The New York Islanders gorged on defensemen in the 2012 NHL Draft, laying waste to a buffet of 2012 prospects that was filled with healthy portions of defensemen from the top 10 to the last teenagers standing. Through seven rounds they went seven for seven on the blueline.
As posted in the earlier threads here, the first four selections included Griffin Reinhart at #4 on Friday night, followed by Ville Pokka in the second round, Adam Pelech in the third, and Loic Leduc in the fourth round.
In the fifth round at 125th overall, the Islanders continued the run on D with Doyle Somerby, another big shutdown defenseman out of Kimball Union Academy. Somerby is headed to Boston University. Kirk Luedeke had a nice profile on Somerby here.
In the sixth round at 155th overall, the Isles selected their sixth consecutive defenseman in Jesse Graham, who plays with 2011 Isles pick Ryan Strome in OHL Niagara (see his stats below). They wrapped up the day with one more defenseman with their final pick, 185th overall, Jake Bischoff from Grand Rapids High School in Minnesota and Omaha of the USHL. Bischoff is bound for the University of Minnesota.
Jesse Graham Stats
Jake Bischoff Stats
So there you have it. Another draft year in the books, and the most unique draft class in Islanders history. As the Isles official Twitter feed put it: The Isles picked 7 defensemen from 6 different leagues; 4 Canadians, 2 Americans, 1 Fin. 3 of them stand 5'11" while the rest go from 6'2"-6'5".
From an organizational standpoint, it creates a lot of flexibility going forward because there are developing defensemen in the NCAA, juniors and Finland (assuming Ville Pokka stays in Bridgeport rather than heading to Bridgeport next year).
Also, it's a signal to the other defensemen in the Islanders system: Depth is on the way, and the competition for jobs is not about to get easier.
Note: Our original second-day draft thread/discussion is here. Other links above go to each individual player's post.