Oh boy, I will try to make this fast as it's an exercise in hoof-in-mouth disease. After being involved with the Islanders all these years, it's pretty easy to say they don't usually do what you would expect (unless they have the first overall pick and can't walk away from the number one ranked draft choice without there being a riot at the Coliseum that was packed with fans.)
So I spent a little time going over the top prospects looking for an odd angle or someone who could fit in the dressing room. I like these two, but one is ranked much higher than our fifth pick and the other's ranking is climbing well out of range unless the Isles can trade up.
Gabriel Landeskog seems NHL ready NOW and will benefit any club that choses him. Mika Zibanejad has a Nino Niederreiter quality to him. I don't know why, but when I watched his interview video, I just heard "Him!" in my head. So here they are clowning around Toronto.
So many of my fellow bloggers are saying the Islanders should take Dougie Hamilton, however, I'm going to go a different route. Should the Islanders chose to move DOWN in the draft (which we know they may do as they have in the past) they may opt for Duncan Siemens.
The reason I'm going with Duncan is that he ISN'T ready. Also, by moving down, perhaps the Islanders can grab a player who IS.
I do believe, as Katie Strang said in Newsday today, that the Islanders will go with a defensemen. Katie's dark horse choice is Jamie Oleksiak.
The draft is a crap shoot and trying to figure out which of the 35 different scenarios the Islanders plan for will actually pan out is beyond difficult. All I know is -- the Draft Party will be very entertaining and I'll be screaming when the Isles announce their 1st round draft choice (for one reason or another.)
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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