Lighthouse Hockey: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Around SBN: Baby Boilers no more: Michigan State-Purdue Preview

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

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.

More photos » Ryan Remiorz - AP

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.

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...

0 recs  |  Comment 5 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

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

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

A New York Islanders blog for fans near and far. Hip surgery not required.
Start posting about the Islanders »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Featured Poll

Poll
Who is your first pick for defense on the Islanders 2000s All-Decade Team?
Hamrlik - Most points tops the list
26 votes
Jonsson - An all-around threat and reminder of some good times
210 votes
Aucoin - Was here for less time, but man that cannon racked up points
88 votes
Streit - A recent addition, but top-drawer two-way quality
58 votes
Witt - A vote for "the Warrior" for time served and blood shed
26 votes
Martinek - Most games played (really!) and symbolizes the ups and downs of the whole decade
17 votes

425 votes | Poll has closed

Atlantic Standings

GP W L OTL PT
New Jersey 58 36 20 2 74
Pittsburgh 59 35 22 2 72
Philadelphia 57 29 25 3 61
New York Rangers 59 26 26 7 59
New York Islanders 58 23 27 8 54

(updated 2.9.2010 at 9:00 AM EST)

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

Blog Bossy

Lhh-square_small Dominik

Enforcers & Snipers

Officials_sweater_1_small IslesOfficial

Headshot_small Michael Schuerlein