Lighthouse Hockey, a New York Islanders community

According to Dey, more than $79,000 in ticket plans (not including renewals) were sold in the first hour after the pick, along with $15,000 worth of Tavares merchandise.

[Duchene and Tavares agent Pat] Brisson said he usually knows by now, adding that Garth Snow's cone of silence act is something he's never experienced in 20 years at the draft.

"Everyone's being entirely unreasonable."

The [Islanders] plan to sell jerseys that can be customized on the spot with the name of the No. 1 pick.

Asked if the Islanders have jerseys with the name of the pick already on it, Dey laughed and said, "Do I know who it is? No. The merchandise guys definitely don't know who the pick is."

"I'm told fan polls and surveys and such won't affect the decision. But honestly, I think the environment surrounding the pick will be super-heated by June 26th. Who knows whether Charles Wang will suggest that Tavares could be awfully good for the box office? ... If they go a different direction, it will be out of a very strong conviction because they'll need a lot of backbone to back it up and explain it to the fan base."

"I showed them Long Island because you don't get a good feel for it if all you see is the Coliseum. They all loved Long Island. I talked them through my experiences from when I first signed with the Islanders in 2001.

"All I knew about Long Island was the Marriott hotel and the Coliseum, but you come here and fall in love with Long Island. That's not to say this was a recruiting mission. It's not like free agency. These kids are going to be happy anywhere they go. But it's a chance to get to know them."

According to one league executive, the New York Islanders believe in Hedman and plan on selecting the dynamic player with the No. 1 pick at the June 26 draft in Montreal.

"The Islanders people have barely come out of their conference room for air. They’re meeting with virtually every kid with even the slightest chance of going in the first two rounds. They went from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm yesterday and if they took lunch, I didn’t see them. I’ve never seen a team request to meet with so many prospects."

"I'll share my observations with Garth Snow," Gordon said. "But at the end of the day, our scouts and Garth have seen them the most, and it's the little things you see that make the complete package. I'm sure Modo isn't going to send tapes of any of Hedman's bad games.

[Lighthouse Project] has nothing to do with [the #1 pick]. But if you're asking whether they need a drawing card like Tavares, I think their feeling is that they need to build a winner. If they decide they can do that with Tavares, they will. If they think Hedman or Duchene are better suited, they'll go that way.