Since it's a waste of time to watch the crazy contracts being offered to this weak UFA pool; I thought I'd take time to reflect back to the draft. Now that we have all had time to absorb all the picks, we can access what the overall prospect pool looks like. The news is good for the Islanders. I think Garth desires congrads for a job well done. Not just for this year but, for the past four drafts. Four years ago, prior to the 2008 draft, the Islanders prospect pool didn't have much to speak of other than Okposo and MacDonald. 

A look now and you can see how much has changed. If you rank the Islanders prospects and don't include anyone that has played in more than 10 NHL games you really have to give Garth high marks for retooling the prospect pool and putting the organization on the right path. My list below is my top ten Islanders prospects; plus the non-ranked honorable mention players. The blog Hockey's Future does this but it always seems out of date and the rank order seems way off.

If you look at my list what really has to make Islander fans happy is that only the #1 player Nino Neiderreiter has a good chance to make the 2011-12 roster out of camp. A few others may get a chance during the season. But, considering how young the core roster is for next year's team and the depth of the prospect pool, things are looking up for the Islanders. Now, it just a matter of time.

My Top Ten Islander Prospects:

1) Nino Niederreiter

2) Ryan Strome 

3) Calvin de Haan

4) Kevin Poulin 

5) Kirill Kabanov

6) Kirill Petrov

7) Matt Donovan

8) Brock Nelson

9) Casey Cizikas

10) Scott Mayfield

Honorable Mention: (not in order): Mikko Koskinen; Andres Nilsson; David Ullstrom; Rhett Rakhshani; Aaron Ness; Andres Lee. (I'm also high on the three other defenseman taken in this years draft, Pedan, Russo and Kichton).