New York Islanders Select John Tavares #1 in NHL Draft; Thousands Step Back from Ledge

by Dominik on Jun 26, 2009 7:35 PM EDT in Roster Manoeuvres in the Dark Comment 5 comments

See all those people in the background? Somehow, Garth Snow fooled ALL of them into thinking he wasn't picking the consensus #1 2009 prospect for the last three years.

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Whew! Turns out we don't need this.

In the end, it was much ado about nothing. There was no reason for the vast swath of John Tavares-coveting fans to panic. No need to believe the talking heads in Canada, nor the "sources" in Colorado. Garth Snow played us all, he played us good -- better than Tavares' agent has seen in 20 years of ~~teen market~~ player drafts. Better, frankly, than I've ever seen in a lifetime of sports. He played us, for the benefit of hype both for his franchise and the league -- although one suspects he didn't mind toying with fellow GMs such as the one who rhymes with Ryan Jerk.

This is the moment fans have been anticipating -- depending on their perspective and degree of fatalism -- since April's lottery, or December's swoon, or October's Rick DiPietro injury, or last summer's committment -- finally -- to the rebuild. This is the moment, everyone outside of Short Island Smurf (Rags) fans could agree, Islanders fans deserve. It's been a while since good news like this -- outside of the lottery itself. Amen.

I'm exhausted, yet happy. Impressed by Snow's poker face, much as it caused anxiety for us all.

That's all I got for now. Feel free to weigh in here, but go here for this blog's 1st-round open thread (there's another pick, you know). There's a whole rest of the draft to cover. More coverage tonight and through the weekend...

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Big mistake

Hedman was the right choice….hope I am wrong but I think stupid fan pressure gave way to bad picks….
Can Travares score 50 goals tomorrow, I don´t think so or whether he can do so in the NHL…..think people 6 foot 6 grounding post lost again!!!!!!!

Þorsteinn Halldórsson

by steinith@internet.is on Jun 26, 2009 8:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Big mistake to go with the sniper on a team that needs goal scoring? We’ll see.

The one thing I don’t think happened was fan pressure. Rather, Snow allowed fan pressure to build because he knew his man was the one they wanted.

Tavares should be a very good blueliner some day. Tavares likely becomes the Islanders best scorer next year.

Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.

by Dominik on Jun 26, 2009 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have doubts that a Dman is the right way to go right now.

Recall Kenny Jonson getting run from behind every five minutes? The concussions?

It would look a lot like that.

Settle the offense so you D isn’t chasing the puck every five minutes and getting run. The Tavares picj probably extended Witt’s career.

by Chickendirt on Jun 26, 2009 9:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Huzzah!

Does anyone remember the last time the Isles took someone that the fans wanted? Probably Luongo.

If you have a Franchise/All-Star goalie as the Isles technically do, you can lean on him to help the defense. Plus if the Isles have another bad year (ala Pittsburgh or Chicago) then they can grab a dman early then.

by WebBard on Jun 26, 2009 8:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Plus, we have Streit. That’s a great #1 to build on. I love me a giant cornerstone D, but defense is ultimately a collaborative effort. Sniping is a freaking individual art.

Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.

by Dominik on Jun 26, 2009 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

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New York Islanders Roster

	#	Pos.	DOB	W	H
Sean Bergenheim	20	LW	2/8/1984	205	5-10
Blake Comeau	57	RW	2/18/1986	207	6-1
Rick DiPietro	39	G	9/19/1981	210	6-1
Bruno Gervais	8	D	10/3/1984	205	6-1
Trent Hunter	7	RW	7/5/1980	210	6-3
Dustin Kohn	56	D	2/2/1987	200	6-2
Andrew MacDonald	47	D	9/7/1986	188	6-1
Freddy Meyer	44	D	1/4/1981	192	5-10
Matt Moulson	26	LW	11/1/1983	206	6-1
Frans Nielsen	51	C	4/24/1984	172	5-11
Kyle Okposo	21	RW	4/16/1988	200	6-1
Richard Park	10	RW	5/27/1976	190	5-11
Dwayne Roloson	30	G	10/12/1969	180	6-1
Rob Schremp	13	C	7/1/1986	200	5-11
Jon Sim	16	LW	9/29/1977	195	5-10
Mark Streit	2	D	12/11/1977	197	6-0
Andy Sutton	25	D	3/10/1975	245	6-6
Jeff Tambellini	15	LW	4/13/1984	186	5-11
John Tavares	91	C	9/20/1990	195	6-0
Doug Weight	93	C	1/21/1971	196	5-11

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