NEW YORK, NY – With John Taveras already in the fold with their number one pick, the New York Islanders will continue their rebuilding process with the second of their five picks that they own in the first two rounds. Most observers believe the team will go for defense with this selection, but the Islanders need talent and will be in position to pick a player who has slipped in the draft—or they could go for a player who has slipped altogether in the draft process. It is important to note that the club could deal this pick because many teams are interested in a player who might have “slipped” and are often willing to give up two second round picks to move into this area of the draft. One thing is for certain and that is the Islanders are primed to add talent in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft as they currently own 11 selections in the draft. The Islanders also hold this pick, the 26th choice in the first round, giving GM Garth Snow a chance to add assets who could help turn the franchise around. The club also made out in two trades which involved conditional draft choices. The first trade took place before the 2007-08 season when Petteri Nokelainen was traded to the Boston Bruins for Ben Walter and a conditional second round pick in 2009. The conditions were met when Nokelainen played a certain amount of games with the Bruins during the 2007-08 season. Snow also picked up a third round pick in the Bill Guerin trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders needed the Penguins to advance past the first round of the playoffs and for Guerin to play in half the Penguins games in order to upgrade a conditional fifth round pick. Both conditions were made. No matter what happens in the draft the club believes it will be better for the simple fact that goaltender Rick DiPietro is supposed to be healthy after appearing in only five games last year due to injury, none of which came later than January 2, 2009. The term “supposed to” is an applicable statement when discussing DiPietro who has played well when healthy, but staying healthy has been an issue for someone who has 13 years remaining on his contract. If the club counts on DiPietro and does not sign a goaltender who could start in case of emergency, they could suffer through another long season. Look for Snow to avoid that situation and bring in an experienced NHL goaltender who could start in case DiPietro cannot. The Islanders strength and deepest talent pool is up front. In addition to the newly-added Taveras, they have solid young players such as Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey already in the NHL. There are hopes Corey Trivino and Kirill Petrov can come along someday. Even with Tavares and the presence of Bailey and Okposo, the Islanders need more forwards. There isn’t much in the way of up-and-coming defenders on the Island which might lead Snow to give weight to a selection for the blueline if a forward and defenseman are rated evenly. Mark Streit led the team in scoring, albeit with just 56 points, but Streit is 31 and expensive and is not going to be the long-term answer for the club. In addition to Streit, Bruno Gervais, Radek Martinek, Freddy Meyer, Brendan Witt and Andy Sutton each played over 20 minutes per game with the team this year, but an argument can be made that the unit needs to be supplemented. The Islanders hope Jack Hillen, Aaron Ness and Travis Hamonic can improve enough to crack the roster someday. The club holds out the most hope for Hess who some think could develop into a defender who can produce offense. Hess should be given time to physically mature in college with the University of Minnesota before turning pro. So what do the Islanders do? I have always been a proponent of grabbing talent and the Islanders have a chance to get a special player if they go with drafting Richard Panik. Most mock drafts don’t even give Panik a whiff of attention, but some scouts are comparing Panik to Marian Hossa at the same age. Last year at this time many folks said Panik was a potential top-ten pick. Since recovered from injury Panik had a tough time in the Trinec system of the Czech National League. Panik was set back in the minds of many. Teams are going to find out what Panik wants to do in 2009-10 and that may color the way people think of his future chances. If Panik is satisfied in returning to Trinec where he could get bounced around the system again teams might stay away from him high in the draft. If he announces plans to play in the OHL where his game will get honed into the North American style of play and development, someone will take a flier on him. It says here the Islanders might be the club to give him Panik a shot. It might be a long shot, but we have a feeling this announcement might be made by Garth Snow at the draft. “With the 26th pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Islanders proudly select, from Trinec of the Czech Republic, center Richard Panik.” Contact the author at Tom-Schettino@prohockeynews.com
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