Monthly Archives: June 2009
8:54: With the 12th overall pick, the Islanders go with a head-turner and select Calvin de Haan. Not John Moore (surprised), not Jordan Schroeder (not surprised) or Zack Kassian or any numbers of prospects widely considered as higher first-rounders. A bit of a stunner. The move from 16 to 12 was not expensive. The complete move to take de Haan all the way from 26 was.
Hey, we said they’d move for somebody that was really high on their board that isn’t on everyone else’s. In the end, the night is about Tavares.
Last year, the Islanders passed on some top prospects to stockpile draft picks and take Josh Bailey at 9. Tonight, they gave a big chunk back to take de Haan.
What that means: a couple of scouts at the Islanders table were infatuated with de Haan. We’ll know in 2-3 years if they were right.
8:50 pm - Islanders make deal with Minnesota to move to 12, giving up 16, 77 and 182. Great value move.
8:12 pm - Why make the deal already? One expert theorized to me, maybe they will try to move up even more, I mean Moore.
7:58 pm - Islanders trade up from 26 to 16. In a deal with Columbus, they give up 26, 37, 62 and 92. They get back 16 and 72. A steep price if they don’t get a John Moore or Zack Kassian-calibre prospect. Surprising they do it without knowing who is left at 16. As predicted, they hold on to tomorrow’s first pick – the 31st overall.
And the Coliseum crowd of 10,000 erupts like it hasn’t since the Toronto series.
By not saying for two months what they would do with the No. 1 pick, the Islanders were telling you all along.
Make no mistake, the selling of John Tavares begins tonight. (Updated 7:30 pm - NYI saying that if you buy a season ticket tonight, you’ll meet Tavares next week). Expect at least one mega sales event next week, along with a media tour. They won’t put JT on billboards, but the Islanders have two and a half months before camp to make “Seen Stamkos?” look like the publicity for a school play. And they will. Just watch ‘em.
This is a great kid and a potentially great NHL player. He will serve the Islanders and their fans well.
Now on to finding a dozen more players over the next year for the rebuild. The Islanders kept this a secret for a few weeks. For their next trick, they will attempt to assemble a team that can win a playoff round and then reach that consistent contender goal.
With Tavares, they are a lot closer. The celebration in Islanders Country begins.
("Hey JT, can you believe they thought me or Vic were goin' first"?)
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7:07 pm – TSN shows live shot. Crowd goes nuts. Enjoy the night.
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7:00 pm – Billy Jaffe, clearing aware of a brewing storm inside the Coliseum, plays up how “the Islanders are going to get a great player either way.”
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6:50 pm – About 8,000 people here now, and still coming in. Crowd chanting “JOHN TA-VA-RES” as loud as any roar this past season. On the scoreboard they just ran Matt Duchene and Victor Hedman features, which were met with jeers. Arena erupts again when Tavares segment begins.
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6:30 pm – Let me get this on the record one more time. If this blog goes up in flames as a result, so be it. There will be far bigger issues.
The Islanders are going to draft John Tavares. The Islanders should draft John Tavares.
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6:18 pm – CJ Papa and Dina are interviewing a lot of fans over the Coliseum scoreboard. Funny thing is, they’re not asking the fans who they would like to see the Islanders draft.
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6:05 pm – Just ran into a top Islanders exec who may be a great actor, or he was sincerely concerned. I’m 99% certain it’s the latter, but I also predicted the NYI would take Tavares. I think he just doesn’t know, has heard about the reports from Logie and Dreger and Duhatschek and is on guard.
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5:55 pm - Greg Logan reports Avalanche sources calling NYI drafting of Duchene a “certainty.”
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5:45 pm – I’ve run into a half-dozen former colleagues in the 10 minutes since I’ve been in the NVMC. At least five of them could use a pair of Depends. The other guy is trying to keep busy so he doesn’t have to think about it. None of them have any clue what’s going to happen in 90 minutes.
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5:38 pm - Just got to the press box. Good crowd already here. Some writers blogging on the draft party floor, while I’m joined upstairs by old friend Brian Compton of nhl.com. I couldn’t get any work done down there, especially if…you know…
My prediction of Tavares for the last two months will hold until they finally make the doggone pick. Yes, I’m aware of my boy Dreger changing his pick to Duchene.
UPDATED at 4:40 pm - The well-respected Eric Duhatschek says almost everyone around the draft floor thinks the No. 1 pick will be Matt Duchene. Yes!
Islanders Point Blank on Twitter
PB reader Jeff K, in town for the Draft Party and staying at the Marriott, just walked over to the Coliseum. At the merchandise kiosk he spotted a stack of TAVARES nameplates in clear view among other closed boxes. That jives with a story we heard recently: the Islanders are prepared to personalize jerseys tonight for TAVARES or DUCHENE and will just throw out the ones they don’t use. If this means anything, it’s just that they are drafting one of them – not both. Relax. But why no nameplate love for HEDMAN? Comments. Get in your predictions below.
Me, B.D. Gallof and other bloggers who don’t travel with the team predict Tavares. Greg Logan and Billy Jaffe – the Islanders’ only beat writer and the team’s most connected broadcaster – predict Duchene. Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger – the Peter Gammons and Buster Olney of Canada – say it’s Hedman. Be warned. Provide your prediction for tonight. Provide just two names and no conditions: the No. 1 pick and the No. 26 (or earlier) pick. Just two names. Comments.
Since I speak quicker than I type, here’s an interview I did this morning on XM with Shawn Lavigne and Jamie Shalley. They even knew about RC Dugans.
It’s confirmed: there will be a camera at the Islanders Draft Party to beam a reaction shot on the TSN/VERSUS broadcast.
Folks, the John Tavares Twitter page is a fake. The real kid wouldn’t have 700 fewer Followers than Point Blank. Please stop.
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On this potentially historic day, who better to speak with than the man many regard as the greatest coach in the history of professional sports?
One of my last great memories of the old job was inviting Scotty Bowman to the Al Arbour game and being his tour guide for the weekend. Scott was good enough to take a few minutes out of his Blackhawks meetings and share his insights.
Matt Duchene is being compared with Steve Yzerman and Bryan Trottier. Victor Hedman with Nicklas Lidstrom. John Tavares with many of the league’s great goal scorers. As someone who has coached so many of the greats of the game, or coached countless times against them, what do you think of these comparisons?
To a certain extent, the comparisons are very silly. You rarely know what you are going to get with 18-year old draft picks, even the top prospects. If you look at the top 3, the only thing that seems pretty certain is that John Tavares is going to be a big goal scorer – maybe even lead the league. The rest of the draft has plenty of talented kids, but it all comes down to maturity, development and coaching.
You cringe a little for these young men when you hear them called “the next Stevie Yzerman” or ”the next Trottier” or the next Lidstrom. But in the end, it’s not really a big deal. I think it doesn’t help the player for the first half of his rookie year, and then it goes away. Look what Steven Stamkos went through last year. But if you look at his play in the second half, you know he’s going to be a terrific player in our league for a long time.
You’re known for your passion for defense. Did your philosophy on D effect how you view the draft?
In most cases, you just want to take the best player available. There are some exceptions for teams further along in their rebuilding, but you want the best player. The only thing I’d say about the draft is that, if your scouts are divided right down the middle on two players – if they feel they are completely equal – then I would choose the defenseman.
Why is that?
Hockey is a complicated game in some areas, but sometimes it’s simple. You play 12 forwards and only 6 defensemen. In the playoffs, in big spots a coach may go down to 9 and 4. The best forwards play around 20 minutes. The best defensemen will play 30 minutes when you need them. It kind of goes without saying that, man to man, a great defenseman is more valuable.
Is this how you feel about the John Tavares-Victor Hedman debate?
I’ve seen both players, but it’s really up to how the Islanders view them. If they rate them equally, then the defenseman is probably the way to go. But I don’t know how the Islanders rank them. They’re both excellent prospects, so the Islanders are in an excellent position.
I know most of the games you scouted of Tavares and Hedman were at the World Junior Championships. What did you think of Hedman?
He is where he is in this draft because of his size, skating ability and offense. To me, he looks like a defenseman who is really going to want to join the play as he gets NHL experience. His experience in the Swedish League should help him in the NHL next year, although playing our long season could take its toll.
From what our people tell me, Hedman was injured and only played to about 80% of his capacity at the World Juniors. He did not have the greatest tournament, but you could see that he has the ability to be a special player.
What about Tavares?
A nose for the net. Star qualities. Looks like he can carry a team with his offensive ability. To anyone who doesn’t scout juniors regularly, Tavares had a breakthrough tournament. The kid knew everyone was watching and he delivered. He was the best player. Just a tremendously gifted young man. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll be a great goal scorer at the NHL level.
Have you seen enough of Matt Duchene to understand why most scouts have him in the top 3?
That’s a tough call. I saw a few of his games with Brampton, and you could tell he is a talented and very, very smart player. The downside is he was playing behind Cody Hodgson, but that was a good experience for him too because I’m sure he learned a lot. If he goes back to Brampton next season instead of the NHL, it will be his team. Duchene is a tough call compared to Tavares and Hedman. He’s going to be very good, but he we know what his ultimate upside is going to be? This is why you have to put your faith in your scouts.
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