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Most of us expected them to trade their pick, but the Islanders used the No. 19 selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft to select forward Kieffer Bellows from the US National Development Program.
Bellows, 18, scored 50 goals for the USNDP this year, along with 31 assists and 101 PIM. SBN College Hockey called him a "pure goal scorer" (get used to this phrase) and a "feisty competitor." Knocks on his game include slow skating and a shoot-first mentality which, ironically, is something a few of us would like to see more Islanders having.
On the NBCSN broadcast, Bob McKenzie called Bellows, "best pure goal scorer in the draft outside of Patrik Laine," which is interesting in that Laine went No. 2 overall to the Jets this year and it wasn't a comparison to an old player who's probably in the Hall of Fame*.
Eyes on the Prize put a historic spin on Bellow's big year in their draft preview:
50 goals with the USNTDP is no easy feat. In fact, the half-century mark had been reached just once before Kieffer Bellows reached it this season. Bellows is one of the top goalscorers in USNTDP history, up there with Phil Kessel, Auston Matthews, and Jack Eichel.
Winging It In Motown compared him to a Blues captain, which must have been difficult:
Bellows is now committed to Boston University, and seems to be taking the path that many high-octane talent players have before him. He strikes me as a great model for a pure top-six power forward like David Backes.
Here's the Islanders' official breakdown:
With the 19th pick of the 2016 #NHLDraft the #Isles select forward Kieffer Bellows. #NHLDraft #Isles pic.twitter.com/TenDCYdiPx
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) June 25, 2016
Bellows is, of course, the son of former NHLer Brian Bellows, who played for the North Stars and Capitals among other teams. Also on NBCSN, the elder Bellows said he took in a playoff game at Barclays Center this year and came away impressed. So there's that.
So the kid looks like a good player, potentially a very good one. He's not the immediate help the Islanders need right now, but he looks be could become an offense force for the future, even if you're getting a little tired of the "f" word. As the only takeaway from the first day, it seems the Snow did fairly well for his team.
(* - that's not a knock on Bellows. More of a knock on draft day coverage)