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GM Hockey » The other NHL teams » Metropolitan » New York Islanders » What Will The Islanders Do With Their Number One Pick?

What Will The Islanders Do With Their Number One Pick?

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The Guy With The Mustache wrote:
HowieMorenz wrote:I thnik anyone with the no 1 pick in this years draft will be selecting Tavares hand down Razz

They shouldn't be

I agree. I hope it is not solely because I am not a Tavares fan. I just think he is a Phil Kessel type, lot of hype out of junior and destined to be a decent scoring player but not a franchise player. Hedman on the other hand is a guy I would roll the dice on at number one. Size with skill and speed are absolutely unteachable...

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asq2 wrote:
wprager wrote:Hedman is a defenseman and will likely take a couple of years before he is effective at this level. The Islanders may not have 2 years. They should take Tavares because he will create a little excitement, put fannies in seats and provide some scoring, which they really need.

Hedman is 6-6, 220lbs, has already played at a professional level and can skate circles around Tavares.

I don't see why he's less advantaged coming into the NHL than JT.

I agree 100% I still have the ever fading dream that we would see him here with Karlsson... just a pipe dream but a nice one...

asq2


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MurderOnIce wrote:
The Guy With The Mustache wrote:
HowieMorenz wrote:I thnik anyone with the no 1 pick in this years draft will be selecting Tavares hand down Razz

They shouldn't be

I agree. I hope it is not solely because I am not a Tavares fan. I just think he is a Phil Kessel type, lot of hype out of junior and destined to be a decent scoring player but not a franchise player. Hedman on the other hand is a guy I would roll the dice on at number one. Size with skill and speed are absolutely unteachable...

While I sort of agree, I will point out that Kessel and Tavares are not all that similar as players.

I think Tavares still has the ability to be a franchise player. He's just no Crosby/Ovechkin.

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The Guy With The Mustache wrote:
HowieMorenz wrote:I thnik anyone with the no 1 pick in this years draft will be selecting Tavares hand down Razz

They shouldn't be

You mean the isles are actually planning to take someone else?

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They should take someone else. Tavares isn't a good enough skater to survive in the NHL. He's too lazy, unmotivated, and will never be a leader. All the things that people(N4L) say about Spezza, is even worse in JT.

asq2

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The Guy With The Mustache wrote:They should take someone else. Tavares isn't a good enough skater to survive in the NHL. He's too lazy, unmotivated, and will never be a leader. All the things that people(N4L) say about Spezza, is even worse in JT.

Bit of an exaggeration there.

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hmmmm it does sound like a depleted stock this year ....

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asq2 wrote:
The Guy With The Mustache wrote:They should take someone else. Tavares isn't a good enough skater to survive in the NHL. He's too lazy, unmotivated, and will never be a leader. All the things that people(N4L) say about Spezza, is even worse in JT.

Bit of an exaggeration there.

Maybe a little, but im pretty sure at 43 I'm still a better skater than he is Sarcasm

Maybe not, but I just don't like him for some reason. confused

wprager

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sennies1980 wrote:
wprager wrote:Defensemen take longer to develop. Especially if they are 6'6". This is the NHL, not the SEL or the WJHC. It's a heck of a lot easier for a someone like Tavares, who doesn' really work very hard for his points (find a spot, wait for pass, fire it in the net) to break in and start contributing right away.

We shall see, of course, but I'll go on record saying that Hedman will take 1-2 years before he is a valuable contributor, even longer before he is an elite defenseman in the league.


wanna bet? Wink

Sure, a virtual quarter.

davetherave

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Looking back just one month ago, Newsday's Greg Logan added to the speculation in Long Island about the choice between Tavares and Hedman with this article. GM Hockey's ardent followers of news and views on draft prospects will recognize the mention of The Redline Report cited here:

Scouting service: Hedman No. 1, Tavares No. 3

GREG LOGAN greg.logan@newsday.com /April 20, 2009

Islanders owner Charles Wang and general manager Garth Snow traveled to London, Ontario, last night to scout potential No. 1 draft pick John Tavares in an Ontario Hockey League playoff game, according to a source. But if you believe one independent scouting report, they might have been looking at the trailer in what is starting to shape up as a three-horse race leading up to the June 26 NHL draft.

"Redline Report,'' an independent scouting service nearly every NHL team uses as a cross-checking reference, recently downgraded Tavares to the No. 3 spot in its rankings behind Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman and Brampton center Matt Duchene.

"I've always felt Hedman should be the No. 1 pick,'' said Kyle Woodlief, the publisher and chief scout of Redline Report. "The reason we flip-flopped Duchene and Tavares is due to the fact Tavares' effort level has been underwhelming through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

"Right now, he's the third-best draft-eligible forward on his own team behind Nazem Kadri and Phil Varone. Tavares and Varone have about the same number of points, but Varone is plus-16 and Tavares is even. Five-on-five, Tavares has been nothing short of a liability. His attitude of entitlement stinks.''

Entering Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against Windsor last night, Tavares had nine goals and a total of 19 points in 12 playoff games. But Woodlief said no one should confuse him with such well-rounded superstars as Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.

The analogy he made was to Brett Hull, who scored lots of goals but was indifferent on defense and sometimes was described as selfish.

"Tavares may score 40 or 50 goals a season, but he's one-dimensional,'' Woodlief said. "If he's not scoring, he's not helping.''

It has been a long time since the Islanders, who scored the fewest goals in the NHL this season, have had a true sniper.

"To say that someone who can score 40, 50 goals is a liability is hard,'' said agent Pat Brisson, who represents both Tavares and Duchene. "There's a handful of players who can score 40 goals in the NHL, and every club would want one and would pay premium dollars.''

Snow is expected to make additional trips to see the top prospects, including Duchene, who is playing in the OHL Eastern Conference finals. Should the Islanders eventually settle on Tavares as the pick, Brisson assured that they would have no trouble getting him into a jersey.

Recalling a recent conversation with Snow, Brisson said: "I told Garth, 'If you draft John, he'd look forward to playing for your organization.' If he's drafted by the Islanders, he probably has a chance to play right away and contribute, and it's the New York market. We had a nice talk.''

When this season began, Tavares was the consensus choice as the No. 1 pick. Perhaps because he has been under so much scrutiny, his support has eroded even though he led the OHL with 58 goals and 104 points. Some wonder if Tavares is closer now to his ceiling for improvement than either Duchene or Hedman.

"A 220-pound defenseman who skates great and has offensive upside doesn't come along very often,'' Woodlief said of Hedman. "He's dramatically ahead of Chris Pronger at the same age. I put Duchene ahead of Tavares because he's the most complete forward in the draft. He's a Steve Yzerman-type. If he's not scoring, he's a center who can act as your shutdown guy against the other team's top line.''

Rankings aside, Brisson agreed Tavares has serious competition for the No. 1 pick. "Hedman is very good even though he might not have had the best tournament at the World Juniors,'' Brisson said, making a sly reference to the fact that Tavares was MVP of that tournament for gold medal-winning Canada. "It really depends on what a team needs, but I definitely think those three players will be the first three in the draft.''

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