This is a great video from youtube filmed by someone at the draft party if you unfortunatly couldnt go then you can watch this for a live reaction:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqDUXfO086U

I know that is probably what most people were saying after the Islander pick so here is a profile of Calvin De Haan from mynhldraft.com:

"Initially, de Haan?s numbers dropped off following the John Tavares trade to the London Knights, and some presumed that his points total for the first half of the season were inflated. But he shook these presumptions over the last month of the season, registering 17 points over his final 13 games. He really seems to have a strong grasp of the offensive side of the game. De Haan has fantastic puck control and is one of the top puck moving defenseman in the draft. He skates well, and isn?t a liability in his own end, as he led the 9th place Oshawa Generals with a +3 rating this season.

He does, however, lack power on his shot, and does not have the natural edge or aggression you?d like from a defenseman, both possibly as a result of his wiry physique. He has grown taller over the last year, and will spend the next season or two filling out his frame. He draws NHL comparisons to Niklas Kronwall."

a video about De Haan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkiMwqKkEcE

Isles selected John Tavares as the number one pick..

Also they drafted Calvin de Haan with thet 12th pick.

sorry for the delay, I could not post life.

more to come

Hopefully at about 7:15 tonight Garth Snow makes the above picture a reality.

1) Who do you believe the Islanders will select with the number 1 pick ?

I'm still leaning toward Tavares, but nothing would surprise me at this point.

2) Have you heard anything about the Islanders moving up in the later first round ?

I haven't heard anything beyond what you've already read elsewhere but I think it is very likely that they are looking to move up from 26.

3) So you know any kids that the Isles like in the later first round ?

No scoops on other kids here. Garth and the staff haven't tipped their hand about anything.

4) It seems like a lot of fans like Zach Kassian. Will the Islanders be able to move up that high without trading all their picks ?

Moving the assets that would probably be required to get a shot at Kassian would be counterproductive to the current building strategy.

 5) In the Islanders organization there seems to be a lot of love for Matt Duchene. Could they actually pick this kid number one.

Yes they could actually pick Duchene. Convention means nothing to them. Taking their player, the one they believe in most, means everything.

 6) If anybody not named Tavares is picked, the reaction at the draft party is going to be rough. You think Snow will be mentioned with Mike Milbury as the two worst hockey GMs ever.

I think some would compare Snow to Milbury but it's not a fair comparison in this case. We're still talking about 18 year old kids, all of whom project to be dynamic players. Snow has some cushion here.

We are going to give a mock draft here, leave thoughts in comments as to weather or not you agree or you think we are out of our minds.

1) New York Islanders- John Tavares                                         London Knights

Nothing needs to be said because we have said numerous times why we think the Isles should pick JT.

2) Tampa Bay Lightning- Victor Hedman                                    Modo (Sweden)

The Lightning need a puck moving center and Hedman is in a class of his own with regard to d-men in the draft

3) Colorado Avalanche- Matt Duchene                                        Brampton Batillion

He has a year or so to learn from Joe Sackic. Some call him the most complete player in the draft.

4) Atlanta Thrashers- Evander Kane                                           Vancover Giants

The makings of a power forward, he can hit score and fight. Has a real nose for the net also. Maybe in a couple of years he can play with Kovy if he stays.

5) LA Kings- Brayden Schenn                                                   Brandon Wheat Kings

Similar makeup to Kane in the physical sense. Look for Toronto to possibly trade up to get him because you know how Brian Burke loves when he can get brothers on the same team.

6) Phoneix Coyotes- Jared Cowan                                            Spokane Chiefs

The Coyotes are looking for D since they are pretty solid up front. They get a great prospect here in Cowan. Who as recently as December 08 was a top 3 projected pick but go hurt.

7) Toronto Mapleleafs- Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson               Timra (Sweden)

He has great skating ability and pretty good hands. The key for him is develeping his ability to finish. If he can do that look for him to be a solid player in this league for years to come.

8) Dallas Stars- Nazim Kadri                                                        London Knights

After two 100+ point seasons this guy is going to go play with Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow to great guys to learn stuff from. Especially Modano because they play the same position.

9) Ottowa Senators- Oliver Eckman-Larson                           Lecksand (Sweden)

The Senators get what they desperatly need after loosing Wade Redden and Andrei Meszaros last off-season. The jury is still out on Campoli however he can't do everything himself. OEL might play another year in Sweden but in the long run will make Ottowa a better team.

10) Edmonton Oilers- Dmiry Kulikov                                           Drummondville

Most believe he is NHL ready now. So the Oilers decide to go with him and hope is play from the QMJHL translates to the NHL.

11) Nashville Predators- Zack Kassian                                        Peterborough

He is tough, gritty, nasty, and just a pain to play against. That is why with the 11th pick Nashville takes Zack Kassian. He will not only give him PIMS but he can also produce points on the wings which is something this team is really lacking.

12) Minnestoa Wild- Jordan Schroeder                                    University of Minnesota

There is no way if the Wild still have this pick that they let Schroeder slip past them. He led NCAA rookies in scoring last year and he is a hometown boy. He will def. be the first American taken in the draft this year.

13) Buffalo Sabres- Ryan Ellis                                                             Winsdor

All I have to say is this guy will lead your powerplay for years to come. He has a wicked shot and good stickhandling skills for a d-man.

14) Florida Panthers- John Moore                                                      Chicago

Perfect replacement for Jay Bo. He has great size and a pretty good shot. He also has a great mentor in ex-islander Bryan McCabe.

15) Anaheim Ducks- Louis Leblanc                                                   Omaha

The Ducks have struck gold in the draft in recent years with picks such as Getzlaf, Perry, and Ryan. They hope to add Leblanc to the list of success stories.

16) Columbus Blue Jackets- Peter Holland                                     Guelph

You have seen the benefits Thomas Holmstrom has bought to Detroit. Well here is another version of Holmstrom just younger.

17) St. Louis Blues- Scott Glennie                                                     Brandon

His play on the walls has drawn comparisons to Towes for Chicago. Great guy already n St Louis to mentor him in Tkachuk.

18) Montreal Canadiens- Carter Ashton                                           Omaha

Taken a few spots after teammate Leblanc Ashton will bring alot of size to a rather small MTL team. But he also has skill that can translate into him being an ideal fit on any team.

19) New York Rangers- Jeremy Morin                                             USNTDP

Man does this draft have a ton of solid players and at 19 the Rangers will get one. He can contribute on both sides of the ice.

20) Calgary Flames- David Runblad                                         Skelleftea (Sweden)

Great shot and fantasic hockey sense are what Rundblad has to offer. He will be a great asset for this team for years to come especially if they decide to trade Dion Phaneuf.

21) Philadelphia Flyers- Drew Shore                                               USNTDP

Picked a few spots after teammate Morin Shore will bring toughness to a team who is known for being one of the toughest in the NHL.

22) Vacover Canucks- Jacob Josefson                                     Djurgarden (Sweden)

Another solid 2 way player. He had good end to last season in Sweden and Van. hopes it translates in the NHL. Or he may play an additional year in Sweden.

23) New Jersey Devils- Landon Ferraro                                            Red Deer

Little Ferraro will bring his speed and offensive prowess over the river to Jersey. If Gionta leaves he may have a shot at earning a spot on the team.

24) Washington Capitals- Kyle Palmeri                                             USNTDP

His great shot, vision, and tenacity make him to good to pass up at this point in the draft.

25) Boston Bruins- Chris Kreider                                                        Andover

This kid going to school in Boston is too good for Boston to pass up at this spot. He has great size and would be a nice compliment on this already very deep team.

26) New York Islanders- Simon Despres                                       Saint John

After getting the sure thing in Tavares #1 overall the Isles decide to roll the dice on Despres here. His size and offensive ability make him to good to pass up here.

27) Carolina Hurricanes- Calvin de Haan                                         Oshowa

He has great hockey sense and would be an ideal fit on any blue line and the Hurricanes are happy to add him to theirs.

28) Chicago Blackhawks- Carl Klinberg                    Vastra Frolunda HC Goteborg (Sweden)

His size and tenacity are to good for the Blackhawks to pass up at this spot.

29) Detroit Redwings- Tim Erixon                                     Malmo Redhawks (Sweden)

The Redwings have a large pop. of players from overseas and they add Erixon to that group.

30) Pittsburgh Penguins- Stefan Elliot                                           Saskatoon

Great D-man who the Pens are egar to add to their lineup. Maybe he can fill some of the void left by Ryan Whitney.

          In a recent interview with TSN Garth said something along the lines of if we had less man games lost due to injury we wouldve been a very good team last yr.

          Is he serious?  Is he trying to insult us?  It doesnt take a moron to see that we wouldve been better but to say we wouldve been very good is just plain wrong.  He makes the statement at 7:40 in interview to view it click the link below:

http://watch.tsn.ca/nhl/clip186254#clip186254

          Sorry for the lack of updates lately but we dont have much to post anymore.  Sure we will try to post as often as possible but we can only post what is out there and if there is nothing out there we cant post it.  After the draft expect more constant updates for a little while and either tomorrow or thursday expect a full first round mock draft.  If anything breaks on the LH expect to see it here.  Additionally we are going to try to blog from the draft party on friday but I dont know if it will work.  Oh yeah freewebs had technical diffuculties last week which is why we were down here.  Thanks for your support and keep it up.

Go Islanders 

     Could this be the new Islander?  Will Garth Snow go out and make the bold move?   How will he face the media?  Most important how would he face us the fans.

    A little over 80% of New York Islander fans want John Tavares.  Under 10% want Matt Duchene.  As any hockey fan you would think it be a no brainer for the Isles to select John Tavares.  He brings more then just scoring to the island.  Why does Snow have to make this so hard for all the fans.  I agree that hiding the pick is a smart idea because hockey fans around the world are now talking about the Islanders but his recent comments to Greg Logan scare me.  He has said that our selection might not be the fan favorite.  Hello if that does not scare you, then what does.

    But in the end here at savetheisles we still believe that Islanders will be selecting John Tavares and we will tell you soon. 

    Coming soon - Why its going to be John Tavares

          In a recent conversation with Greg Logan Garth Snow made a statement to Islanders Country that he will not be persuaded by popular opinion and wants the fan base to trust him and management.  To view the full article click the link below:

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/blog/2009/06/garth_snows_message_to_fans.html

          I personally think Garth is off his rock given the track record of this franchise asking the fan base to put trust in the management given the many debacles of past.  Inlcuding all though the jury is still out on it passing on Schenn and Filatov last year.  What I have to say to Garth is if trust is what you want you have to earn it.  At least for me he hasn't done so yet.  Statements like we are not going to be persuaded by popular opinion make me nervous and cause me to think that we may not pick JT.  All I know is that if we take Duchene #1 overall over JT that all he!! will break loose at the Coliseum on friday.  I base that off what I have read on different message boards and islander blog sites.  Taking Duchene would be similar to 2000 when we took Ricky.  In 2000 Dany Heatley and Marion Gaborick were the concenus 1 & 2 for quite a while before the draft and of course Mike Milbury had to go against the grain and take DP which led him to trade Roberto Luongo who some may argue is the best goalie in hockey right now.  So I beg Garth to please not go against the grain again and take JT.  Although when healthy DP is a really good goalie, the trouble is he is never healthy.  All I have to say to Garth is to pick John Tavares with the #1 overall pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft and let your loyal fan base sleep soundly on friday night knowing that the org. finally did something "right" and didnt try to outsmart the hockey world.

     NHL.com has an interview with a couple of quotes from Tavares and his mother. A link to the interview is below:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=425864

     Did you know: did you know that John Tavares uncle also named John is the top lacrosse player in the National Lacrosse League? He has the most career goals assists and points.

     Chuck Fletcher is ready to deal according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.  Michael Russo a Wild writer reported that Wild's GM Fletcher wants to stock up on draft picks and maybe actual player trades.  Within the last few weeks the heat has rose about Danny Heatley maybe heading to Minnesota.  Flectcher has recently stated that if he could get a player or two before free agency, he is going to pursue it.

     The Wild have the 12th overall pick this Friday but do not have a second or third round pick.  The Islanders could be potential trade partners with the Wild because the Isles have so many picks in the second and third round.  This is something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the NHL draft. 

     *Following is a quote from hockeybuzz.com*

     " I just talked to an NHL Exec who said that the Islanders are planning more for their draft party of 17,000+ than drafting one of the BIG 3.  The Isles may also announce at the draft that they have acquired the negotiation rights of the Sedins to that crowd."

     When I first saw this, I laughed and said no way this happens.  It is clear that the Sedin twins want to play with each other and both are going to make a ton of money but when you look around the NHL, what team could afford around ten million to their cap?  Not many teams but one of the few are the Islanders.

     After going on hockeybuzz I went on islandermania and I ended up coming across a site called thefourthperiod.com.  They have a great article about the top 30 free agents.  The Sedin twins are ranked fourth and fifth.  Guess what one of the team that has interest in them, it is the New York Islanders.  Last year they predicted that the Isles would sign Mark Streit and Doug Weight, well as you know they were right.

     As for Islander fans, I would not get your hopes up.  The chances of us signing the Sedin twins are very very slim.  Garth has said several times that the Islanders are not going to make a splash in the free agent market.  As for now we are going to focus on the draft and if we have any new news about the Sedin twins we will post it as soon as possible.