2001 NYI Draft Central

Rd	#	Selection	Pos.	Ht	Wt	From
4	101	Cory Stillman	C	6-2	204	Kingston(OHL)
5	132	Dusan Salficky	G	6-1	185	Plzen(CZE)
6	166	Andy Chiodo	G	5-11	201	Tor. St. Michaels(OHL)
7	197	Jan Holub	D	6-3	185	Liberec Jr.(CZE)
8	228	Mike Bray	RW	6-3	208	Quebec(QMJHL)
9	260	Bryan Perez	RW	6-1	198	Des Moines(USHL)
9	280	Roman Kuhtinov	D	6-0	207	Metallurg Nov.(RUS)
9	287	Juha-Pekka Ketola	C	6-1	178	Lukko(FIN)

C Cory Stillman	18 years old...The Islanders scouting staff were surprised to still see Stillman available in the fourth round because he was originally slated to go in the second round. Ranked 19th overall among North American players by Central Scouting Bureau. He is the second cousin of the NHLer by the same name. Stillman has good size and has already shown good offensive skills with 29 goals in 2000-01. He will be counted on for more nest year. 40 goals would be a nice improvement.
G Dusan Salficky	29 years old...Salficky is considered by Islanders European scout Anders Kallur to be the best goaltender in Czechoslovakia right now. The Islanders needed immediate help in goal and Salficky will be given every chance to make the team in 2000-01. The Islanders hope that if Salficky turns out even close to Flyers G Roman Cechmanek, they'll be in good shape. Salficky has been the backup goaltender for each of the last two Czech World Championship teams. Was suppose to be the Czechs number one in goal for the tournament this year, but was replaced at the last minute by former Islander draft pick Milan Hnlicka. Has a bit of a cocky attitude and was the top goaltender in the Czech extraleague last year.
G Andy Chiodo	18 years old...For the first time since 1991, the Islanders drafted two goaltenders in successive rounds. What started out as a bad experience turned into a good one for Chiodo on draft day. His name was mistakenly called out by the Atlanta Thrashers in the fifth round and on his way down to the draft floor was informed of the mistake. Feeling bad, he was glad to be taken by the Islanders with the first pick of the 6th round. While Salficky will help the Isles immediately, Chiodo helps depthwise and for the future. Andy was named to the OHL's all rookie team for 2000-01 playing for the Toronto St. Michaels Majors. Ranked 7th among North American goaltenders by CSB.
D Jan Holub	18 years old...Holub is considered a work in progress by European scout Anders Kallur. His style of game is that of a stay at home defenseman but he needs more playing time to develop. He was ranked 38th overal by CSB among European skaters. Holub was added to the Czech Republic national junior team midway through 2000-01.
RW Mike Bray	18 years old...Bray is not known for finesse, but rather for his fists and physical play. But he can chip in offensively when asked. Scouted by Isles Quebec scout Mario Saraceno who believes Bray's upside is a 3rd to 4th line player in the NHL. CSB had him ranked 155th overal among North Americans.
RW Bryan Perez	19 years old...Bryan was recruited by Michigan Tech last summer from the USHL. He did not play due to academic ineligibility. Islanders scout Brian Hunter says that Perez is going to be considered the go to guy for MTU in 2001-02. A member of the U.S. National program in Ann Arbor MI, Perez was added to their summer evaluation camp on June 27th in preparation of this years World Junior Championships in December.
D Roman Kuhtinov	26 years old...Hoping to find a more seasoned gem over in Europe in the mold of late round selections like Radek Martinek and Dick Tarnstrom, not too much is known yet about Roman Kuhtinov. What is known is that he's a right shot with good puck handling skills.
C Juha-Pekka Ketola	18 years old...Ketola is the captain of his Finnish junior team. Considered a "heart and soul" type player by the Islanders scouting staff, he played for Finland's entry at last years Under 18 World Championships. He is projected as a checking forward and is a member of Finland's national junior team.

#1 LW Ilya Kovalchuk	Reportedly has Pavel Bure type scoring ability. Some scouts say he has an attitude and is selfish with the puck. Talks a pretty good game as he has stated he'd do anything to win. Can play a scrappy game. The Isles would take him in a flash. Unfortunately they lost the #1 in the lottery to Atlanta. GM Milbury will wait to see what Atlanta does with the pick before making further decisions. 6-2 207 lbs. Franchise Player
#2 C Jason Spezza	All around great talent. Was originally the consensus #1 pick. Spezza has been compared to Bruins C Jason Allison. He's not a speedster like Kovalchuk or Chistov, which has garnered some unfair knock on his skating. Some reports are that the Isles love him, some report otherwise. The Ottawa Senators are supposedly interested which could make this pick the foundation for an Alexei Yashin deal. 6-2 214lbs...Fran. Player
#3 RW Stanislav Chistov	A huge wild card. Chistov is FAST, skilled and would have been a possible #1 candidate. The only problem is he's only 5-9 169lbs. The Islanders have not let on that they are even interested in him, but they have made surprise picks before. Milbury has passed on a smaller skilled player before in Sergei Samsonov. I predict he will slip a bit to picks #5-10. The only way the Isles take him is if they acquire a second high pick, so they'd have another player to fall back on if Chistov doesn't pan out. Skilled Forward
#4 C Alexander Svitov	A power forward in the mold of Bobby Holik at 6-3 193lbs. The Islanders are reportedly very high on him. So are the Tampa Bay Lightning. Could Milbury use that to his advantage? He could threaten to draft Svitov and then trade the pick to Tampa for G Kevin Weekes and the #3 overall selection. But does Tampa think Svitov is the 2nd best player overall? And does Milbury like Weekes that much?
#5 C Stephen Weiss	Skilled forward in the mold of a Steve Yzerman, he clocks in at 5-11, 178lbs. Could be the safest pick, with the lowest risk factor. Could turn out to be more of a defensive forward.
#6 C Mikko Koivu	The younger brother of Montreal Canadiens star Saku. Predicted to be a two way forward. At 6-2, 183lbs Mikko is bigger and more durable than his brother. Longshot Islander pick.
#7 D Mike Komisarek	BIG defenseman is 6-4, 225lbs. Might be a longshot pick where the Islanders are concerned. But he does have one intriguing aspect about him. He is from Islip Terrace, NY. The native Long Islander, who just finished his freshman season with the University of Michigan, has openly stated that he'd love to play for the Islanders. Future two way defenseman.