6/25/11 12:27 pm: Well, Bruno Gervais is no longer an Islander. Traded to Tampa bay for future consideration. Shame. Great personality, inconsistent player.
6/25/11 11:57 am: Strome & Kyle Okposo being interviewed at Day 2 of the Draft. "We're looking forward to having him come to camp." and "We definitely got our guy." When asked what advice he'd give Ryan he said "Slow down a little and relax. Soak it all in. It's a fun time in your life. Just be ready to come to camp."
With the Isles 2nd round pick we tip our hats to my buddies at NYIFYI with their correct choice of Scott Mayfield. I was told his nickname should be "superfly." Why? Because that's the name of the guy who recorded that song, THAT'S why. HA! Thanks @Habbykins
With the 50th pick, #Isles selected Johan Sundstrom from the Swedish Elite league. He played for Sweden world junior team and Andrei Pedan was selected by the #isles with the 63rd pick. (I'm going to have a lot of home work to do for the prospect camp.)
6/25/11 8 am: Matt Moulson and John Tavares train with Ryan Strome. They get along well. They're a good fit. Matt also is not shy about Tweeting to the new rookie who goes by @Strome18.
Prior to the draft Matt Tweeted to him "Good Luck tonight bud." He didn't need it. Ryan Strome was chosen fifth overall and was called up to the podium by Minnesota's own Kyle Okposo.
The 18-year-old's 106 points, combined with his character, make him a welcome addition to the NY Islanders. Here's what Matt had to say about him.
Here's a photo from the Isles Twitter feed from MN last night as Matt Moulson called Ryan to congratulate him. Ryan was wearing the NEW 40th anniversary patch on the sleeve of his new jersey along with the new 2011 draft hat.
I also had a chance to talk to Travis Hamonic about Winnipeg, his home town and their new team. Sorry about the quality of the sound. It was noisy as hell in the empty room.
Kevin Poullin was also looking polished and healthy and is looking forward to the season. He had some sage advice for the new draftees at the end of this little clip.
John Tavares is maturing every day. He was interviewed by Chris King in the area set aside for those who donated blood and such. My fellow bloggers and I were sent to the promenade section of 203 far from the action.
But I did get to see arena hostess Dina doing her thing for the cameras in the middle of the chaos.
And in the middle of all the mayhem, this adorable little Islander fan in her sparkley sneakers came over to Dina and asked for -- a hug.
The Hofstra Radio crew was there as well as my buddies (okay two of my buddies) from HockeyThisWeek. We'll have to catch the podcasts because it was just about impossible to hear anything it was so crowded. Then again, I suppose that's what 10,000 fans in one place will do.
I was very surprised to see Kirill Kabanov greeting fans and taking photos with them. Kid was sporting a new neck tattoo and some funky white shoes. He could still use to gain a few pounds but he was looking good.
All in all, it was pretty much a success. It was good to see all my blog blox buddies. I will have to link them later on today as I'm sure they posted long before I did!
I made some new friends last night as well. One gentleman, who was not a blogger, ended up sitting with all of us anyway. We talked about the August 1st vote and as a Nassau County resident he was telling me he hoped that the public could see through all the rhetoric. The County and the Island need the Coliseum and for whatever the cost is per year (or per week if you break it down to the $1.07 it's estimated before the tax break would kick in) this has to go through.
So grab some tickets for the Blue & White Scrimmage & skills competition on 7/16 and see the newest Islander Ryan Strome and Vote YES on August 1st and save the Islanders.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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