|
|
ISLES INFO |
|
|
|
ISLES INFO |
|
|
Menu NYI Database News
'98
Draft Central 
//// //// //// //// |
- It was rumored a week ago that both Atlanta and Columbus were looking to stay put. Especially Atlanta who needs goaltending and had their eye set on Kari Lehtonen. But apparently Atlanta is shopping their pick aggressively. With such young stars as Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley, Atlanta is in pursuit of veteran talent to go along with their youth. Columbus is also rumored to have received some calls for the third pick as has Tampa Bay for the fourth selection. Washington, who have three picks in the first round reportedly offered all three to move up to the second pick and select Rick Nash. Edmonton is rumored to be in pursuit of the 4th selection. No rumors have really surrounded the Islanders as of yet, but we've often seen moves made right down to the last minute. Update 2(June 21st 11:55pm EST): The Philadelphia Flyers have traded Ruslan Fedotenko along with a second and third round pick to Tampa Bay for the 4th selection overall. It's funny to see that Tampa Bay doesn't need Rick Dudley to be their GM to still make dumb deals. I'm sick of hearing this "weak draft" crap. How come the teams with the top selections all say this is a weak draft, yet the teams that did make the playoffs are looking to make great deals to move into those positions. The Flyers basically lost nothing and gained a top five pick. They didn't have a first round pick coming into the draft.
Nystrom Update: Eric has been getting a lot of press lately. I posted Sunday's article that was in the Calgary Sun. In the article Calgary coach and former two time Cup winner with the Islanders Greg Gilbert said he has seen all the reports on Eric and likes what he sees. He stated that he saw how scouts are saying Eric has more skill than his dad, but added that Bobby was a pretty skilled player. Calgary owns the 9th selection.
Jakub Klepis, C: 6-0 1/2, 200 lbs. Czech center is slated to go late in the first round basically because this is considered a weak draft. The word is that if this is any other year Klepis would be a late second rounder. But don't always get bogged down in that weak draft talk. Good players are drafted every year that become NHL'ers. Klepis is considered a character forward who would be a strong third line center. Scouts see him as a specialty teams player, particularly on the penalty kill and face-offs. He's a fluid skater and agile and labeled as a safe pick. Chris Higgins, C: 5-11, 192 lbs. Higgins would be an interesting choice because of his roots. He is from Smithtown, NY and learned some of his hockey through Long Island development. Higgins was a freshman with Yale last season where he averaged over a point per game. Scouts wish he was bigger and faster, but is considered a smart two way player. Most believe he'll have a chance to become a second line player in the NHL because of his smarts, but it's most likely Higgins will be a third liner. Kirill Koltsov, D: 5-11, 183 lbs. Koltsov could become an interesting decision for the Islanders if he is still available. He was originally slated to be in the 2001 draft, but his agents forgot the paperwork and thus he had to wait an entire year. Scouts believe he is an extremely gifted offensive player, but there are question marks about his mental toughness and attitude. He didn't play on the Russian National Junior Team because of problems with management and he's had run ins with his current teams coach. Koltsov is considered a risk because of his attitude and a tendency to do whatever he wants on the ice. But his upside is considered to be very high and the Islanders could use some skilled defensive depth. A two way defenseman and possibly a great addition if coach Laviolette can get him to play the Isles system. He's a year older than most other draft eligible players and could be close to turning pro. Jonas Johansson, W: 6-1, 189 lbs. Sustained a mid season shoulder injury, but came on at the end of the year. Scouts believe he could one day become a second line player if he continues along his development. Though he could use more speed. Slated as a two way forward, Johansson will probably play in the Swedish Elite League next season after playing in their junior system. He had a great world junior championship tournament scoring 5 goals in 8 games. Maxime Daigneault, G: 6-1 1/2, 194 lbs. He could be around, but most won't hear his name called by the Islanders. Unless the Isles decide to part ways with Rick DiPietro in a trade, which is unlikely. But you never know. He's projected as a #1 goaltender in the NHL, but is coming off a poor season with Val d'Or, Roberto Luongo's alma mater. Daigneault was once considered as far as a year ago to possibly be a top 5 pick, but his stock has dropped. Some question his character for the way he played in his draft year. Maxime happens to be the first goalie to ever be drafted #1 overall in the QMJHL midget draft. He does use his size effectively in net and is a butterfly style netminder. Tobias Stephan, G: 6-3, 178 lbs. Stephan and Daigneault will face-off against each other to be the third goaltender taken after Lehtonen and Deslauriers are gone. Stephan is an interesting prospect because he is from the ever growing hockey developing country of Switzerland. He has played a lot of hockey recently because he is basically counted on in all of Switzerland's junior tournament appearances. He is another butterfly goaltender with a quick glove hand. He has size, just like Daigneault. Stephan is signed to play for the Swiss team Kloten next season. Few players from Switzerland have ever made it to the NHL, the only ones being goaltenders. David Aesbischer is probably the best one. Stephan is projected to be a #1 goalie in the NHL. Again, don't expect Stephan to be hoisting on an Islander sweater come draft day, unless something weird happens. Daniel Paille, LW: 6-0, 200 lbs. Paille is considered by scouts to be another safe pick who will play in the NHL but not contribute much to the offensive game. He's projected as a third line winger with good size. He has good speed, good size and likes to mix it up. But he needs to get more involved and stronger to be a power forward type of player. Right now he is considered to be a character forward who has put up respectable points in two years at Guelph of the OHL, but nothing outstanding. Could it happen?: Could the Islanders have an opportunity to select Eric Nystrom with the 22nd pick? Most lists making predictions have him slated to go somewhere around the 15th pick, which happens to already be a famous slot in Islander history as we know. But at 6-1, 195 pounds, Nystrom could turn out to be a power forward every bit as good as his dad. Eric is considered great along the boards and a very good skater. 15 of his 24 points last year were goals. He had a poor world junior tournament for team USA, but became only the second Michigan freshman to ever notch 4 points in a game. The first was Mike Comrie. - My thoughts: with the recent signing of former Islander great Bryan Trottier as coach of the Rangers, I feel the Islanders should band together and draw even more from their great history than ever. I know it doesn't have any effect on what the Islanders do draftwise, but if Nystrom is available I say draft him and forget about the worries of drafting the son of a former great whose jersey hangs in the rafters. I don't believe Eric will be phased by it at all. And he would probably consider it a dream come true. Isles Info Prediction: If Eric is gone and the Islanders do not pull off a trade, Isles Info predicts Kirill Koltsov will be selected by Mike Milbury and company. Bloodlines: Nystrom is not the only draft hopeful with previous NHL bloodlines. Swedish center Alexander Steen, the son of former Winnipeg Jet captain Thomas Steen, is projected as a two way forward who could be a possibility for the Islanders at #22 as well. LW Adam Henrich, younger brother of Edmonton Oiler prospect Mikael Henrich, is a huge specimen at 6-4 and 230 pounds. He has a profile that is a spitting image of Todd Bertuzzi. But most scouts believe he's a mid second round draft pick. The Islanders currently don't have a second round pick, but how bout this for possible third round pick: The Islanders select C/LW Greg Campbell, the son of current NHL disciplinarian, ( or lack thereof ), Colin Campbell. Greg is projected as a third line player. Update: C/LW Yan Stastny, son of former NHL great Peter Stastny, is slated as a mid round draft player. He is playing, in all places, at Notre Dame of the CCHA. The Top 4: These four players have risen above the rest of the pack. Jay Bouwmeester, D: 6-3 1/2, 206 lbs. Big stud defenseman could be the next great blueliner. He is tall and lanky, and has been projected to go first overall in this draft for almost 3 years now. Things haven't changed. But not every scout is totally sold on the offensive defenseman. Some feel that he's more of a Bret Hedican player than say perhaps Paul Coffey. They say he'll be a real good player, just not spectacular. Some more criticism is that he does not play mean enough. He is the clear cut #1 overall available, but not by much. Kari Lehtonen, G: 6-3, 178 lbs. Lehtonen is not just considered a future #1 goaltender, but a franchise goaltender. His stock has risen dramatically during the Finnish Elite League championships when he allowed only one goal in his last two playoff games. He has great hockey sense and is very mature for his age. Some believe he is the best goaltending prospect to come along in a long time. Lehtonen is a stand up goalie who waits for the opponent to make the first move. He has a good glove hand and quick feet. An outside chance to go #1 overall. But Florida already has Luongo. Rick Nash, LW: 6-3, 188 lbs. Many believe the only thing stopping Nash from being the consensus #1 pick is his skating. But how many times have we heard this in the past? Players like Luc Robitaille, Jason Allison, Bobby Nystrom and so on would supposedly never make it because of their skating. Nash is capable of putting up big number and is projected as a future power forward. He's strong along the wall and deadly in front of the net. Whoever selects him will most likely forget about his skating. Joni Pitkanen, D: 6-3, 202 lbs. Pitkanen has also risen up the ladder this year to become on of the top rated prospects. He's not as great a skater as Bouwmeester, but he loves the physical game and likes to be challenged. Scouts are very impressed with his clamness and consistency. He makes few mistakes and is extremely competitive. Projected to be a solid two way defenseman that does not get easily intimidated and is very good at leading the rush out of his defensive zone. Honorable mention: C/RW Joffrey Lupul from Medicine Hat of the WHL is considered a pure goal scorer. He notched 56 last season in his second year of junior and has even drawn comparisons to Mike Bossy.
- Scouts have been keeping an eye on Eric Nystrom in his freshman year at Michigan. He has been rated as a possible first round pick all season long, and managed to climb up the ladder according to the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau. Their final rankings, which were released in early May have Eric ranked 13th. Add in Europeans and he could still be on the board when the Islanders make their selection at #22. But many believe he could still go between 10 and 15, which means there is a good chance he will be off the board when the Isles step up to the podium. That would be tough for an Islander fan to see the name Nystrom skating around for another franchise. But perhaps Eric being drafted by the Islanders and possibly playing under his dads jersey which hangs in the rafters would be too much pressure. But if he plays with the same grit, determination and will to win, Eric will be a good one for years to come. Was originally ranked 32nd in the Scouting Bureau's midterm rankings for the 2001 draft, but Eric decided not to opt in. He wears #21 for the Wolverines.
Islander Picks in 2002 (8)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998-2005 Tom Mascioli
Preview: Well,
who will be available when the Islanders step up to the podium to make the
22nd selection in the 2002 NHL draft? Let's take a look at some
possibilities: