islesinfo - 1983 Draft

The Islanders entered the 1983 draft just having won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup Championship with a sweep over what some believed to be the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers. But it wasn't the Oilers time yet, and the Islanders still proved that any successor for the Cup was going to have to come through Long Island first. Considering GM Bill Torrey's drafting track record over the previous ten years and the abundance of high quality prospects he had collected throughout the organization the belief around the NHL was that the Islanders were going to be a tops the league for many more years to come. Ant that belief was only strengthened after the 1983 draft was complete, thanks in large part to a deal orchestrated by Torrey almost two years prior. On October 1, 1981 Torrey sent defenseman Bob Lorimer and center Dave Cameron to Colorado in exchange for the Rockies 1983 first round selection. In 1982, Colorado moved to New Jersey and became the Devils. New Jersey finished with a 17-49-14 record in 1982-83. Their 48 points was the third worst in the NHL. Meanwhile, the Islanders cruised to 96 points with a record of 42-26-12. Now with another Stanley Cup in their back pockets, the Islanders entered the draft with the 16th, and most notably, the 3rd pick overall. With the third pick, Torrey snatched high scoring American born phenom Pat LaFontaine, who was just named the Canadian Major Junior Hockey Player of the Year after shattering QMJHL scoring records. With LaFontaine and 1982 first round selection Pat Flatley in the fold the Islanders were looking strong as ever heading into the mid-1980's.

Since it was deemed by many scouts going into the draft that many of the draftees would not be able to make an immediate jump to the NHL, the draft overall was viewed as one that lacked any standout superstars. But there were many surprises. The biggest was the dominance of U.S. born talent among the early selections as five Americans were drafted in the first round. LaFontaine entered the draft as the first U.S. born player to be ranked #1 overall by Central Scouting. Yet both the Minnesota North Stars and Hartford Whalers decided to shock the league when they selected American Brian Lawton and French Canadian Sylvain Turgeon with the first and second picks overall respectively. Lawton, not LaFontaine, became the first American taken first overall. But that was just fine with Bill Torrey and the New York Islanders.

Hits: The Islanders couldn't have asked for a better gift than to have LaFontaine fall into their laps. As the Islanders began to lose their top players to age and wear entering into the late 80's LaFontaine developed into their lone superstar. His point totals increased every season culminating in an MVP caliber performance in 1989-90 when Pat became the fourth American born player in NHL history to surpass the 50 goal mark when he notched 54. In his seven plus seasons with the Islanders LaFontaine went on to become one of the most beloved players in Islander history. Unfortunately he decided to hold out at the start of the 1991-92 season, and later demanded a trade. Besides wanting to be paid on an equal status with other stars in the league, it was rumored LaFontaine was unhappy with the treatment some of the aging stars for the Islanders received on their way out, particularly Bryan Trottier.

Besides LaFontaine, the Islanders did get some contributions from three other players in this draft. Their other first round selection Gerald Diduck, another Western Hockey League stay at home scrappy defenseman, went on to a somewhat successful NHL career. Diduck developed into a dependable defenseman entering the late 80's for the Islanders. He even managed to contribute offensively with 11 goals and 32 points in 1988-89. A bad attitude would later see him shipped off and Diduck bounced around the league after a decent stay with the Vancouver Canucks in the early 1990's.

Mikko Makela was deemed a steal in the fourth round, and for a while the Islanders believed they had another future superstar in their midst that they could team up with LaFontaine for years to come. His 36 goals in 1987-88 did nothing to dispell the Islanders of that belief. But Makela would go on to become one of the biggest enigmas in Islander history before he was sent packing to Los Angeles in 1989. The Islanders found a nice player in the eighth round in the likes of Dale Henry. The Islanders gave Henry a chance to make the team as a regular for six years but he never stuck around. His scrappy play was good enough for third line part time duty.

Misses: Makela was considered a huge find until he just seemed to lose interest entering the 1988-89 season. It was evident on many a night that not only did he lose his desire, but he lost his confidence as well. He was eventually given up on and dealt to LA early in the 1989-90 season. The deal worked out well for the Islanders as they went on to an 18-3-1 stretch that vaulted them into first place in the Patrick Division.

Both winger Garnet McKechney and defenseman Mike Neill out of the OHL, drafted in the second and third rounds respectively, were brought into the Islanders system. They both saw action with Indianapolis, Peoria and Springfield. So the Islanders must have had hopes for one or both to make it to the NHL. Neither one did. Twelfth round pick Peter McGeough was brought into the Islanders system in 1988-89 but suffered a career ending back injury on October 11, 1988 in a game against Cape Breton.

Turn Back the Clock: Hindsight is always 20/20. Pat LaFontaine once again became a fan favorite as he joined the Islander greats in 1984 and developed into their only superstar in 1990. Along the way he played in four All-Star Games and single-handedly carried the Islanders in 1989-90 earning the NHL/Dodge Performer of the Year Award. So it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he was the only pick to be made at third overall. Or was he? Also available at the time was fellow future Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman, who went to the Detroit Red Wings with the fourth overall pick. A comparison of careers would obviously show that Yzerman has been a notch better than LaFontaine overall. He also captained his team to three Stanley Cup Championship over his career, something LaFontaine did not do. But would Islander fans have mad that trade? Maybe, maybe not. The only other player to even come close to reaching the status LaFontaine and Yzerman reached from the first round was ninth overall pick Cam Neely of the Vancouver Canucks. How bout the 16th overall pick? Could the Islanders have done better than Gerald Diduck? He was a nice player, but with players like Rick Tocchet(125th, Philadelphia), playoff performers Claude Lemieux(26th, Montreal) and Esa Tikkanen(82nd, Edmonton), and one of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history in Dominek Hasek(207th, Chicago) still available it makes you think what could have been. islesinfo.com pick: As mentioned, only Yzerman or Neely could match the selection of LaFontaine at #3, but the addition of the top rated American available, a future star, was an added incentive for the New York Islanders. Everyone would have loved to have had the foresight to know Hasek was going to accomplish what he did, but with the question surrounding Europeans ever joining the NHL and the fact that he wasn't highly touted you can't fault anyone for staying away. A more logical addition would have been Lemieux or Tikkanen.

Torrey & LaFontaine - 1983 Entry Draft in Montreal

Torrey fixes LaFontaine's name plate after selection