2019 NHL Entry Draft: Preview, start time, TV schedule, and how to watch

Thanks to a surprisingly promising season where they finished with the fifth-best record in the NHL but a second-round playoff exit, the New York Islanders enter the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver with the 23rd overall pick.

Unlike last summer — when they came home with very promising blueline prospects Noah Dobson and Bode Wilde and sniper Oliver Wahlstrom despite a management overhaul just before the draft — for this year’s draft, Lou Lamoriello and the staff have had a full year to prepare.

What will they do with their picks? Here’s what they have entering Friday night’s first round:

• 1st round: (23rd)
• 2nd round (57th, from the Hamonic deal, where the Islanders send Calgary this year’s 4th-rounder)
• 3rd round: none (Brandon Davidson trade with Edmonton)
• 4th round: none (Travic Hamonic trade with Calgary)
• 5th round: (147th)
• 6th round: (178th)
• 7th round: (209th)

Here’s a nice tool from Silver Seven that aggregate’s 60 rankings of the top 155 projected picks.

For what it’s worth, the nhl.com mock draft has center Philip Tamasino to the Isles. In the SB Nation mock draft, we selected Ryan Suzuki, who likely will be gone by #23 in real life.

Unfortunately, the Islanders’ Metro division rival Devils and Rangers have the first two picks, where they’ll surely take Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, probably in that order.

As if this isn’t enough on their plates, this weekend the Islanders also have hanging over their heads the still unsigned status of key free agents Anders Lee, their captain, and Robin Lehner, their Vezina finalists and number-one goaltender.

How to Watch

We’ll have posts on each Islanders pick here, but consider this post your on-going first-round chat thread.

Round 1: Friday, June 21, 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN, SN, TVAS) (U.S. live stream: NBC Sports)

Rounds 2-7: Saturday, June 22, 1 p.m. ET (NHL Network, SN) (U.S. live stream: NBC Sports)

Here’s the full order of Friday night’s first round:

1. New Jersey Devils (lottery winners)
2. New York Rangers (lottery beneficiaries)
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Colorado Avalanche (from Senators via Matt Duchene trade)
5. Los Angeles Kings
6. Detroit Red Wings
7. Buffalo Sabres
8. Edmonton Oilers
9. Anaheim Ducks
10. Vancouver Canucks
11. Philadelphia Flyers
12. Minnesota Wild
13. Florida Panthers
14. Arizona Coyotes
15. Montreal Canadiens
16. Colorado Avalanche
17. Las Vegas Golden Knights
18. Dallas Stars
19. Ottawa Senators (from Blue Jackets via Duchene trade #2)
20. Winnipeg Jets (from Rangers)
21. Pittsburgh Penguins
22. Los Angeles Kings (from Maple Leafs)
23. New York Islanders
24. Nashville Predators
25. Washington Capitals
26. Calgary Flames
27. Tampa Bay Lightning
28. Carolina Hurricanes
29. Anaheim Ducks (from Sharks via Sabres)
30. Boston Bruins
31. Buffalo Sabres (from Blues via Ryan O’Reilly trade)