ago, all of these players who we were being told about; Weinhandl, Mapletoft, Kudroc, etc, turned into not much. It’s the scouting combined with the players’ ability and work ethic that gets the job done; not the name. Henrik Lundqvist was an unknown until after the lockout. We may not know the names, but knowing them now is not what’s important. It’s what these names become.
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i’m still elated. the wackiness after #1 is not ruining anything for me. the moves to #12 were great, then at first i thought the de haan pick was bizarre, but after reading all the stuff about the kid it a seems like a reasoned and potentially even shrewd move. the big goalie pick is fine. a good one (and revealing as noted). after that. there was size and toughness to choose from, both upfront and on the backline. still, more moves can happen and – we got JT! overall – awesome. great weekend in NY sports!
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we could have had J.T…KAssian…And FERRARO..thats all im sayin..wow that would have been real nice
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TavaresDaBust says:
Klementyev was on last years list (2008) went undrafted & the scouts did not think he would get drafted this year
This guy i remember reading has a 110 mph shot -it just does not hit net all that often – very strong in own zone – no speed – he is first cousins with Alexie Yashin
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Well said 283. In the end it’s up to the players. The teams can only do so much. I’m sure there have been teams that followed most of the experts suggestions with these picks and things still do not work out.
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<> Ok, we can work on his aim.
<> Good Dman
<> Red flags!!!!!!!!!
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James says:
Wow. This whole thing is comical. And im not talking about the draft picks. Whats with everyone complaining?? They took Tavares. Everyone else is a few years away from playing. “Hockey experts” and “Hockey analysts” are a joke. Do you really think that all these “hockey experts” have watched these guys play. doubtful. They read the same BS scouting reports that we do. Lets not forget if you took the head scout from each team and had them put up there top 60 outside of the top 5 i would venture a guess that everyones draft boards are completely different with a lot of wtf’s thrown in that the “hockey experts” that have never seen them play will say wow that was a reach. kind of like the armchair gm’s and scouts that are commenting in this thread. There is no such ting as a sure thing no matter what number the pick is. and when you say “best player available” well that means nothing because everyteam probably has a bpa and thats who they want to take.
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doc says:
Some of the comments left today really made me laugh out loud. Good job fans.
None of the players drafted yesterday and today are making the NHL this year except Tavares, Hedmen and probably Duchene.
Duchene himself even said… I may not be ready… I have a lot of work to do… and if I need to go back to Brampton… I will.
So if Duchene isn’t a lock to make the NHL… certainly we shouldn’t be crying over these other picks.
DOC
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**I meant in the draft, at least over the past few years
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Big Kid they picked from Minnesota 6’2 209
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Brian B says:
I think the Isles want size..but not necessarily size and skill. They proved that they can just get size via free agency…Witt, Sutton, etc.
De Haan may be small…but he still could be good you know?
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Thank you, James (293). Well put!
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Islanders should make a pitch for ian lapierrie, scuderi, and anderson
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rb says:
can’t believe some of the comments
if:
1. Tavares is indeed a legit all-star center
2. de Haan a a top-4 smooth skating d-man who can play the point on your PP3. Koskinen a legit No. 1 goaltender
what more can you ask for out of one draft?
check out any draft year, and 2-3 NHL players is what you can expect, and if they turn out to be impact guys, that’s an “A” draft class
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gary says:
293–you have to consider if all the major scouting agencies and “experts” have players rated a certain way–and they all agree on where a players should go within reason–and when a team goes to pick and goes off the board or picks a players ranked several rounds away–its a cause of concern–Yes, the rating agencies and experts get it wrong too but they are slated to go a certain way because of production, work ethic and skills compared to their peers–If you have a record like the Devils or Detriot by doing things like this and the players turn out great, you earn a reputation–The Isles havent earned that yet
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MarinerIslanderSean says:
This Anders Lee kid can really throw a football. Check out Youtube.
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Interesting pick with Lee. 6’2″/212Lbs. Scored 20 goals for 66 points in his HS season this year (25 games).
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All i know is that this team has a thing for drafting over aged players. Most of the guys that we drafted were eligible for last years draft too. Dibo was overaged when garth took him last year as well. Maybe that’s a good thing…extra time to see these guys play? I don’t know. But I am happy with what we got, especially our top 3 picks. Can’t wait for wednesday, even though i dont think we will do anything until later in the week
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Hey, some size!! I like this kid from Minnesota… Multi-sport guy.. Kinda like Zach Budish.. Going to play hockey for Notre Dame Size-hurray!
Whats up with this Russian D-man..any info?? the Russians arent letting their guys come here that easy anymore… If he’s any good, he’ll end up in the KHL..
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AZS says:
It’s really getting difficult to read all of these posts …
Can anyone honestly say they no ANYTHING about any (or most) of the players drafted? I mean this isn’t college basketball or football. We’re literally only going on what we’re reading. Some of you are acting like we picked up bums off the street because the announcers aren’t commenting or because someone – who isn’t a GM in the league – had them lower on a mock draft …
Facts are we need depth in all areas …we picked JT like we all wanted …Snow is now taking players that he feels are going to help the team …lets all calm down and stop acting like you know about these players – or any of the other drafted players, because honestly you just don’t …
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I agree with #’S 293 & 300
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Jim says:
Other than Tavares I think this draft was yet another bust. What is it with this team and goalies? Unless this is a singal that DP will not be back then Garth totally wasted his picks. If DP is fine then why draft TWO goalies. Maybe one would be OK but TWO? I also think they totally overapaid for DeHaan. They could have gotten him much later. Since they took the trouble and expense to move up so far they could have done better with that pick. Yes Mr. Wang we will need patience. I think alot more than anyone realizes. Too bad Neil Smith didn’t stick around becuase I’m seeing a new Mike Milbury era ahead. The Tavares pick was a no brainer. It’s the later rounds that show how good a GM really is.
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SCLI says:
Well all I can say is this. I was 1000% sure the Isles would take Tavares and I posted so. My concerns were that snow and company screw up a very deep draft by mismanaging the picks and personal. My fears turned out to be legit. A Deaf dumb and blind Chimp would have drafted JT #1. Seems the same Chimp decided to stick his head up his BuTT during the rest of the draft. Dare I say this, I hope they make amends with a good trade or two and a free agent signing or two. After drafting JT, Isles score a big (C-) grade. I think thats more than generous. What a let down
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doc on Jun 27th, 2009 12:26:29 said:
Some of the comments left today really made me laugh out loud. Good job fans.that’s goes for me too. what a blast this has been.
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Mike in Bohemia says:
Disagreeing with the picks (after Tavares) is not whining, its expressing opinion. None of us are, nor claim to be GM’s, and no, we don’t claim to know more than Garth. However, we have access to the opinions of numerous experts…..mock drafts up the wazoo, scouting services, on & on & on.
Based on this magnitude of information (not my own personal analysis of game films), I have the right to disagree just as much as you have the right to agree.
Personally, I think Garth has gone against the grain, and I question his picks after Tavares. I know only time will tell, and I will support these kids fully, and hope I am wrong.
For those of you with no tolerance for criticism, stop whining about us dissenters. We are still Islanders. -
i am far from an expert, but what Garth did last year looked a lot better on June 25th than it does on June 27th.
1. We can officially change teh name of the team ot the NY Smurfs. Which will be perfect if they move to Suffolk, then they can be the Suffolk Smurfs
2. de Haan needs to be a can’t miss top 4 D to justify what they gave up and passed up for him. time will tell. What does this mean for Ness, Katic, Hamonic, Niemi, Hillen and Gervais… is this what our D is going to look like in 3 years?
3. I guess nobody knows how all of this is going to turn out, but you know for sure going into a draft that coming out the Isles will be laughed at. That’s all well and good if after 3 years their prospects are pros… Last year’s draft looks pretty promising, so the jury is still out.
4. I just hope garth can pull another Streit move out of his oversized pads to make us competetive next year. Because the current roster gets us a top 5 pick next year, no doubt… well… unless Ryan Smyth is available again. -
Oops typo sorry – I agree with #’S 293 & 300. What I would really like to know is what made de Haan more valuable to the Islanders than Kassian. I do not pretend to know more, but on the surface it’s an odd pick at that spot in the draft. You had a 6’4″ beast who is tough, mean, skates great and scores – could the Islanders NOT use that type of dynamic? This is NOT to say deHaan won’t be a good player, but I’ve had enough of Campoli types…I wanted some toughness and size at the forward position and this kid would have been a good fit. Onto the summer and we’ll see what happens.
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Mike in Bohemia— BRILLIANTLY PUT!!!!
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Scouting isn’t an exact science. I think we are all pretty happy with the past couple of years.
OKPOSO, Bailey, Hamonic, Kessel, DiBenedetto, Martin, Ness, TAVARES!!!, Petrov, Katic, Nieme,Spurgeon etc. etc.
Through in Bergenheim, Neilsen, Comeau etc.
Some of these guys will be very good. Maybe two will be great!
These are players that will fill the needs in the near future. We have Streit, Weight, Witt for veteran leadership. It’s a pretty good mix.
Goalies are a bit of an unknown… I think that they will be happy that 1 of the 2 makes it. I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt there.
Have some faith. Good job Garth and Co.
The free agency period is a week away. Maybe some size comes from that and via trade.
DOC
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284 is exactly right – the players can turn out outstanding (and I hope they do), and the draft is still a failure. It’s because the players that they are drafting are likely to be available at a later time than when they are drafted. They are wasting picks that way. The draft is about maximizing your long term potential by drafting for need and value. De Haan would have been more than likely available at 16. Why trade up for a second time to get him? Why waste precious draft resources? Same thing with the goalie at 31. Someone said it earlier – the Islanders are the Jets of the NHL…
Draft grade C -
goisles01 says:
Remember Pavel Brendl? How the Rangers traded way up to the 4th position, I believe. They gave up a player from their roster, Dan Cloutier, and a bunch of picks. I wanted Pavel Brendl that year. I was ticked that the Rangers did that. He was the “consensus” best offensive player in the draft. Size w/scoring ability. Where is he now? The Kontinental League? Never did anything. 22 points in 78 NHL games. He then went to Sweden and led the Elitserien in scoring. Now he is the top scorer in Russia. Point is WHO KNOWS ANYTHING? By rule the draft is a crap shoot and to argue the value and potential of 17 and 18 year olds is a waste of energy.
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Isles72 says:
If you don’t trust your scouts you will never have a good team. Give Garth and Ryan some slack there is no way you can judge them yet unless you have a crystal ball, it will take years.
We just got the number one forward on SnowJans list, the number 5 defenceman at worst and the number one and number two or three goalie. Say what you want, but they just got their men and only time will tell if they were right or wrong.
You whiners are not scouts, so sit back have some faith for once and enjoy this weekend, I mean we just drafted John Tavares – Go buy some tickets NOW.
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MarinerIslanderSean – 302
Funniest comment in two days of draft blogs!!
This hockey player we drafted can really throw a football… LOL
Kinda like, hey, this Tavares kid throws a mean bowling ball.. -
jim (308)… dont forget the good people garth picked last year after bailey… petrov, martin, dibenedetto just to name a few… everybody has to stop the whining, we got our man in tavares, let garth do his job… dehann is gonna be someone special and mikko has a huge upside… great job garth
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and i truly hope that im so off, the experts are so off, the scouting/ranking agencies are all off and Snows scouts were dead on–We have to wait 3 or 4 years to see–The reason for the pessimistic people here are the Isles past track record
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308 and 309, you are entitled to your opinions. But there is no way either of you can make that statement. CLEAAAAAAAAAARLY The Isles are quite concerned with DiPietro’s health issues and decided to take two goalies and start cultivating them in case they can’t find Ricky is never going to be the same. We don’t know more than these guys, so there is really no way you guys can make a statement that the draft was a bust.
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agree 322–No one knows if a bust or not–Time will tell–The fact that we dont know about these off the chart picks doesnt help in confidence AT THIS POINT though
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I will echo that 314, when you pay the price that we paid to move up from 26 to 12 you MUST take the Most dynamic player available. We did not. CDH could turn out to be a gem and it wont change the fact that we could have had him with #26 or 16 or possibly #31.We could have played with the Banks money, instead we played come from behind all thru the draft and never caught up.
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I hate to say it but as far as I can see this was a productive draft…a blue chip forward,blue chip d, and two goalies
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POOR DRAFT…atleast we got the big fish…J.T.
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Numbers65 says:
Not complaining! JT is an Islander. Good D-man DeHaan, and 2 goalies. This must mean DP (12 year contract)is DONE, which sucks, but if that is so we have a BIG need in net. Mabe they will tell us soon.
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Come on, guys.
Everybody is getting heated and arguing that we need to give Snow “the benefit of the doubt.”
Tavares was the most obvious pick that Snow could not afford to lose. But from what I’ve seen…it’s still the same Snow we are familiar with. Still taking outlandish picks that nobody quite understands and saying “you’ll thank me later,” as always.
We need to buckle down. We need to stop giving slack to a GM who hasn’t shown us any spine yet.
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Not complaining! JT is an Islander. Good D-man DeHaan, and 2 goalies. This must mean DP (12 year contract)is DONE, which sucks, but if that is so, we have a BIG need in net. Mabe they will tell us soon.
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I’m really happy with our draft. We get JT, a potential point a game defenseman in deHaan and a possible 1A goalie which we desperately need. The idea of a draft is to target the players that you are interested in and get as many of them as possible. Thats what Garth is doing. Who cares where they are drafted. Was Zach Parise a great pick at 18 but a reach at 9? Would Mike Bossy have been a reach if taken by another team at 5 or 6?? The Isles have a lot of holes and a long way to go to be a serious contender for the Cup. One draft will not fix everything. GO ISLES!!
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Everybody is entitled to their opinion.
I just think they could have had the players they wanted at a later slot.
Bailey
De Haun
MikkoBy doing this they lost valuable prospects and picks.
No there is no guarantees… but you have to use common sense.
If we had complete trust in our scouting staff, then we wouldn’t have been so hysterical for the last 2 weeks about Tavares.
Anyway… enjoy your weekend. Hopefully July 1st brings us all together again as one big happy family..lol.
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Jeff says:
I just want everybodsy here to please relax on the job Garth and Ryan are doing. This new regime started in 2006 after Milbury wa s gone. If you look at the 2006 draft after Okposo, they got Joensuu, Figren and Rahkshani who are our top prospects today in the system. The 2007 draft I believe was a weak one and Snow made the right choice to get Ryan Smyth. Last year, the system was replenished as they got some really good prospects after Bailey who have been developing well. Kirill Petrov was a great take last year as well. I have faith in the scouts now until proven wrong. Remember, it takes 3-5 years a draft to conclude. Five years after 2006 is 2011. So 2011 is the first year we can form an opinion on Snow and Jankowski.
Only concern here is the health of DP. Taking 2 goalies with the picks being traded may say something. And if these guys are not playing for at lesat another 3 years, the goalies you pick up as UFA are not long term. So if you get an average age goalie, you will still need goalies in a few years. Drafting these goalies is long term, and Garth haws plans on short term.
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The Ice Man says:
I can’t believe some of the analysis here. The value of a pick in any draft is not known until that player’s career begins, if it ever does. If DeHaan has a better career than Moore, Kassian, etc. he will have been a better value pick.
Also, to those complaining about 15 years of bad drafts have you stopped to think that Snow has been responsible for only the past 2-3 drafts now. It’s OK to blast Milbury, he sucked big-time, but unfair to tar Snow with the same brush. Let’s see Snow’s track record then comment, not make comments in anticipation of failure.
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Jimmy Mac: They DID overhaul the scouting staff. Grades wont mean much of anything for at least another 3-4 years.
I had posted more than once that a lot of people would be unhappy about something regarding this draft regardless of whether the Islanders drafted JT. Case in point!
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IceMan (333): Even the analysts at the draft were doing that lol… I heard stuff like “good job with this Garth, I bashed you when you didnt pick Parise…” Um Garth was a goalie when Parise was drafted, but OK lol.
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ray since 74 says:
Let’s see how it pans out. Draft is always a crapshoot when you talk about 18YOs. Now on to Free Agency!
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bcarroll25 says:
tavares was the consesus top pick.to me garth is tied to bailey and dehaan.he traded down last year, passing on players most had rated higher, and this year moved up to get a player most had rated lower. if bailey and dehaan don’t pan out then snojanks wasted the last year of our lives watching this team lose.
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IslesHostage says:
Bye bye Rick
Bye Bye sizzling bacon
Hello reliable
I think Ima gonna cry-ayJust a hip little knee-jerk ditty played on concussion instruments. Seriously, I hope we can put meat on this kid’s bones (NOT LIKE RICK’S “ENHANCEMENT” A FEW YEARS AGO!) so we have size, MASS, lateral movement and just awesome netminding our Sudsie and others were impressed with.
Patience, fans AND GARTH!
We look very good this draft. And I’m as negative as it gets saying so.
I think we take a shot at Zack Budish. 6’3″ 229lb right-winger, only downside is he is coming off a knee injury from playing football, he played in just 15 games last season.