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Draft Spotlight : Islanders |
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Continuing on with this series we look at the Islanders.
The Islanders will at last pick outside of the top-10 after an optimistic season that saw them make the playoffs for the first time since 2006 where they also made it in the 8th spot. What did the season mean for the Islanders? Simply put, hope…hope for the future of the former dynasty and the dawning of some light at the end of that dark tunnel.
The Islanders will pick (currently) in the 15th slot, which is always an interesting space in my opinion as it isn’t too early to make a big gamble on a player you love and not too late to catch some potential fallers. What do the Islanders need with this draft pick? The best player available. Their prospect pool is extremely strong with near NHL ready forwards like Ryan Strome, Nino Niederreiter, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee; an excellent defense pool headlined by Griffin Reinhart, Ville Pokka (personal favourite), Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, Andrei Pedan and Matt Donovan. They could use some help in goal with Nabokov looking downright awful during the playoffs despite a solid regular season, but this is an immediate need and no goalie in this draft is expected (or ever is expected really) to make the team straight away, this includes Fucale. Poulin and Nilsson are decent goalie prospects in their own right anyways. So really they don’t have any major hole in their prospect pool other than maybe right wing prospects since Petrov is 90% likely to never come over to the NHL or even pan out for that matter and Kirill Kabanov is still a major project.
Personally what I would like the Islanders to do is try to trade the pick in a package for immediate help, whether it is a top-4 defenseman or even a goalie…I know, I know, nobody wants to give up anything for Miller/Fleury/Luongo etc.
15
Ryan Pulock : Defense wins championships is the common saying throughout all sports…maybe not polo…and the Islanders while still filled with strong prospects could always use high potential defenders. Offensively brilliant, defensively above-average with major potential as being the steal of the draft. He has a canon-like shot and runs a PP expertly with creativity and constant movement/adjustment. He has already at 18 clocked slappers at 103 MPH and there really is no other word to describe his shot other than “elite.” He plays with a physical edge to go along with all those offensive tools and isn’t afraid to muck things up in the corners. At 6’0 206 he’s well-built already and very solid due to a really strong lower body (he’s very hard to get off his feet). He showed a lot of leadership on a poor Wheat King’s squad as their captain and leading point getter, a rare feat in junior for a defenseman. His defensive zone coverage isn’t the greatest which is a knock against him and there are concerns about his speed which is definitely not the best. He is fairly mobile despite the average skating and has shown good instincts and tendencies as a puck mover, you just wonder if that will translate as well in the pros where speed is essential. At 15 I still think if he is available he’s a great pick.
Valentin Zykov : He is pretty much the opposite of the stereotypical Russian winger, he plays like a grinder yet has the skill of a high scoring threat. He has a nasty wrist shot that is highly effective off the rush and he makes quick smart passes when he has to. His shot is bordering on elite levels and I like his versatility in that he is not simply a one-shot scorer. He plays physical and is a great defensive forward, back in Russian before he made the move to the QMJHL he was considered a defensive specialist and minor penalty magnet, which is why his Rookie of the Year (CHL and QMJHL respectfully)…year…was so surprising as he literally came out of nowhere. His strength is excellent and he’s very hard to take off the puck when he’s mucking on the boards. He’s crushed some seriously big players. His major downside is that he is an average skater who when at top-speed is very fast, but he’s a notoriously slow accelerator and looks labored when he begins. That kind of thing is what separates him from the top-10 group. The 6’0 210 RW is one of my personal favourites. The Islanders could use a RW prospect that can play a two-way game and while his likely potential is a 2nd line scoring threat, the Isles could use that kind of toughness in their top-6 someday, something they hoped for greatly when they took El Nino in 2010.
Alexander Wennberg : He’s flown a bit under the radar despite having an amazing season both internationally and in the Allsvenskan. The 6’1 centre/LW/RW (versatile) has excellent offensive instincts and top-end speed. His speed to me is Grabner like with excellent start and stop movements. That kind of speed has really helped him out on the bigger ice-surface in Sweden. His hockey sense is described as being near elite and this plus his speed have made him one of the top penalty killers in the draft and he’s a master of creating turnovers. He’s a bit of a one shot scorer and likes to shoot off the rush or cut inside for a wrister and I haven’t seen or heard much if anything about a slapshot. Overall he has amazing instincts in both zones and has a high compete level. I thought he looked very good for Sweden in the WJC’s even though he played in the bottom-6 and was used primarily in a defensive role. Any 18 year old player that is trusted to play on the PK against men is alright by me and his 32 points in 46 games is very impressive. I won’t even go into his dominating performance in last year’s U18’s…this kid is so underrated. His versatility and ability to play all three forward positions to me is a big plus as that essentially means he can slot anywhere you want to plug him in, and while any team that drafts him likely won’t see him for two years as he develops in Sweden, he plays a very mature and pro-ready game already.
Josh Morrissey : A strong performance at the U18’s has certainly helped Morrissey who brings serious offensive talent and a mean streak. He was brilliant playing in all situations and running the best power play in the tournament (McDavid helped a little I suppose), while he was robbed in my opinion of the Best Defenseman Award during the tournament by Steve Santini, he dominated and ended with 3 goals and 7 points in 7 games and leading with a +10. Elite skill and excellent skating make him very dangerous to go along with a major slap shot. The thing I really like about him is that despite his fancy play in the offensive zone, he keeps things very simple in the defensive zone. He makes smart little plays and keeps himself in good position for the most part, which has made him highly effective. I like the physical play, I love the offensive flair and I like that he can play in his own zone without being overwhelmed. Overall I think he has really stepped up and a dominating Ivan Hlinka Tournament added to being named the CHL Scholastic Player of the Year will no doubt increase his value to scouts. I’ve seen him in interviews and this kid is smart, mature and bound to impress GM’s. He needs to add strength and work on his puck battling as his elite skating won’t save him in those one on one battles on the boards in the NHL. He’s a big riser in the draft and at 15 he would be a solid pick.
Robert Hägg : I want to start off by saying Hägg at 15 is a slight stretch unless a team really loves him (more likely around 20-30), but I haven’t talked about him yet and I don’t want to just retread guys I’ve already done. Hägg is a very interesting player and had an interesting year. With the injuries to Brodin, Klefbom and Lindholm; Hägg was able to take advantage of their misfortune and make the Swedish U20 WJC’s and have a very solid showing adding a goal and an assist. He’s primarily an offensive defenseman with high-end skating ability and what many describe as “elite puck moving skills.” He captained the Modo U20 squad in the SuperElit and dominated being named the Best Defenseman of the Year (2011’s winner was 6 overall Hampus Lindholm) and finishing with 11 goals and 24 points in 28 games while splitting time up on the big club in the Elitserien. At 6’2 he has good size to go along with that top-end skating and he has above-average defensive awareness. His major strengths are going forward on the attack, but many scouts still think that defensively he is reliable and solid. He’s shown some physicality and that he has a good mind for the game. I’d also like to add that he was the best defender for Sweden in the U18’s and he was a leader for a team with a lot of 2014 eligible players. There have been a lot of Swedish defenseman that were slated to go in the 20’s and 10-15 range that are picked earlier on and go on to be steals; Oliver Ekman-Larsson was generally in the 15 range but went 6th, Hampus Lindholm was in the 20’s and went 6th and he had an excellent AHL season for an 18 year old, Jonas Brodin was in the 20’s and went 11th and looked like the real Calder winner playing as a top-pairing guy at 19…so maybe Hägg at 15 isn’t such a bad thing?
Other Notables for the pick at 15 are Max Domi Centre from the London Knights, Bo Horvat Centre from the London Knights, André Burakovsky Left Wing of Malmo in the Allsvenskan (stretch!), Madison Bowey Defenseman from the Kelowna Rockets and Mirco Mueller Defenseman from the Everett Silvertips.
Thanks for reading. Travis Yost, Richard Cloutier, Ian Esplen, Mark Spizzirri and myself did a simulation Mock Draft recently and at some point Yost will post it, so stay tuned for that…and prepare to pepper Esplen with hate Nashville fans!
If you want me to do a spotlight for your team just ask and I’ll make it so.
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