DAY AT THE BEACH FOR NINO, BURMI, GRANLUND
When Jankowski took the prospects to Jones
1:05 pm: Visitors to Jones Beach recently might have run into quite an international quartet.
There was Ryan Jankowski, the thirtysomething Islanders scouting chief from Alberta. Joining Jankowski was a trio of 18-year-old hockey players:
Nino Niederreiter, the big, talented right wing from Switzerland
Alex Burmistrov, the dynamic center from Russia
Mikael Granlund, the small, but super-skilled center from Finland
The three young men visited the Islanders three weeks ago. They stayed at the Marriott next door to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. They underwent testing with Islanders orthopedist Dr. Elliott Herschman. They met with trainer Garrett Timms. They met individually with general manager Garth Snow. They went for dinner and toured the area with Jankowski.
And on day two there was the trip to Jones Beach.
“Beautiful place, that Long Island,” Burmistrov told Point Blank. “All of us had such a great time. The Islanders really took care of us and made us want to play there. I know Mikael and Nino really liked it, too.”
So what did they do at the beach?
“Mostly enjoyed the surroundings,” laughed Burmistrov, who visited Ottawa earlier that week. “It was just really nice. Mr. Jankowski showed us around. We talked hockey a lot the day before, so the day at the beach was all about having fun. I went in the water. Nino and Granny, they were too scared. Too cold.”
Comments.
34 Responses to DAY AT THE BEACH FOR NINO, BURMI, GRANLUND
When Jankowski took the prospects to Jones
-
I’ll be happy with the best player available. Hopefully its a forward like Connolly or Burmistrov or Nino, although I wouldn’t be too disappointed with Gudbranson or Fowler either. We’re in a good spot and we should end up with a good blue-chip prospect. Please don’t eff this up Garth.
-
vukotaismyhero12 says:
Don’t ask me why, but I have a feeling the isles are gonna trade down or go a little off the board if gundbranson isn’t around at 5
-
B-ri says:
No to Granlund… Yes to Burmistrov or Nino IF we trade down and get some extra picks (to then maybe trade up like last year). If we stay at 5 we absolutely have to take one of the defensemen IMO, which means stay far away from Connelly. We have learned enough by now to stay away from a player that has a bad hip i hope
-
John says:
The more i read about Burmistrov the more i want him on the island if we can somehow grab Gudbranson at 5 and trade into the top 10 or 15 and draft Burmistrov wow that would be somthing
-
GE of GN says:
That’s cool. Thanks for the human touch on these stories! One can only read so much about the mocks and the numbers game and who’s going where.
-
Strummer's Army says:
Can we please not draft the small player nick named Granny?
Gudbranson is the guy if there.
McIlrath later.
Then the LW & CCan we please just have on draft where there are no reaches? Let’s have a draft where all the players have good size and use it!
-
ken says:
at least strummer is consistent.
-
MorDraftPicks says:
IMHO I think we are in for a shocker on draft day. I just feel it…
-
geduffer says:
Love the story. Burmistrov sounds like a player. I checked out a few of his highlights on YouTube. He looked good. If he’s BPA at pick 5, I’d have no problem seeing him become an Islander.
-
Bryan says:
MorDraftPicks… sadly I agree with you. The team is just giving off that vibe.
-
Ron says:
Perhaps there is another Lindros brother available whom we can use the #5 on? Party on, Wang! Party on, Garth!
-
Quez says:
Strummer…that would make for a scary d-corps in a few years, but I think especially if Gubby is gone, they will go for help for J.T. on offense. I know Burmistrov is small, but he seems to have a little Parise in him. Starting to like him. In any case, I feel Garth & co are going to be busy on draft day.
-
potvin rocks says:
If Gudbranson is gone then Gormely. Look at our defensive core and then look at Chicago and Philly. Would anyone except Streit ever see the ice on either of these teams? NOPE.
-
#12 if Gud is gone and they go offense then landing McILrath becomes an even bigger priority and I couldn’t complain.
#13 Would Streit see the ice on Chi or Philly? He sure would! He’d be one of their best d-men on either team. If Brent Sopel can see the ice Streit will be getting his 20 minutes. Chi and Phi are two similar teams both week in goal and so-so defenses with great offenses. Pronger, Keith, Campbell, Seabrook good players but not perfect, Streit on either team compares favorably.
Man I cannot wait until the draft…..I think! lol
-
ny711ot says:
Who wants to bet that we draft Burmistrov and when Garth is asked why he says, “the kid has guts….the water was freezing at Jones Beach and he jumped right in. Thats when we knew…..”"” ???
-
Nice story. Maybe the three of them can come visit New York again when they play Gudbranson and the rest of the Isles.
-
puck-0 says:
guys we are definetely trading down! Unless they are floating this all out there on purpose !
-
thepolishprince says:
Cool story. Of the three I’ll take Nino and only if we trade down a couple of slots. Gudbranson please.
-
19 Isle in NJ 22 says:
Did they get to meet any current or retired Isles? Did Doug take any of ‘em to the local sites?
Did they get to throw eggs at Kate Murray’s office window?
How about a tour of Flushing Meadows?
-
Ethan K says:
Let’s not predict JUST because these guys were invited to Long Island. Remember how Duchene and Hedman were brought to LI along with Tavares, even though Garth said he had his mind made up immediately after the lottery? If they stay at the number 5 pick, they’ll take the consensus best player available. If they trade down, I’m sure they’ll snag at least 2 great talents in the first round. The more I look into it, the more this first round seems to be very deep, so that wouldn’t be a bad move. As I’ve said before, with the good moves SnowCo. has made with the later round picks (Cizikas, Martin, Poulin, Sims, Rakshani, etc) our organization has pretty good depth in terms of prospects, but not as many high end prospects. THAT is what our goal should be. If we trade a lot of picks from rounds 2-7 to end up with several great first round prospects, then it will be a good thing.
-
Schultz39 says:
My guess is that we keep our #5 pick and then trade up again to get into the mid first round.
-
Nick Pezzotti says:
I don’t think burmistrov will be there past 7 so trading down a spit or two won’t bring back enough return to trade back up into the first round again. Burmistrov is the 3rd best forward in this draft and he slightly edges Connolly due to his hip problems
-
Isle Be Damned says:
I think Burmistrov is genuine in his desire to play here. If Gudbranson & Fowler are off the table, and Burmi is the guy they want, they should trade down like they did in 2008. Then possibly use those traded assets to move back up into the 2nd half of the 1st round.
-
islesfan16 says:
You do not use a top 5 pick just to address size and toughness– doing so would be a waste of a key opportunity to secure top flight skill. Size and toughness can be dealt for in free agency or picked up later in a draft. Gudbranson is not Pronger caliber, and its impossible to know if he ever will be. Chances are he won’t.
-
nino says:
in the nhl of today u win with forwards in the draft and dmen in later rounds or free agents
-
#25 Gudbranson is much better the Pronger. He is a better skater, his hitting is compared to Stevens and Jovo, he is a captain, he has a much higer offensive potential then Pronger ever did, he’s not a dirty player and unlinke Pronger he’ll fight. This is the best fit for the Isles. Not much in FA in way of size/toughness/skill.
-
isles72 says:
one more week to go ……!
-
27Tonelli says:
Gudbranson at #5 if he’s not there then “El Nino” ! My gut feeling is they are taking Niederreiter no matter who’s there ! Either way I like it ! In the 2nd round I hope we take Teemu Pulkkinen !
-
Jeff says:
My guess here is that Garth Snow will keep his number 5 pick. Then sonehow he will package second / third rounders to move up into the first round as high as he can. Maybe package players, a prospect. The Islanders did not interview Connolly so I think there is no intention of taking Connolly. I think the Islanders would be better off if Florida picked Connolly, and I think they will. Bouweester left them just as he was coming into his own, so that is why I think they will draft Connolly. Then either Fowler or Gudbranson are ours. Then try to trade as hgih as possible in that first round and get Burmistrov.
-
Lance says:
@#28…..that is just ridiculous. He has not even played one NHL game, and you are actually saying that he is better than a beast like Pronger?
-
It’s not good to look at the draft as the way to stick desperately needed pieces into our lineup. Each one of these guys has yet to play a single NHL game– not one is anywhere close to a sure thing (except possibly Hall and Seguin, I guess). Remember that, by drafting Gudbrandson, we would not be getting an NHL all-star bruising defenseman. We would be getting a good prospect, who one day MAY turn into a good NHL defenseman. So Gudbranson or whoever else the SnoJanks and crew decide is the best player is the way to go, but it is not necessarily Gudbranson just because hes a big defenseman who was good in juniors. To say that “we NEED this one guy” or “we NEED that one guy” to fix the islanders is just going to lead to unnecessary disappointment on draft day if that one guy isn’t picked.
-
admin says:
Thread closed.
NO to the Russian, No to the Fin, and YES! to Nino! Also, why did they take them to the arena? Are they trying to balance out the trip to the beach? The good and the bad?