The Islanders And The 2012 Draft Lottery

Update:

1        Edmonton (Lottery Winner, 1^st pick for 3^rd consecutive year)

2        Columbus

3        Montreal

4        Islanders

5        Toronto

6        Anaheim

7        Minnesota

8        Carolina

9        Winnipeg

10    Tampa Bay

11    Washington (from Col)

12    Buffalo

13    Dallas

14  Calgary

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Tomorrow night, the NHL will hold its draft lottery.  This is where the selection order of the first 14 picks of non-playoff teams will be assigned.  Their initial placement is based on a team’s final position in the league standings. Which is, the lowest final point total at the end of the 2011-12 season, but in reverse order.  This gives the weaker teams a better chance to acquire a higher “quality” prospect.

There is a percentage chance, based on how low a team finished the season, that it may move up no more than four places if they are chosen in a random, but weighted lottery.  Per NHL.com, the percentage chance to win the lottery and is weighted like this:

Columbus Blue Jackets - 25.0%
Edmonton Oilers - 18.8%
Montreal Canadiens - 14.2%
New York Islanders - 10.7%
Toronto Maple Leafs - 8.1%
Anaheim Ducks - 6.2%
Minnesota Wild - 4.7%
Carolina Hurricanes - 3.6%
Winnipeg Jets - 2.7%
Tampa Bay Lightning - 2.1%
Washington Capitals (from Colorado) - 1.5%
Buffalo Sabres - 1.1%
Dallas Stars - 0.8%
Calgary Flames - 0.5%

In 2000, the Islanders moved up from 5^th to 1^st and selected Goaltender, Rick DiPietro.  In 2011, the Isles were bumped from 4^th to 5^th position when the New Jersey Devils moved to 4^th from 8^th position.

The Islanders currently sit in the fourth position in the draft and will most likely go for the best player available.  It is possible, though unlikely that they could trade or package the pick once its selected.  What would they do if the won the lottery and moved up to the first position?  What would you do?

Per NHL.com, “The 2012 NHL Draft will take place at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh ‘on Tuesday, April 10^th at 8 p.m.’ The first round will take place on Friday, June 22 commencing at 7 p.m. ET and the subsequent rounds (two through seven) will begin at 10 a.m. ET Saturday, June 23.”

Central Scouting released its draft rankings today.

North American skaters:

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RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	LEAGUE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION
1	YAKUPOV, NAIL	SARNIA	OHL	5' 10.5"	189	RW
2	MURRAY, RYAN	EVERETT	WHL	6' 0.5"	195	D
3	GRIGORENKO, MIKHAIL	QUEBEC	QMJHL	6' 3.0"	200	C
4	GALCHENYUK, ALEX	SARNIA	OHL	6' 0.5"	198	C
5	RIELLY, MORGAN	MOOSE JAW	WHL	5' 11.5"	190	D

European skaters:

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RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	LEAGUE	HEIGHT	WEIGHT	POSITION
1	FORSBERG, FILIP	LEKSAND	SWEDEN-2	6' 2.0"	181	C
2	TERAVAINEN, TEUVO	JOKERIT	FINLAND	5' 11.0"	165	LW
3	COLLBERG, SEBASTIAN	FROLUNDA	SWEDEN	5' 11.0"	176	RW
4	LINDHOLM, HAMPUS	ROGLE JR.	SWE-JR.	6' 2.5"	196	D
5	HERTL, TOMAS	SLAVIA	CZREP	6' 2.0"	198	C

Isles Notes:

Per Arthur Staple, “New York Islanders send Michael Haley and Matt Donovan back to BPT. Casey Cizikas (upper body) still out, Dylan Reese not on clear day roster for BPT.”

Per Arthur Staple, “The Islander players who have accepted World Championships invites: Tavares (CAN), Okposo (US). Hamonic asked by Canada, but declined for personal reasons, (possibly his jaw injury).  Expect Nino Niederreiter and Mark Streit to play for SUI and M. Jurcina for Slovakia. Nielsen (DEN) and Grabner (AUS) still deciding.”

Per @NYIslanders, Matt Moulson was asked what his goal is next year: "Win the Stanley Cup."

Per Chris Botta, “Expect to see changes on Isles coaching staff with one, possibly two assistants not having contracts renewed.”

Per Allan Walsh, agent of P.A. Parenteau, "Now that the New York Islander season is over, we are looking forward to start negotiations with the club.  PA has made it clear he wants to remain with the Islanders. He has assumed a leadership role with the club, he's proven to be a great fit on one of the top scoring lines in the League and has great affinity for the organization that gave him his opportunity to play regularly in the NHL."