KoC 2012 NHL Entry Draft Preview

ISS 2012 NHL Entry Draft Rankings as of June 1^st, 2012

NAIL YAKAPOV, LW – Dynamic player, great hands and dangerous shot

FILIP FORSBERG, RW – Strong, fast and powerful skater, great shot and chippy

RYAN MURRAY, D – Top D prospect in ’12, smart and complete player

MIKHAIL GRIGORENKO, RW – Good stick, strong on the puck

JACOB TROUBA, D – Driven, good vision, calm and assertive

GRIFFIN REINHART, D – Solid positional D,

MORGAN RIELLY, D – Great skater, intelligent positional play

MATT DUMBA, D – Hockey sense, good skater, physical and strategic player

TEUVO TERAVAINEN, LW –  Calm and cool, Great anticipation

CODY CECI, D - “Workhorse” with efficiency and skill

BRENDAN GAUNCE, C

OLLI MAATTA, D

SEBASTIAN COLLBERG, RW

ALEXANDER GALCHENYUK

NICHOLAS KERDILES, C

RADEK FAKSA, LW

THOMAS WILSON, RW

MATT FINN, D

HAMPUS LINDHOLM, RW

PONTUS ABERG, LW

SLATER KOEKKOEK, D

DERRICK POULIOT, D

SCOTT LAUGHTON, C

ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS, C

COLTON SISSONS, C/R

BRADY SKJEI, D

HENRIK SAMUELSSON, C

DALTON THROWER, D

LUDVIG BYSTROM, D

ADAM PELECH, D

On Friday, June 22^nd at 5:30PM, I will be at the Nassau Veteran Memorial Coliseum to experience the 2012 NHL Entry Draft from an Islanders fan perspective.  I have gone to the last few gatherings and have enjoyed the experience of the event.  From all the fan fare to seeing friends and fellow writers, the Draft Party is something all fans should experience at least once.

The Islanders hold the 4^th overall pick.  This Draft is one that is said to drop off after the first few picks, but boasts a lot of strong Defensive prospects that usually develop slower than offensive talent.  The true value of a pick will take a couple of years to start showing, so it is always interesting to see who the team will choose from the players available.

After reading the official rankings, prospect bios and expert opinions, I have thought about what I might expect to see from New York.  We know the Isles have another big camp ahead of them and prospects like Cizikas, DiBo, Strome, Nelson, Rakhshani, Ullstrom, Sundstrom, Theoret and Kabanov will be trying to make a splash.  The addition of Joensuu is expected to take up a Forward spot as well.  Will the Islanders take the best player available, regardless of position?  Probably.

On Defense last season, players like Donovan and Ness got noticed.  Guys like Kichton and Mayfield will be improving as well.  Defense is something the Islanders really need to get better at and solid team depth is so important.

You can only guess at what the teams in front of you are going to do.  You will also need to know your own depth chart and based on the players available, decide if you can trade back to get more picks if the guy you want will still be there.  Is there a big trade for a quality player who is ready to contribute now to be had for your pick?

When I look at the top ten picks of the Draft this year, I see some talented Forwards and several very good Defensive prospects.  A realistic scenario could be a player like Forsberg, Grigorenko or Teravainen available in the 4-12 slot to make an immediate impact or to add depth to your Forward core.  You have to take Murray if he is still there, right?  If he isn’t, I would love Defensive players like Trouba, Reinhart, Riley, and Dumba.

My wish list would be Forsberg or Grigorenko at Forward or any of the defensemen I have mentioned above, especially Murray or Trouba.  These guys have the elite scoring touch or composure on defense, so vital in quality prospects.

Later picks in the round would be guys like Galchenyuk or Ceci.  They have a lot of potential and skill the Islanders have been able to gather in later placed picks.  Another diamond in the rough towards the end of the first round is F, Christoval Nieves.  Ranked 31^st among North American Skaters, Nieves has really good hands, agility, acceleration and speed.  He has good vision and hockey sense and an ability to maneuver puck in a crowd.

Whatever the outcome, I hope the Islanders make the right choice.

Isles Notes:

Per Christian Arnold, Isles prospect, Robbie Russo was on the list of invitees to the USA Hockey National Junior Development Camp.

Per B.D. Gallof, Isles prospect, Ryan Strome was selected to represent Canada on the Canada-Russian Challenge Tournament in August.