11:35 am: The @NLKing tweeted out to me this morning that he believed the Isles had TWO 4th round draft picks this year so I reached out to Greg Picker of the New York Islanders to see if we had missed something.
One of the conditions was that Montreal needed to make the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011. That condition was not met, so the Islanders DO NOT have Montreal's 4th-round pick in the upcoming draft.
So there you have it, only one pick in round four.
However, @NLKing also feels this draft is very deep and the Isles will come away with some excellent prospects.
So maybe it will be interesting after all!
7 am: For the first time in many years, there will be no hoopla surrounding the NYI first round NHL draft pick. There are few fan campaigns out there shouting who should be the next name on an Isles sweater. Nope, not at 15th overall. By the time the Isles walk up to the podium to make their first round choice, it will be a crap shoot as to which highly rated prospect is still available.
However, that doesn’t mean that Garth Snow won’t do something surprising to make that lazy Sunday afternoon in June worthwhile. Whether it will be bringing in another celebrity to announce their choice at the podium or finding a way to trade their pick for high caliber player or just picking a name out of the blue that no one expects, the possibility for surprise is always there.
The party may not be. Unlike previous years that separated the first round from the subsequent rounds, and was spread over two days, the NHL has decided to compact the entire draft into one Sunday in New Jersey. Maybe they didn’t want to spend that much time in Newark or just like the NHL Awards this year, they’re just scaling down the pageantry and concentrating on the task at hand.
The Isles picks break down as such, with no pick in the second round. I assume that’s when they’ll work the room and see what sort of deals they can make.
Round 1: 15th overall
Round 3: 75th overall
Round 4: 105th overall
Round 5: 135th overall
Round 6: 165th overall
Round 7: 195th overall
Can Garth Snow parlay a prospect or two into an established pending UFA? Perhaps. Will he take a goalie prospect with his first round pick? Will he pick nothing BUT goalies this year as he did with Defensemen previously? It’s anyone’s guess. And I’m going to leave it up to others to do the guessing. Maybe I’ll dabble a little into who ‘may’ be available midway through the first round, but… maybe not.
The Brad Richards question: So many are discussing the amnesty buy-out of Brad Richards and his potential for the NYI. Hmmmmm….. While there are strong arguments to be made on both sides of the fence, I’m not too sure, nor too keen on that one. I’d rather take a pass.
Catching up with Travis: My buddy Rob McGowen from TheCheckingLine.com has a really good
interview with one of our favorite young Islanders, Travis Hamonic. You should check it out.
And don’t forget about FiveHoleForFood.com and their June 29th
fund raiser in Central Park.
Bye Bye Torts: Best joke yesterday on the firing of John Tortorella on Twitter; “What’s the difference between Jack Capuano and John Tortorella? A job.”
Love it. Just love it.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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