NHL Draft 2012: Trent Klatt on the Islanders Draft Haul

If you missed it over the weekend, the New York Islanders populated the official site with plenty of interviews from the draft, including separate clips with management and most of the seven defensemen selected Friday and Saturday.

Ville Pokka's interview was great from a human interest perspective, as he looked palpably relieved (and said so) to be drafted quickly on the second day after being passed over in the first 30 picks on Friday night.

In Pokka's interview, gamely offering his immediate thoughts in English, you get an immediate sense of the long road for these kids and the nerves that accompany draft day -- or days, in the case of 1st/2nd-round tweeners like Pokka.

Doug Weight's interview on his transition to off-ice roles and the draft is a good listen, as is his norm.

But the gem of draft clips is probably the interview with scouting lead Trent Klatt [embedded below], who talked shop about what he looks for in prospects, how there was no plan to load up on D but those were the names on their list as each round advanced, and how different the environments are when you're analyzing players who already play pro hockey like Pokka, next to players who have yet to play past high school like seventh round pick Jake Bischoff.

Trent Klatt Discusses the Islanders 2012 NHL Draft Class

Several more clips are accessible through the dashboard there at IslandersTV. (Look for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft channel on the menu.)

And if you're just catching up from the weekend, you can revisit all of our LHH draft coverage with specs on each pick and trade acquisition Lubomir Visnovsky through the stories in the 2012 NHL Draft tag.

Things don't slow down for the Isles. Qualifying offers are due Monday and the rookie camp/scrimmage happens later in the week -- all before big July 1.