Another NHL draft is in the books and much to the dismay of the Islander fan base Nikita Filatov could have been but was not chosen by the team. The Voice is here to break down "The Good and the Bad" aspects of what Garth and Company have done this past weekend in Ottawa. If you have read my last column, you already know how I feel. How do the rest of the fans feel? Here is a breakdown of what I have heard from the fan base since Friday night on both sides of the coin.
THE GOOD -
1 - Increase the Odds. At best Filatov was one player and a good chance at becoming a franchise player, but now the team has a better chance because Snow turned one player into 4. Like it or not the team now has a better chance of getting quality for their picks just because of the sheer number of them and how deep this draft actually is. You cannot just judge the transactions on Filatov vs. Bailey alone. Its Filatov vs Bailey, Ness, Petrov and Toronto's 2009 2nd round pick. Experts say the system is now chock full of blue chip prospects who have a real shot at being big time players for the Islanders and that is a good thing, a very good thing.
2 - Build through the draft = contender. Ask Detroit, New Jersey, Anahiem, Pittsburgh Tampa Bay and Ottawa if they are happy about their team's success. On the same coin, ask Toronto and the Rangers how all of their big ticket free agents are doing the last 10 years. The bottom line people the only way we will break the 25 year long funk the Islanders are in is to build through the draft and this was the right draft to do it in.
3 - The team now has solid direction. - Hear me out on this one. Stability is key in sports. Players are attracted to it, fans are drawn to it, everything looks better when you have stability. Don't look now but the Lighthouse project is imminent. They are projected to start the long overdue renovation of the coliseum after this coming season. By the time this arena is completed we will know what the team has with its current crop of prospects. We have heard over and over again that the arena is the anchor that is holding the team back from generating income necessary to get the free agents to take us to the next level. The plan is now a 2-4 year plan to build a contender. If at that time the team is still struggling to make the playoffs then that is the time to hang Snow out to dry. Everyone wants to win now and turn the ship around overnight, but there is no clear formula to make that happen realistically. The only direction the Islanders can take is the direction they are in and its clearly pointed towards better times even though its tough to see the goal is at hand.
Time to switch sentiment... Here comes
THE BAD -
1 - Snow is to Filatov as Milbury is to Heatley - No matter what happens with the Islander prospects they have chosen in lieu of the Russian phenom people will always equate Snow's success with how good of a player Filatov turns into. If he puts up 35 goals next year for the Jackets, Snow will be crucified by the fans and the media. He will have Mike Milburied himself. Filatov's name will go right next to the names we are all trying to forget that are competing for Stanley Cups every year. Names like Spezza, Heatley, Luongo, Bertuzzi, Mcabe, Redden and Chara just to name a few. Its going to be a long time before we find out what we have with the kids chosen in the 2nd round, but we will know right away if Filatov is the real deal or not. If he tanks, then the fans will turn to see how Colin Wilson, Kyle Beach, Cody Hodgson and Mikkel Boedker are doing. This is almost a no win situation for Snow. Sre time will tell but the problem is no one rooting for this team wants to wait.
2 - Empty seats will stay empty - Short sighted or not, Filatov would have sold tickets and many of them. Instead fans busting for something to cheer for we are disappointed again by the Islander management. Short term prospects are as dim as they ever have been and is bad for business.
3 - Snow & Company smarter than the world? People do not like to be told that someone else is smarter than you. In passing up Filatov and choosing Bailey, Toews and Petrov and telling us that Bailey was the guy you wanted all along is a total reversal of what we were told going into the draft. We were told that we would get the best player at the position we were in and that at number 5 was either Luke Schenn or Filatov. Snow painted himself into a corner by opening his mouth and stating something he had no intention of doing. If there was at least an idea of what was to come maybe the fans would not have emptied the Coliseum like it was falling down Friday Night. Fact is, Bailey was rated by the scouting experts from the 10th best to the 17th best skater in the draft. Snow said he was the one he wanted. Filatov was rated the 3rd to the 6th best skater in the draft. Luke Schenn was rated the 4th to 5th best skater in the draft. Snow said Bailey was the one he wanted. Snow must know something the rest of the world doesn't. For his sake I hope he is right.
There you have it. Let me know what side of the coin you fall on and leave your comments here. I look forward to hearing what the fans have to say and I will respond to all comments.
FCT
Monday, June 23, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
And the Islanders select with the 5th,,,, 7th.... er 9th Pick.
This is not going to be pleasant. I have just returned from Nassau Coliseum expecting to see something I have not seen the Islanders do in a LONG time. The Islanders do something right. Everyone wonders why the team has struggled in attendance, cant hold onto or lure big ticket free agents, cant ever finish an NHL season with the prospect of being an NHL team who MAKES the right decisions DOOR MAT. Lets face it people. The first round of this deepest NHL draft in years has ended with our New York Islanders drafting the 15th highest ranked player according to Central Scouting. Nothing against Joshua Bailey because I hope he turns out to be great player for the Islanders and makes us all eat a tremendous pile of crow. My problem is that you had the 2nd highest rated skater in Nikita Filatov in your hands. It was done. Then the dreaded words everyone did not want to hear at that point when maligned and hated Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement that there was a trade. Excuse me... WHAT? The Leafs handed the Islanders 2 picks and swapped positions with Toronto, much to the delight of everyone on TSN and in the Toronto area. (I cannot stomach TSN when The Leafs do something because they acted like the Leafs got the incarnate version of God himself on their team) Toronto picked Luke Schenn. Well ok.. we are at 7 now all that has to happen is Columbus doesn't pick Filatov and then we got 2 picks for basically nothing. BOOM. Filatov is picked by Columbus clearing out half of the Coliseum draft party patrons who were just aching to cheer for the sight of Filatov in Islander colors. Well I thought thats ok because there are still 3 outstanding Center prospects left in Colin Wilson, Cody Hodgson and Kyle Beach. Surely at 7 we will get one of them. Right?
Oh My God... The Islanders clear out another half of their draft party by trading down AGAIN to 9 which in my mind is a very good move after making a terrible move trading down the first time. There goes Colin Wilson to Nashville at 7. So much for that theory. Mikkel Boedker goes to Phoenix at 8. He may be as talented as Filatov, and after aquiring Olli Jokinen the Yotes are looking strong for next season. Snow is finally at the podium. Please pick Kyle Beach... of not pick Cody Hodgson. Snow gets up there and picks Josh Bailey. Now dont get me wrong here I have done a bit of reading on the kid and by all accounts he could even play on the Islanders next season. Heres the "but" BUT... Bailey was rated the 15th best player in North America and Snow took him at 9. I really hope this draft is as deep as the Flemish Cap because all Snow did was get more second round picks. Think of it this way - You could have had the 2nd best forward int he draft, but you chose to take the 15th. Great. The bottom line is Snow had better hope that Filatov winds up being the next Sergei Samsonov, and not the next Ilya Kovalchuck.
I said in my column yesterday that if all went as planned and the first 5 picks went as all of the experts had predicted, Filatov would be an Islander. I also said that nothing surrounding the Islanders is ever ordinary other than the talent on the ice. The New York Islanders are currently the NHL punch line. The NHL joke. Every step forward the team has taken over the last 25 years has been met with 3 steps back. Columbus had to laughing their collective tails off when the Islanders traded that pick as they velcroed Filatov's name on their jersey. The Islanders are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel in every capacity from ownership on down. Snow said they would take the best player when 5 came up and what happened? It seems like they are constantly coming up with ways to self destruct, implode and piss off their fan base and they have done that once again by from all accounts blowing another chance at a player that would have put some more people in those empty seats on game nights and bring some excitement back to the old barn. Maybe Josh Bailey and Snow's other 3 new second round picks can do that. The only problem is it will take a few years to find out and judging from the reaction of just about everyone in the arena tonight, they are done waiting.
The Islanders have tested ALL of our devotion to the franchise with horrible move after horrible move. With embarrassment after embarrassment, the franchise has devolved from a dynasty to the laughing stock of the league and after nights like this its not hard to see why. I would love to see my fellow "look forward and not back" Blog Boxers try and put a positive spin on this one. Sorry, but there is not positive spin to this one. This is one mistake that will earn its spot right next to the many other missed opportunities and superstar players around the NHL that either used to be or could have been New York Islanders.
In other news - 2 superstar forwards changed teams today. Mike Camellari and Olli Jokinen were traded. I am sure Snow inquired at some point about what it would take to land either of them, aren't you?
I hope I haven't ended my Blog Box affiliation with this column because right now its how I feel and judging by what I saw at the Coliseum I am in the majority and this, after all is The Voice of the Islander Fans.
FCT
Oh My God... The Islanders clear out another half of their draft party by trading down AGAIN to 9 which in my mind is a very good move after making a terrible move trading down the first time. There goes Colin Wilson to Nashville at 7. So much for that theory. Mikkel Boedker goes to Phoenix at 8. He may be as talented as Filatov, and after aquiring Olli Jokinen the Yotes are looking strong for next season. Snow is finally at the podium. Please pick Kyle Beach... of not pick Cody Hodgson. Snow gets up there and picks Josh Bailey. Now dont get me wrong here I have done a bit of reading on the kid and by all accounts he could even play on the Islanders next season. Heres the "but" BUT... Bailey was rated the 15th best player in North America and Snow took him at 9. I really hope this draft is as deep as the Flemish Cap because all Snow did was get more second round picks. Think of it this way - You could have had the 2nd best forward int he draft, but you chose to take the 15th. Great. The bottom line is Snow had better hope that Filatov winds up being the next Sergei Samsonov, and not the next Ilya Kovalchuck.
I said in my column yesterday that if all went as planned and the first 5 picks went as all of the experts had predicted, Filatov would be an Islander. I also said that nothing surrounding the Islanders is ever ordinary other than the talent on the ice. The New York Islanders are currently the NHL punch line. The NHL joke. Every step forward the team has taken over the last 25 years has been met with 3 steps back. Columbus had to laughing their collective tails off when the Islanders traded that pick as they velcroed Filatov's name on their jersey. The Islanders are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel in every capacity from ownership on down. Snow said they would take the best player when 5 came up and what happened? It seems like they are constantly coming up with ways to self destruct, implode and piss off their fan base and they have done that once again by from all accounts blowing another chance at a player that would have put some more people in those empty seats on game nights and bring some excitement back to the old barn. Maybe Josh Bailey and Snow's other 3 new second round picks can do that. The only problem is it will take a few years to find out and judging from the reaction of just about everyone in the arena tonight, they are done waiting.
The Islanders have tested ALL of our devotion to the franchise with horrible move after horrible move. With embarrassment after embarrassment, the franchise has devolved from a dynasty to the laughing stock of the league and after nights like this its not hard to see why. I would love to see my fellow "look forward and not back" Blog Boxers try and put a positive spin on this one. Sorry, but there is not positive spin to this one. This is one mistake that will earn its spot right next to the many other missed opportunities and superstar players around the NHL that either used to be or could have been New York Islanders.
In other news - 2 superstar forwards changed teams today. Mike Camellari and Olli Jokinen were traded. I am sure Snow inquired at some point about what it would take to land either of them, aren't you?
I hope I haven't ended my Blog Box affiliation with this column because right now its how I feel and judging by what I saw at the Coliseum I am in the majority and this, after all is The Voice of the Islander Fans.
FCT
The New York Islanders are proud to select with the number 5 pick in the draft........
Draft Day is here and the time for speculation, conjecture and predictions are over. I cannot help but to show my enthusiasm that the Islanders may this once get that player we all seem to think they should. Nikita Filatov, the star Russian winger projected by many to be the Islanders pick in the 5 hole tonight could be an Islander as soon as next season. I am not going to go into why the team should get the kid because there are plenty of sources already around for that. The thing that worries me the most is that around this team the New York Islanders what should happen for the benefit of the team usually doesn't. That highly touted draft pick that goes to someone else or we wind up trading players we have and drafting a new player for the same position, or our top pick has a career ending injury or isn't what the team thought he was.
It seems with sports that its always the thing that isn't rumored, the series of events that nobody saw coming that seems to happen and it happens all the time with big name players as free agents, trades and yes folks at the draft. I can only hope that things for once go as planned in the NHL but seriously when was the last time anything significant surrounding the Islanders went as planned? I don't think I really need to go into details here because anyone taking the time to read this has something in their head that they are laughing or grimacing about just this second. That my friends is what I am worried about. I will go to the Nassau Coliseum and hope to see something go as expected for once.
FCT
It seems with sports that its always the thing that isn't rumored, the series of events that nobody saw coming that seems to happen and it happens all the time with big name players as free agents, trades and yes folks at the draft. I can only hope that things for once go as planned in the NHL but seriously when was the last time anything significant surrounding the Islanders went as planned? I don't think I really need to go into details here because anyone taking the time to read this has something in their head that they are laughing or grimacing about just this second. That my friends is what I am worried about. I will go to the Nassau Coliseum and hope to see something go as expected for once.
FCT
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Random Thoughts Returns... THE DRAFT IS NEAR!
Random Thoughts is one of the most popular columns on The Voice and it returns now that the NHL Draft which means more to us Islander fans than in any NHL City except Tampa Bay. I present 5 Random Thoughts on the current state of the Islanders and then open the discussion up the Millions.... er... Thousands of fans who come here to share your thoughts on our team.
1 - THE DRAFT IS LOOMING, WHO WILL IT BE? - This is it. The most important day in the last 25 years of the Islanders franchise. Am I overstating matters? No I do not believe so because the organization is at a crossroads (again). After a season the Islanders took a huge step backwards after losing Smyth to Colorado and imploding after 60 games and falling out of the race the team needs to (again) reestablish itself in the eyes of the NHL and its free agents to be. Right now, the top 6 players that are going to be chosen in the draft in most mock drafts -
1 - TAM -Steven Stamkos - C
2 - LAK - Drew Doughty - D
3 - ATL - Zack Bogosian - D
4 - STL - Luke Schenn - D
5- NYI - Nikita Filitov - LW
6 - CLB - Alex Pietrangelo - D
If it goes like this I will be one happy Blogger. Filitov has all the gifts to join the team next season, as long as his much ballyhooed immigration problems are straightened out by then. If you ask me this is the way I see the draft actually going, but we are talking about the Islanders here and anything usually will and does happen. Nothing around the Islanders over their years in existence has been ordinary. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that a certain team from a certain city to our immediate west does not trade ahead of us and take him ahead of us as I have heard around the rumor mill in the last week. I will cross everything I can think of June 20th and hope for the best.
2 - Free Agency is next. Is it time to go for the big fish?- After the draft is settled and we are all really pumped about the teams future or we are standing around with that "we just traded Mcabe and Bertuzzi for who?" looks on our faces it will be time for another period of the off season that has not been kind to us.... EVER. When was the last time the Islanders made a free agent acquisition that really turned some heads? Really let the NHL players know The Islanders mean business. Were not just about talk anymore and we WILL spend money when necessary to improve the team. Marian Hossa is a free agent and it will take a boat load of cash to get him here. You get him, and it instantly makes the team look like they are serious. Pipe dreams aside I know its not going to happen, you know its not going to happen... but what if it does? It is not a great year for free agents and the leagues traditional power brokers will be in play for this one BUT...what if this is the year the Islander outbid the Rangers, Red Wings, Penguins, Leafs and Colorado for a player of his caliber?
3 - Now that we have all come back from dream land lets look at some other forward options. There are some other offensive options out there and some of them make good sense. Some are Micheal Ryder who I would love to see here, Cory Stillman, a left wing who brings a world of experience and would fit nicely next to Guerin and Comrie. Avery... don't laugh now... he got skills and a little.. well ok a LOT of attitude to help this team. Picture Avery donning an Islander uniform and then picture what all of the Ranger fans with "16" jerseys and T shirts would feel for that time they realized their new hero was an Islander. How about Pavol Dimetra? Radim Vrbata? Brian Rolston? As you can see, there are some gems out there that can help this team. Getting a few of them, thats the hard part.
4 - Hey FCT, What about our defense? - Good question. There are a few of those gems out there also. Wade Redden.. Remember him? There is your Defense pipe dream. Let's be honest people thats not happening either but how about some other options. Like Dick Tarnstrom, John-Micheal Liles, Brian Campell and Jason Smith. There are options even though its not a dire team need. Lets hope we can land one of them as I would love to see Liles in our colors.
5 - Goodbye Dubie. Its been fun. Hes going to go elsewhere and all I can say is I wish him well, unless he is playing against us.
Let me hear your thoughts on these and any other matters that need to be discussed. Take care and keep on hoping for the best.
FCT
1 - THE DRAFT IS LOOMING, WHO WILL IT BE? - This is it. The most important day in the last 25 years of the Islanders franchise. Am I overstating matters? No I do not believe so because the organization is at a crossroads (again). After a season the Islanders took a huge step backwards after losing Smyth to Colorado and imploding after 60 games and falling out of the race the team needs to (again) reestablish itself in the eyes of the NHL and its free agents to be. Right now, the top 6 players that are going to be chosen in the draft in most mock drafts -
1 - TAM -Steven Stamkos - C
2 - LAK - Drew Doughty - D
3 - ATL - Zack Bogosian - D
4 - STL - Luke Schenn - D
5- NYI - Nikita Filitov - LW
6 - CLB - Alex Pietrangelo - D
If it goes like this I will be one happy Blogger. Filitov has all the gifts to join the team next season, as long as his much ballyhooed immigration problems are straightened out by then. If you ask me this is the way I see the draft actually going, but we are talking about the Islanders here and anything usually will and does happen. Nothing around the Islanders over their years in existence has been ordinary. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that a certain team from a certain city to our immediate west does not trade ahead of us and take him ahead of us as I have heard around the rumor mill in the last week. I will cross everything I can think of June 20th and hope for the best.
2 - Free Agency is next. Is it time to go for the big fish?- After the draft is settled and we are all really pumped about the teams future or we are standing around with that "we just traded Mcabe and Bertuzzi for who?" looks on our faces it will be time for another period of the off season that has not been kind to us.... EVER. When was the last time the Islanders made a free agent acquisition that really turned some heads? Really let the NHL players know The Islanders mean business. Were not just about talk anymore and we WILL spend money when necessary to improve the team. Marian Hossa is a free agent and it will take a boat load of cash to get him here. You get him, and it instantly makes the team look like they are serious. Pipe dreams aside I know its not going to happen, you know its not going to happen... but what if it does? It is not a great year for free agents and the leagues traditional power brokers will be in play for this one BUT...what if this is the year the Islander outbid the Rangers, Red Wings, Penguins, Leafs and Colorado for a player of his caliber?
3 - Now that we have all come back from dream land lets look at some other forward options. There are some other offensive options out there and some of them make good sense. Some are Micheal Ryder who I would love to see here, Cory Stillman, a left wing who brings a world of experience and would fit nicely next to Guerin and Comrie. Avery... don't laugh now... he got skills and a little.. well ok a LOT of attitude to help this team. Picture Avery donning an Islander uniform and then picture what all of the Ranger fans with "16" jerseys and T shirts would feel for that time they realized their new hero was an Islander. How about Pavol Dimetra? Radim Vrbata? Brian Rolston? As you can see, there are some gems out there that can help this team. Getting a few of them, thats the hard part.
4 - Hey FCT, What about our defense? - Good question. There are a few of those gems out there also. Wade Redden.. Remember him? There is your Defense pipe dream. Let's be honest people thats not happening either but how about some other options. Like Dick Tarnstrom, John-Micheal Liles, Brian Campell and Jason Smith. There are options even though its not a dire team need. Lets hope we can land one of them as I would love to see Liles in our colors.
5 - Goodbye Dubie. Its been fun. Hes going to go elsewhere and all I can say is I wish him well, unless he is playing against us.
Let me hear your thoughts on these and any other matters that need to be discussed. Take care and keep on hoping for the best.
FCT
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
IM BACK!!
Sound the trumpets, play the fanfare, rejoice fans because the Voice of the Islander fans Blog Box will be returning as part of the official Islanders Blog Box again for the coming season! Let the world rejoice!!
OK now that that is out of the way, let's get to some pressing Islanders business, as the business has been slow since the team got the 5th overall pick in this draft. 6 out of the top 10 prospects are defenseman. Let me say this right now - if we choose a defenseman in this draft, This Blog Boxer will be royally annoyed. I want one of two players - either Nikita Filitov or Kyle Beach. Both players have HUGE upsides. Beach has taken a major hit over the last 3 months because it is believed he is a loose cannon. I say a little attitude is what this team needs. A little in your face attitude. Now I can scream and rant and cry all I want about what it is that I want, and its going to get me nothing but upset and a hoarse voice. We need to get behind this and let the team know we need some forwards that not only can help the team in the future but RIGHT NOW!
In other team news Wade Dublewicz will not be returning to the Islanders next season. It was obvious last season that Wade had proven himself at this level and there is nothing more to prove to the Islanders. Any contract offered to him at this point would be nothing more than a backup role to our lifetime goaltender. Any professional in his position would jump at ANY chance to be a number one goaltender and there are a handful of NHL teams that will give him a chance. Look for the Blackhawks, Kings or even Ottawa to give him a shot at winning their number 1 spot. Good luck Wade and who knows, maybe another Islander cast off like Osgood will be competing for a Stanley Cup next season.
Rick Dipetro announced on the Bubba the Love Sponge show yesterday that he had ANOTHER surgery this off season this time to have some damage to his knee repaired. It was minor, but this is the third surgery he has had in the last 2 seasons on top of the concussions. No one will doubt the talent he has but you as an Islander fan HAVE to be concerned about the health of our goaltender. His play is sometimes reckless and opens him up to these types of injuries. He has 13 years left on his contract. How many more games will he miss in that time when we need him to be at his best to compete?
While you are thinking about that let me bid adieu and I will be back to my columns on a regular basis. Please let me know what your opinions are on this matter and lets talk some Islanders Hockey.
FCT
OK now that that is out of the way, let's get to some pressing Islanders business, as the business has been slow since the team got the 5th overall pick in this draft. 6 out of the top 10 prospects are defenseman. Let me say this right now - if we choose a defenseman in this draft, This Blog Boxer will be royally annoyed. I want one of two players - either Nikita Filitov or Kyle Beach. Both players have HUGE upsides. Beach has taken a major hit over the last 3 months because it is believed he is a loose cannon. I say a little attitude is what this team needs. A little in your face attitude. Now I can scream and rant and cry all I want about what it is that I want, and its going to get me nothing but upset and a hoarse voice. We need to get behind this and let the team know we need some forwards that not only can help the team in the future but RIGHT NOW!
In other team news Wade Dublewicz will not be returning to the Islanders next season. It was obvious last season that Wade had proven himself at this level and there is nothing more to prove to the Islanders. Any contract offered to him at this point would be nothing more than a backup role to our lifetime goaltender. Any professional in his position would jump at ANY chance to be a number one goaltender and there are a handful of NHL teams that will give him a chance. Look for the Blackhawks, Kings or even Ottawa to give him a shot at winning their number 1 spot. Good luck Wade and who knows, maybe another Islander cast off like Osgood will be competing for a Stanley Cup next season.
Rick Dipetro announced on the Bubba the Love Sponge show yesterday that he had ANOTHER surgery this off season this time to have some damage to his knee repaired. It was minor, but this is the third surgery he has had in the last 2 seasons on top of the concussions. No one will doubt the talent he has but you as an Islander fan HAVE to be concerned about the health of our goaltender. His play is sometimes reckless and opens him up to these types of injuries. He has 13 years left on his contract. How many more games will he miss in that time when we need him to be at his best to compete?
While you are thinking about that let me bid adieu and I will be back to my columns on a regular basis. Please let me know what your opinions are on this matter and lets talk some Islanders Hockey.
FCT
Monday, April 7, 2008
FIVE
The Islanders have the fifth overall pick in the draft, just good enough to risk not getting one of the top 4 offensive prospects in the draft. The Lightning, yeah the Tampa Bay Lightning who won the Stanley Cup 3 years ago have the Number One pick and will most certainly add phenom Steven Stamkos to their roster. What is wrong with this picture? The team has one of the most dynamic players in the NHL in Vinny Lecavalier and now they get to add this kid to their roster after they absolutely tanked the season. How do you think the LA Kings feel after dwelling in the basement all season only to have the pick pulled from them at the last second. It just sticks in my craw that Tampa wins the lottery after so blatantly tanking the season. I guess losing does pay sometimes.
Turning to the Islanders prospects, they still will have an excellent chance at getting one of the other top forwards in the draft. I would absolutely love to see them get Kyle Beach. Hes big, hes a great play maker and has an attitude. I can see Beach falling to the Islanders because if the baggage that supposedly comes with him. Then there is Corey Hodgson who many web sites are already predicting the Islanders will have on draft day. He is on the small side a 5'11", but he has all of the tools to become great player but he is more of a project along with Colin Wilson. The sleeper here is Nikita Filitov who has already drawn comparisons to Ilya Kovalchuck and it seems that most mock drafts out of Canada have him going to the Toronto Maple Leafs.... REALLY??!! I cant see him falling all the way to 8th but stranger things have happened. As it stands tight now the top 5 picks will probably go like this
1 - Tampa Bay - Steven Stamkos - C
2 - LA Kings - Drew Doughty - D
3 - St. Louis - Alex Pietrangelo - D
4 - Atlanta - Kyle Beach - C
5 - NY Islanders - Corey Hodgson - C
Now.. There is a slight chance that Tampa will swing a deal to swap picks with LA bu tthe thing is LA AND Tampa are in the market for defenseman. Is there a chance Stankos goes 3rd? I doubt it because of the monster year hes had but you never know. Like I said, I would love to see Beach fall to 5. If Beach and Stamkos are off the board I would go with Filitov as his upside is much highher than Hodgson and Wilson. We Shall see. Whatever happens it sure could be interesting. Maybe Garth can swing a trade to get the number one pick? How about - Radek Martinek and the fifth pick along with a 3rd round pick for the 1st pick?
FCT
Turning to the Islanders prospects, they still will have an excellent chance at getting one of the other top forwards in the draft. I would absolutely love to see them get Kyle Beach. Hes big, hes a great play maker and has an attitude. I can see Beach falling to the Islanders because if the baggage that supposedly comes with him. Then there is Corey Hodgson who many web sites are already predicting the Islanders will have on draft day. He is on the small side a 5'11", but he has all of the tools to become great player but he is more of a project along with Colin Wilson. The sleeper here is Nikita Filitov who has already drawn comparisons to Ilya Kovalchuck and it seems that most mock drafts out of Canada have him going to the Toronto Maple Leafs.... REALLY??!! I cant see him falling all the way to 8th but stranger things have happened. As it stands tight now the top 5 picks will probably go like this
1 - Tampa Bay - Steven Stamkos - C
2 - LA Kings - Drew Doughty - D
3 - St. Louis - Alex Pietrangelo - D
4 - Atlanta - Kyle Beach - C
5 - NY Islanders - Corey Hodgson - C
Now.. There is a slight chance that Tampa will swing a deal to swap picks with LA bu tthe thing is LA AND Tampa are in the market for defenseman. Is there a chance Stankos goes 3rd? I doubt it because of the monster year hes had but you never know. Like I said, I would love to see Beach fall to 5. If Beach and Stamkos are off the board I would go with Filitov as his upside is much highher than Hodgson and Wilson. We Shall see. Whatever happens it sure could be interesting. Maybe Garth can swing a trade to get the number one pick? How about - Radek Martinek and the fifth pick along with a 3rd round pick for the 1st pick?
FCT
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Random Thoughts - My Off season wish list.
We as Islander fans got our end of the year smile beating the Rangers and having some of the kids shine in doing so. Now the attention must turn to off season business. We can all whine and cry about how the team should send a rocket ship up to the moon and bring a chunk of it back for Marian Hossa but let us all be realistic people it simply isn't going to happen What will happen is a totally other thing. Here is my REALISTIC wish list for the off season.
1 - Big Draft Day - What the team has qualified for this off season will be answered tomorrow night at 8 PM on Versus. 8.1 %. That is the chance the Islanders have of winning the draft lottery and securing the number one overall pick virtually guaranteed to be Steven Stamkos. Stamkos is not the only jewel in this draft which is what makes this draft so monumental. Remember these names because if you see any one of them in an Islander cap on draft day we have scored, and scored big time.
1 - Steven Stamkos
2 - Kyle Beach
3 - Cody Hodgson
4 - Colin Wilson
SLEEPER - Nikita Filitov
The Islanders will have one of the 4 kids listed above on their roster after draft day, unless something catastrophic happens, like Snow picking one of the many defensive prospects projected to go in the top 10. There are a LOT of highly rated defense prospects which will only help the Islanders cause of picking one of the top 4 prospects and gives them a pretty good shot at Beach, even if they stay in the 5 spot. Past Stamkos, the number 2 offensive prospect is Kyle Beach, whom I believe is who the Islanders should select if he is on the board when their number is up on draft day with Hodgson, Wilson and Filitov as backups if they fall back in position.
2 - Bryan Mcabe. Yes I know the team needs scoring. The team also needs a stud on defense. Mcabe seems to want to leave Toronto, and Toronto would still love to unload his contract. Can they put together a trade? It was bandied about on deadline day but they couldn't come to an agreement. Now with the whole off season maybe the time needed to work out the particulars of a deal can be done and get the Islanders the defensive workhorse and power play point man every team needs.
3 - Free Agents - As was stated above, Marian Hossa is the jewel of the free agent market this season. It would be an absolute pipe dream to get him in the Orange and Blue but we can all dream and that is what it will likely stay, a dream. There are however other players out there who could help offensivley and come at a much cheaper price than Hossa, who will command a 6-8 year, 70-90 million dollar contract. Some of them are - Vaclav Prospal, Corey Stillman, Sergei Samsonov, Micheal Ryder, Pavol Dimetra, Brian Rolston and I may get some flack for saying this - Avery. Out of the names above I would put Micheal Ryder at the top of it because he is 27 and was absolutely buried in Montreal after his rocky contract negotiations with the Habs last off season. The free agents available on defense the team should pursue? Remember a guy named Wade Redden? Well lets be honest were not going to get him either. One name the Islanders could conceivably have a shot at.. how about John-Micheal Liles?
4 - New York Islanders 2008-09 Roster - The Voice of the Islander fan REALISTIC wish list -
LW - Blake Comeau, Jon Sim, Corey Stillman, Richard Park
RW - Bill Guerin, Kyle Okposo, Trent Hunter, Micheal Ryder
C - Kyle Beach, Mike Comrie, Jeremy Colliton, Mike Sillinger
Extra Forwards - Andy Hilbert, Jeff Tambelini, Sean Bergenhiem
Sprinkle in some more veteran presence and it could be a very nice mix. Some of you are thinking - No Vasicek? No people No Vasicek unless you want to send Mike Sillinger packing.
Defense - Brendan Witt, Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais, Andy Sutton, Bryan MCabe, Radek Martinek.
Extra defenseman - Matt Spiller.
No Real surprises here I wouldn't trade anything but a middling prospect for Caber because of his bloated contract. I don't think you would have to given his status in Toronto these days. Hillen needs to prove himself in Bridgeport but he seems to have the tools.
Goaltenders - Rick DiPietro, Joey McDonald.
I would love to keep Doobie here but I have this feeling that he has impressed another team who needs a goaltender (LA, Chicago) to give him at least a shot at the number one spot, something he will never ever get here.
The road to next season is an exciting one my friends and it all begins tomorrow nights NHL Draft Lottery. Lets all hope as Islander fans that all of out bad karma with injuries comes back and nets us the number one overall pick. Sprinkle in a couple of free agents, a power play QB, and I will go into the 2008-09 season a happy blogger. In the mean time, everyone keep your fingers crossed and come on back to The Voice tomorrow for my thoughts on the draft lottery.
FCT
1 - Big Draft Day - What the team has qualified for this off season will be answered tomorrow night at 8 PM on Versus. 8.1 %. That is the chance the Islanders have of winning the draft lottery and securing the number one overall pick virtually guaranteed to be Steven Stamkos. Stamkos is not the only jewel in this draft which is what makes this draft so monumental. Remember these names because if you see any one of them in an Islander cap on draft day we have scored, and scored big time.
1 - Steven Stamkos
2 - Kyle Beach
3 - Cody Hodgson
4 - Colin Wilson
SLEEPER - Nikita Filitov
The Islanders will have one of the 4 kids listed above on their roster after draft day, unless something catastrophic happens, like Snow picking one of the many defensive prospects projected to go in the top 10. There are a LOT of highly rated defense prospects which will only help the Islanders cause of picking one of the top 4 prospects and gives them a pretty good shot at Beach, even if they stay in the 5 spot. Past Stamkos, the number 2 offensive prospect is Kyle Beach, whom I believe is who the Islanders should select if he is on the board when their number is up on draft day with Hodgson, Wilson and Filitov as backups if they fall back in position.
2 - Bryan Mcabe. Yes I know the team needs scoring. The team also needs a stud on defense. Mcabe seems to want to leave Toronto, and Toronto would still love to unload his contract. Can they put together a trade? It was bandied about on deadline day but they couldn't come to an agreement. Now with the whole off season maybe the time needed to work out the particulars of a deal can be done and get the Islanders the defensive workhorse and power play point man every team needs.
3 - Free Agents - As was stated above, Marian Hossa is the jewel of the free agent market this season. It would be an absolute pipe dream to get him in the Orange and Blue but we can all dream and that is what it will likely stay, a dream. There are however other players out there who could help offensivley and come at a much cheaper price than Hossa, who will command a 6-8 year, 70-90 million dollar contract. Some of them are - Vaclav Prospal, Corey Stillman, Sergei Samsonov, Micheal Ryder, Pavol Dimetra, Brian Rolston and I may get some flack for saying this - Avery. Out of the names above I would put Micheal Ryder at the top of it because he is 27 and was absolutely buried in Montreal after his rocky contract negotiations with the Habs last off season. The free agents available on defense the team should pursue? Remember a guy named Wade Redden? Well lets be honest were not going to get him either. One name the Islanders could conceivably have a shot at.. how about John-Micheal Liles?
4 - New York Islanders 2008-09 Roster - The Voice of the Islander fan REALISTIC wish list -
LW - Blake Comeau, Jon Sim, Corey Stillman, Richard Park
RW - Bill Guerin, Kyle Okposo, Trent Hunter, Micheal Ryder
C - Kyle Beach, Mike Comrie, Jeremy Colliton, Mike Sillinger
Extra Forwards - Andy Hilbert, Jeff Tambelini, Sean Bergenhiem
Sprinkle in some more veteran presence and it could be a very nice mix. Some of you are thinking - No Vasicek? No people No Vasicek unless you want to send Mike Sillinger packing.
Defense - Brendan Witt, Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais, Andy Sutton, Bryan MCabe, Radek Martinek.
Extra defenseman - Matt Spiller.
No Real surprises here I wouldn't trade anything but a middling prospect for Caber because of his bloated contract. I don't think you would have to given his status in Toronto these days. Hillen needs to prove himself in Bridgeport but he seems to have the tools.
Goaltenders - Rick DiPietro, Joey McDonald.
I would love to keep Doobie here but I have this feeling that he has impressed another team who needs a goaltender (LA, Chicago) to give him at least a shot at the number one spot, something he will never ever get here.
The road to next season is an exciting one my friends and it all begins tomorrow nights NHL Draft Lottery. Lets all hope as Islander fans that all of out bad karma with injuries comes back and nets us the number one overall pick. Sprinkle in a couple of free agents, a power play QB, and I will go into the 2008-09 season a happy blogger. In the mean time, everyone keep your fingers crossed and come on back to The Voice tomorrow for my thoughts on the draft lottery.
FCT
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