Monday Polling: On the #5 pick, on Ullstrom, on Brewer and Luongo

There might be another place to post this, but anyone planning on attending the draft party at the coliseum Friday? My brother, cousin and I went last year and had fun. Both Matt Moulson and Trevor Gilles were there (John Tavares was also there I believe), and it was kind of cool to walk around the ice area and get to see the banners up close.

You can get free tickets from ticketmaster.

1. I agree that he Isles would be better served to take the 5th, or trade down…. but with so much equivilent talent in the top 10 it will be hard to get more than a third for the swap (at least that’s what I think). It will take great consideration to trade down this year because they really need one of tow players organizationally that could fall below 5. A swap that puts them at 8 or below (to get a second) might miss both. But the consolation would still be a very good player and a another dart in a deep draft. I think I’d take Hamilton or Courturier with #5.
2. Ullstrom will be INTHE NHL this year… I don’t know if he’ll stick this year (HIGHLY DOUBTFUL BARRING INJURIES), but I think he will be an NHLer, eventually compiling more than 400 games…. I havea feeling he and Katic may be the two most coveted trading chips at the bridge. I don’t think Snow wants to give away the two Denver prospects (Rakh and Donovan)… and CDH isn’t going anywhere. He might even go on draft day if they can get an NHL defenseman for him. More likely he straddles the A/NHL fence this year and is traded with other assets next year for that “final piece”
3. Brewer is a tough call. I’m not sure I’d even make an offer if the starting length is 3 YRS. Back injuries don’t just go away… and the support that makes you play “healthy” one year can come crashing down at some point, and the last thing they need is another $5M+ contract sitting in the tub for a few years. Bergenheim will command $1.2-1.5M for 3YRS. No, he’s not going to be a 20+ goal scorer every year… but he has a motor, and in the right situations he will produce good minutes for any NHL team.
4. The ISlanders need a top four defender way more than they need a “veratile forward”. They have Ullstrom, Rakhshani, Dibo and/or Joensuu who will get NHL time this year. They have a core of 10 forwards returning from last year, plus Nino, Hunter and Haley who will comprise a solid top 12… right behind that group is Kabanov, Petrov, Lee, Nelson. They have a solid group of young defenders, but one veteran top four defender in Streit, and only MacDonald that will be over 25 if Streit leaves after next year. Without Streit they will have Hamonic and MacDonald and a lot of question marks again. That one piece to be looking for this year is a minute munching defender… preferably over 210lbs with some mean.
5. I really don’t see why it is necessary to put Luongo on the grill. Tim Thomas won the Stanley Cup more than any individual Canuck lost it…. and as a whole, the Bruins won the series more than the Canucks lost it. If there was an ex-Islander in that series that I would like to talk about it is Z. Instead of Luongo choking, how about talking about the HOF hockey player that Z has become. He has become the best Milbury draft pick/ex-isle, and maybe the best Islander draft pick in the last 20 years. I know this wasn’t about EX-Islandrs… but I couldn’t care less about Roberto Luongo… except when discussing the the most franchise damaging series of events in Islander history.

Luongo – on the same page with you Dom. He could still win a Cup someday, if he stops immaturely and insecurely caring what everyone thinks about him. But, when you factor in the injuries in that Finals’ series and the depth that didn’t surfaced, the better, built-for-playoff-hockey team won with the better goalie.

Belanger – sure, he or Joel Ward sound sweet. Whoever Garth can pluck from other teams to give us a competent, bottom 6, versatile forward with veteran leadership, size, grit, and/or decent talent works for me.

Brewer/Bergy – no thanks

Ullstrom – a good camp from him combined with a Ward or Belanger and suddenly our bottom 6 is pleasantly crowded. It sounds like he has a shot at Zeke’s spot along with Haley.

good ole #5 – interesting read from Pronman on what not to draft for in the top 5. Basically, focus more on upside/talent/ceiling and less on a low-risk, high-intangibles player who’s filled out early. That being said, I think if Garth gets offered a top-pairing or potential top-pairing RH D (Gudbranson) that would play for the Isles for MANY YEARS then he may deal the pick, but bottom line is that pick HAS to turn into a core impact player, either F or D, that will play here for awhile.

In regards to Garth moving the pick up or down, I agree with JP that you can’t move down
that much – you will lose the chance to draft Mika Z, Couturier, Strome. This ain’t ‘08 where the talent drops right at the Isles draft position. This draft, beyond RNH going #1 or 2, is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Larsson at 1, Huberdeau at 2, Couturier at 7…no wait Couturier at 2, Larsson at 5, Hubastank at 6…there is no consensus. So in the Isles case this year, you have 3 or 4 guys you like at #5, and when it’s your turn at the podium, you take the best of what’s left.

So, with our hopefully-last chance at drafting top 5, I’m leaning towards, in this order: Larsson, Zibanejad, Strome. All RH, all high-end skill. Larsson would = blessing. Mika Z and his all-around Trottier-like package is probably my favorite but I don’t think Garth takes him at #5. Strome is risky (size) but exudes talent and some grit as well.

Lastly, I still hope at this point EXPECT Garth to pull the wool over some Sather/Burke’s eyes and walk away from draft day with BOTH a RH D and a RH F, both of top-line upside/talent.

If you want a short-term upgrade to your scoring, you know, there’s one right wing rumored to be available.

1) My guess is that Garth stays at 5 and drafts the best forward available (Huberdeau? Couturier?). Hamilton’s intriguing, but I feel like the interest for him comes from fans interested in drafting a defenseman rather than the Isles themselves, but I fully admit I don’t know much about it from this seat. If there’s a trade to be made, and these always seem to take people by surprise, I’d prefer warm NHL bodies coming back, not more draft picks

2) I’m not feeling terribly confident about Ullstrom, but then again he’s only 21. In the little I’ve been able to watch he hasn’t terribly impressed me regarding the use of his size. We’ll see where he goes as the season moves along, but right now I wouldn’t be opposed to moving him as part of a trade package for an NHL player

3) The prodigal sons (or two of them, at least). Brewer I’d be interested, but that seems like a lot of money for not a top-pair guy. Bergenheim? I think that ship has sailed. Unless the Isles put in a heavy bid, you really think he’d want to come back? Plus I’m wary of overpaying for a guy after a big postseason, especially when we know how streaky he can be

4) Belanger is a name I’ve heard thrown out there that the Isles should go after and I’d be willing to get him. I wanted to resign Konopka, but if Garth can upgrade the position with a veteran depth player, then it’s not a terrible loss. Truthfully, though, I’d be more interested in upgrading the defense corps, if such a FA is available. Cutting down our GAs (which will hopefully be helped by more stable goaltending) seems to me like the best way to move up in the standings. Garth allegedly likes Jovanovski, though he’d be pretty expensive. I wouldn’t be opposed to throwing some money at Ian White if the Sharks can’t keep him

5) Luongo has to take some blame, especially in their losses, but there’s plenty to go around in Vancouver. The Sedins’ disappearing act, Kesler’s injuries, the loss of depth defensemen, it all seems to have caught up to the Canucks at the very end. As for Luongo’s insecurities, I mean it doesn’t sound good to the public, but there’s been plenty of elite athletes with insecurities that manage to either overcome them or win in spite of them

I never got while at a isles/ panthers or canucks game the fans boo and scream luongo sucks. Same goes for chara when he comes to the colliseum. Those two deals (along with losing bertuzzi)…pretty much destroyed our frachise til now. Wang had the money to sign all 3 long term. Instead we got a bunch of stiffs. 2 who don’t even play in the nhl and 1 goalie with no knees. It forever kills me to see bertuzzi, chara, and luongo fight for the cup when that should be us. dp alone will be on the payroll for a longtime and he’s a step below rendered useless.

Ill be at the draft party…anyone know if the players sign anything?

In looking at the team we absolutely need a veteran player or two to help the kids develop. I was thinking of players like Arnott or others with good character to add to the team. I am not sure if Brewer or Belanger fit the bill.

it wasn’t Luongo’s fault – the Canucks ran out of gas at the finish line, and the Bruins had a lot of heart & Tim Thomas was a stone wall

use the #5 pick to draft the best available forward

Ullstrom will be at Bridgeport all next year

Dibo is not to be discounted – should make an excellent 4th liner given a chance

how about this for a 4th line DiBenedetto – Bailey – Martin

and Cizikas is going to be our 3rd line center very soon

4 centers = JT, Nielsen, Cizikas, Bailey

a nice solid core

what we need is to solidify around a keeper…..Tim Thomas we don’t have – I hope Poulin is back & healthy

this may be our best D-man corp ever – Streit, Hamonic, A-Mac, DeHaan – all excellent

And I didn’t notice? ;)

@randimarshall