Top 25 Islanders Under 25: #1 is...

...John Tavares.

I mean, duh.

A memory trip, and our full Top 25 Islanders Under 25 listing follows:

One of the personally rewarding things about blogging is being able to go back and remind yourself what an idiot you were. Another is stumbling upon when things were bleaker. Sometimes you get both, like in this comparison of Top 5 Islanders Prospect lists from summer 2009. (Yes, apparently I thought Jesse Joensuu had a good shot to become a regular.)

There was also that time in February 2009, when thoughts wandered toward Tavares or Victor Hedman? The scoring star or the cornerstone defenseman?

By draft day, I and many were voting for Tavares (though Garth Snow kept media experts guessing three different ways), the Tavares voters got our wish in a big way, and we ended up wondering how a young Scott Gordon would handle Tavares vs. how Al Arbour handled the young Denis Potvin. Even then, the risk of Gordon not lasting until Tavares' bloom was clear, as the coaches for previous famous #1 picks have gotten the ax.

(Had the Islanders passed on Tavares, there was this helpful fan safety guide for what to do next.)

Oh, and while we're on the 2009 and U25 topic, we did mock drafts at the time with other SB Nation hockey blogs. For the Isles' second pick, we polled readers. Finishing first was Jeremy Morin. Second? Calvin De Haan (followed closely by Tim Erixon). Of course, that was before the Islanders traded up.

Anyway, so far so good. I've no idea how good Tavares will eventually become, but I know he's already fun to watch, for many reasons on display in the videos below. But before the highlights, here's our final list as polled in September. Thanks for all who helped. We'll do it again soon and enjoy how much it's changed.

Now, on to the Tavares highlight candy:

The Passing

Goodness, the passing:

The Moves

Phone Booth OT Winner

And of Course, the Fighting

Just like they billed him at the draft. A goon:

Here's to many more years of all that.