Monthly Archives: June 2009
(thanks, Steve)
I don’t know if I’ve come out and said this much over the last 72 hours, but the Islanders’ first choice in the 2009 NHL Draft will be, from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League…John Tavares.
Seems a little bizarre the Islanders came in last in the league, won a lottery and will make the obvious choice – and are going to make it seem like an accomplishment. But I also concede that sometimes I can be cynical. Must be the career change!
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If I’m wrong and the Islanders draft Matt Duchene instead of John Tavares, I’m not going to have a bag over my head. I’m still going to the Post Draft Post Draft Party Draught Celebration at RC Dugans in East Meadow. I will not be the person who drafted Duchene – who had 50 points as a 17-year old, over Tavares – who had 72 goals as a 16-year old.
If the Islanders draft Victor Hedman…well, that would sorta suck. In my Snojanks Scoreboard, I have Victor at a 1% probability. There’s really nothing I’d be able to do about that screwup except to continue bowing to Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger.
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Congratulations to the Islanders for playing a fun game for the last two and a half months. The joyous crescendo at Johnaroo tomorrow at 7:15 will be tremendous. Garth Snow and Charles Wang – and no one else, be assured – decided to play it this way. I applaud them for sticking with it.
If by any chance the Islanders do not draft John Tavares, then my congratulations and applause for waiting until draft night are withdrawn. The Islanders will have made a monumental error with overwhelming ramifications. Not necessarily on the ice, mind you – time will tell there – but everywhere else. You can start with not making the adjustment of the kid they just drafted any easier.
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Gary Bettman on Friday night: “Hey, Johnny T! You’ve just been selected first overall in the NHL Draft! Now, for as long as we’ve been doing this, every pick has run a two-hour gamut of interviews and photo booths for media across the world. The picks usually get to spend some time with the management of their new teams. Your family meets them, etc. And, of course, the players spend the rest of the night celebrating with their loved ones.
“But for you Johnny, it’s different. The moment you get drafted, spit, you don’t even have to go to the podium to put on the jersey and shake my hand. The Islanders are going to put you in a car, with a police escort in front, and get you to their private plane. You don’t even have to clear immigration! Then you’re going to land in Farmingdale, where the Islanders are going to rush you to the Coliseum to meet who’s ever left at their Draft Party. It will all be a surprise, so who knows how many people will still be at the Coliseum around 10:00, but what the heck!
“We’ve never made an exception like this before, but it’s the Islanders. The NHL always bends over backwards to take care of our Islanders.”
Numbers of emails and Comments sent to Point Blank citing rumors from that Ruth Buzzi sight: 17,839.
Number of times those rumors have been bogus, if not invented: 17,839.
If I have to start paying PB readers $25 a year to stop bothering me with that nonsense, I just may.
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As for pick 26, the three second-rounders and two third rounders, I’ve tried to bring some names and deductive reasoning in my previews over the last month. But I want to be honest with my readers. I will report the news of those selections, hopefully have some insight on the intriguing ones. However, if you’re looking for detailed analysis or raves or boos, I would suggest looking elsewhere.
One of the more hilarious items you’ll find in the sports business is the Winners and Losers of the Draft in the NHL and NFL. Last summer, a crew of guys on XM declared the Islanders one of the winners. The official team website, knowing there was some fallout from 5-7-9-Bailey, must have linked to the positive Islanders reviews a half-dozen times. None of it means a thing.
Pick 26, or even a move up to 20: that player is at least two full seasons from having an impact. The second-rounders: three years – if you really nail one, maybe just two for him. That’s assuming these young men ever play in the NHL. Dustin Kohn, 46th overall in 2005: working his tail off to become an everyday NHL defenseman, but not realistically close to it yet. Second round in 2003: Dmitri Chernikh, Evgeny Tunik, Jeremy “Hi Nate, I Must Be Going” Collitonersson.
You won’t see me igniting or joining the conversation about how incredibly the Islanders fared with the 37th pick in the draft.
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More than anything else, enjoy the celebration on Friday. Whether you’ll be at the Draft Party or watching anywhere else around the world, it’s going to be fun.
Comments. One more interview with a hockey icon to come. If you haven’t voted yet, our Reader Poll on the No. 1 pick continues in the next thread.
Only one Comment per reader. Everyone gets their chance. If you have never posted before, this is the time. This is not about who you think the NYI will pick. It’s about you. 200 words or less: who do you want and why.
(thanks, Rob A.)
Islanders Point Blank on Twitter
Our series of little stories on the mechanics of draft day continues…
At the Islanders draft table in 1997, I had an old hockey bag stuffed with two jerseys and about two dozen Velcro nameplates. The Islanders had the fourth and fifth overall picks that year and smart money was on Joe Thornton going to Boston at 1, followed by Patrick Marleau to San Jose with the second pick.
Like all the teams, the Islanders make up a jersey for each first round pick with a velcro strip over the number on the back. I would get from the NYI chief scout the names of all the players it was even remotely possible the Islanders could pick. They would never admit it to me, but it was always understood they provided more names than we needed because they didn’t ever want the jersey manufacturer to leak out our potential draftees.
So in ’97, I had more than enough nameplates for the two high first round picks. I recall HOSSA was in the mix, as were MARA, SAMSONOV, BOYNTON, FERENCE and many others.
After Thornton went first, Marleau second and Olli Jokinen went to LA with the No. 3 pick, it was showtime for me and my colleague in PR. We were first told to secretively affix the LUONGO velcro strip to the back of the jersey for the No. 4 pick, making Roberto the highest drafted goalie at the time. (Now this is why I went to Nassau CC and La Salle!).
There was a brief delay before then chief scout Gord Clark (now with the Rangers) gave us instructions for the jersey for the No. 5 overall pick. There apparently were some dicussions with Calgary (pick 6) and Tampa Bay (pick 7). With time running out on the clock, Gordie gave me the green light for BREWER and the Islanders locked in two very fine young hockey players.
A mini-legend was started later that night, where they all are created on draft weekend – at the hotel bar. Somebody told someone who told someone else that Calgary decided not to give up a third round draft pick to the Islanders to move from No. 6 to No. 5 because they saw me and my colleague with the LUONGO and BREWER nameplates out. What a total crock of BS. Why am I so sure? Because, although I was 32 years old at the time, I went completely under the draft table to open the bag and affix the nameplates. The jerseys never came out from under the table until Gordie and the Islanders scouts made their way to the podium.
There was also the omen in 2005 that it wasn’t in the cards for the Islanders’ first round pick. The day before the draft, the velcro nameplates arrived in my hotel room. Sifting through them, I noticed one was wrong: O’MARA. I called the Islanders’ chief scout at the time and said, “I don’t have to worry about this one, right? There’s no way a Team Canada gold medal-winning center is still gonna be there at pick 15.”
I was asked to see if I could get a replacement, just in case. Thanks to our equipment staff, they whipped one up and the nameplate arrived the morning of the draft. Ryan O’Marra was drafted 15th overall by the Islanders, messed up his ankle in his second training camp, was included in the Ryan Smyth trade and scored 1 goal in 62 games this season with Springfield of the AHL.
Why am I telling you all this? No reason, really. Just a little anecdote – filler, as some of you like to call it – before a few hundred more arguments in Comments about Tavares vs. Hedman vs. Duchene.
As you may know, the Islanders are rightfully going first-class with their jersey for the first overall pick. Produced by the manufacturer in Queens, authentic vintage royal blue Third Jerseys have been stitched up for John, Victor and Matt. No velcro here. They’ll probably do nameplates for picks 26, 31 and 37 and maybe even the third-rounders.
Handing over a jersey with a name on it to a kid drafted 56th overall is cool. It sends a message to the player and the rest of the arena that you really wanted him.
DRAFT NOTES
Today’s the day the top prospects are the featured guests at a luncheon with the media. A lot of press will come out of it. Nothing of substance will be said, which is why I’m staying back and working the Draft Party – aka Tavarestock or Johnaroo. Tavares, Hedman and Duchene will say they would love to be the No. 1 pick, welcome playing for the Islanders, enjoyed their visits and have no clue where they’ll be drafted. Of course, they have said this all before, but it will be treated as if they haven’t.
I got a few notes yesterday from media friends about Garth Snow’s four-questions-and-out huddle yesterday. The gist of all of them: it’s very cool the Islanders are keeping this a secret, Snowy, but lighten up and show a sense of humor about it. Maybe he will today if they catch the GM before he gets in the hotel elevator.
Thanks to Bob l for the Johnaroo. Comments on this story only. Comment Guidelines.
Seth Everett is doing an Islanders segment every Wednesday night in the summer on 1050 ESPN Radio in NY. Here’s the link to his page. Find “State of the Union” and the NYI logo to play and download the podcast of my 8-minute appearance tonight on his show.
The insane volume of traffic at times during the season caused Point Blank to crash. I need a backup plan. If you haven’t already, please sign up for Point Blank on Twitter. I’ve been on Twitter three weeks and have found it easy, enjoyable and harmless. Thanks.
Should have done it sooner, but it’s not too late to check in with a coach who knows both John Tavares and Matt Duchene well. Meet Dave Cameron, an assistant coach for Team Canada at the WJC and the head coach of the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League. Cameron coached Tavares at the WJCs and was there when Duchene was cut. Better still, he knows what it’s like to coach against them. Cameron is so well-regarded, he has been promoted to associate coach for Canada at the 2010 Worlds.
Dave was drafted by the Islanders in the 8th round in 1978 and played two years for Jim Devellano’s farm team in Indianapolis. While with the Checkers, he was teammates with, among others, Darcy Regier, Hector Marini, Alex McKendry, Billy Carroll, Mike Hordy and goaltenders Richard Brodeur, Roland Melanson and Kelly Hrudey.
Dave, how did John Tavares play for you and Pat Quinn at the World Junior Championships?
The Worlds are the best against the best. To me, John was the best of the best. This is a young man who proved to everyone at the junior level that he is determined, clutch, a great teammate. He proved everything to anyone who still had questions.
That’s why the “Yeah, Tavares will score a lot of goals, but can he win you a Stanley Cup?” chatter seems unfortunate. He led a national team under serious pressure to a gold medal.
Of course he did. That’s what winners do. John Tavares is a winner. John has been a part of two World Junior Championship teams. I have another illustration for you. The London Knights are one of the premier organizations in our league. They win a lot. They do things the right way. After watching John for more than three years in Oshawa, the people in London decided to do everything possible to add John to their team to make a run for a Memorial Cup. To people who don’t follow the Ontario League, let me tell you that says everything about his play and his character.
You can’t win a Stanley Cup with one player. This is still a team game and always will be. John has an extraordinary amount of skill to help a team win a Stanley Cup. That can’t even be argued.
You and Quinn and the other assistants, Willie Desjardins and Guy Boucher, had Tavares in Team Canada camps and for most of December. Was he coachable? Did he play well in areas besides around the opposition net?
He did everything we asked of him. John’s a really fine young man. Very coachable, always wanting to learn. The best teammate. We played him in every key situation – up a goal, down a goal, didn’t matter. We wanted him out there.
What’s your take on the micro-analysis of John’s game with each day leading up to the draft?
That’s the drawback for elite junior players. As a head coach in the OHL, I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes we over-play our best players. These young men play too much. It is impossible for them or for anyone to go full-out over a 100-game season as a teenager. We ask too much of them. So if anyone – the scouts, the experts, the fans - want to focus on gaps in a young player’s game, there will always be areas to pick apart.
As head coach of Mississauga/St. Mike’s, what was it like coaching against Tavares?
You game plan around him. You want your best, especially your top D pair, against him. When he has the puck, you have to take away his time and space or he will burn you.
I’ll tell you what I used to tell our team: would you ever let a thief into your house? If you let a thief into your house, he’s going to steal something. That’s how it is with Tavares. He’s a thief. If you let Tavares into your zone and give him room, he’s going to score or set up a goal.
Matt Duchene didn’t make your WJC team, but what’s your opinion of him?
Matt is a dominant player in his age group who’s only going to get better. Last year, especially in the second half, he fulfilled all of the great expectations for him. He had an extremely strong playoff. He was on a good team, well coached, so he’s going to take that experience with him.
Why did Matt not make Team Canada?
It was a hard, hard decision the committee had to make. Matt was big-time in the mix. Sometimes you’re just looking for a player with a specific skill set when you’re putting together a tournament team. The other thing to keep in mind is that we were the only team to go with a roster of 12 forwards and 8 defensemen. Most usually go with 13 and 7. It was no reflection whatsoever on Matt’s ability. He’s a terrific young man and handled the disappointment perfectly. He went out and had an amazing second half for Brampton. That says everything you need to know about Matt.
I know you’re not going to make a recommendation for the Islanders and aren’t in position to discuss Victor Hedman in detail. But what do you think of the decision they are faced with if it comes down to Tavares and Duchene?
It’s never easy drafting 18-year olds, even at the top of the draft. There is no such thing as a complete player at John and Matt’s age. That comes over time and with proper development and an eagerness of the player to learn. Over-analyzing any player would be a mistake.
The Islanders and their fans are extremely fortunate. Whether they take John or Matt, they’re getting an electrifying player they can build their franchise around.
Comments.
Islanders Point Blank on Twitter
UPDATED at 12:15 am: Amazing how these things work out. I wrote up this post because I was intrigued by the test of loyalty discussion, but also because I wanted something fresh tonight before I left the house for RVC’s big 3.0 tennis match against Setauket. I came home at midnight to what I believe is the best Comment thread since we started Point Blank.
Thank you for that. If you haven’t shared your thoughts yet, please get them in this morning. I’m sure we’d all love to hear from as many Islanders fans as possible. Thanks again…CB
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7:15 pm - I really think the Islanders should draft John Tavares. Y’all, um, probably know that. Like many of you and Ryan Jankowski too, I wish they could also draft Matt Duchene and Victor Hedman.
Hedman and Duchene are no doubt future impact players and I was really impressed with both in our conversations. But there’s something I wanted to address tonight, and I really hope no one gets insulted – although I can understand how it could be taken that way. I sincerely mean no harm. Just want to provide some calm, hopefully common sense perspective.
As a general rule, fans who post in April, May and June on blogs called Islanders Point Blank and message boards like Islandermania will not – despite their proclamations – quit supporting a team because the team doesn’t draft the player they want. Or trade a great player. Or change the logo to an angry fisherman. Or are purchased by a schlemiel with no money.
As you are well aware, the Islanders have sorta pushed that theory to the limit over the last 16 years.
I get it. I have lived it from all angles.
I think the Islanders are going to draft John Tavares. I really believe it is what they should do. There will be some mayhem in Islanders Country if they do not draft Tavares, but I don’t see the fanbase dropping.
The drafting of Hedman or Duchene will make it a harder summer for the NYI sales force than if they took Tavares, of that there is no question.
As I said on XM this afternoon, the Islanders are in a really fortunate position. They get to draft the consensus best prospect available – maybe not by a landslide, but a solid majority – in John Tavares. By incredible coincidence, Tavares also happens to be the only player in this draft that could help the team sell around 2,000 full season ticket package equivalents this summer. Goshdarnit, they are one lucky franchise.
Perhaps ultimately Duchene or Hedman can make the Islanders a better team 3-5 years down the road. In the end only a consistent contender will consistently fill Kate Murray Arena. If the Islanders have that kind of patience and vision along with confidence in their scouts, bless their hearts.
If I’m dead wrong and the Islanders don’t draft Tavares, there will be some raw negative emotion at the packed Draft Party on Friday. But eventually, around the time of the opener in October, at least 95% of the proud and the many will likely still be there to root, root-root for the home team. It’s not like Hedman and Duchene stink.
Comment on THIS STORY ONLY in this thread. If you really think I’m wrong about this test of loyalty, please take the time to think about it and declare your true intentions. Identify yourself in Comments and this will be permanently archived on the Internet for everyone to check back next season and see where you stand.
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