Real quick, just wanted to state that we have our own domain now! You can now access The Rivalry at http://www.nyhockeyrivalry.com/. The changeover is, to our knowledge, complete; however, if you have a bookmark at the old Blogspot address, it'll redirect you to the new domain. We also added a Google search that will let you search this site as well as the Web in general. The site isn't totally indexed yet, so it doesn't really work right now, but in time you'll be able to search the site as opposed to searching through our million tags. We just made our hundredth post, and the site is running as smoothly as ever heading into free agency. Hooray for us.
Anyway. Getting to the Islanders' performance at this weekend's Draft. The reason why I don't follow the draft or read the Central Scouting reports is because the truth about any draft is that it takes years to see who really "won". As such, there is no sense getting all worked up about things that are in no way certain. So the Islanders passed on Nikita Filatov for Josh Bailey. Does it really mean anything now? In three years, we can worry about it. I get that Islander fans have been burned in the past and don't want to go down that road again, but there comes a time when you have to have faith in your GM. Now would be a good time to trust in Garth Snow. We're not dealing with grinders and one-year contracts here. Snow hasn't screwed up a draft yet; until he does, he should get the benefit of the doubt.
I, for one, think Snow had the right idea. Get as many picks as possible in a deep draft, then see what happens. If Josh Bailey was really their guy from the beginning, that's wonderful; even if he wasn't, the Islanders were smart to take this approach. Besides, if they hadn't acquired all of the extra picks, the Islanders wouldn't have been able to take a flier on Kirill Petrov. And while Islander fans will point out ad nauseum that Josh Bailey was only the 14th highest-ranked skater in North America, Petrov was actually the second-highest ranked skater in Europe. Not bad. Figure that at least one of these guys will be solid players in the NHL, and if they both make it big, all the better for the Islanders.
Again, it doesn't pay to kill a team for their draft moves right after the draft. So let's allow time to see how right (or wrong) Snow was for trading down. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Besides, if the Islanders have a lousy 2008-09 season, they'll have a shot at John Tavares - and that's one guy the Islanders won't pass up.
Anyway. Getting to the Islanders' performance at this weekend's Draft. The reason why I don't follow the draft or read the Central Scouting reports is because the truth about any draft is that it takes years to see who really "won". As such, there is no sense getting all worked up about things that are in no way certain. So the Islanders passed on Nikita Filatov for Josh Bailey. Does it really mean anything now? In three years, we can worry about it. I get that Islander fans have been burned in the past and don't want to go down that road again, but there comes a time when you have to have faith in your GM. Now would be a good time to trust in Garth Snow. We're not dealing with grinders and one-year contracts here. Snow hasn't screwed up a draft yet; until he does, he should get the benefit of the doubt.
I, for one, think Snow had the right idea. Get as many picks as possible in a deep draft, then see what happens. If Josh Bailey was really their guy from the beginning, that's wonderful; even if he wasn't, the Islanders were smart to take this approach. Besides, if they hadn't acquired all of the extra picks, the Islanders wouldn't have been able to take a flier on Kirill Petrov. And while Islander fans will point out ad nauseum that Josh Bailey was only the 14th highest-ranked skater in North America, Petrov was actually the second-highest ranked skater in Europe. Not bad. Figure that at least one of these guys will be solid players in the NHL, and if they both make it big, all the better for the Islanders.
Again, it doesn't pay to kill a team for their draft moves right after the draft. So let's allow time to see how right (or wrong) Snow was for trading down. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Besides, if the Islanders have a lousy 2008-09 season, they'll have a shot at John Tavares - and that's one guy the Islanders won't pass up.
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