OTTAWA - Islanders general manager Garth Snow amassed a staggering 12 picks in rounds two through six on the second day of the NHL draft Saturday at Scotiabank Place to re-stock the organization's depleted farm system. But while his haul included highly touted Russian power forward Kirill Petrov, it came as an anticlimax to his shocking decision to trade down from the No. 5 spot Friday night.
Snow and amateur scouting director Ryan Jankowski insisted theirs was more than a numbers game, that No. 9 overall pick Josh Bailey was the guy they wanted all along if they were unable to get one of the top three offensive defensemen chosen 2-3-4 after No. 1 center Steve Stamkos. In the end, they walked away with the biggest stack of chips, but the question that lingers is how many of their 13 picks will turn into blue chips?
There's no doubt Snow improved the odds of success for the Islanders. They had nine of the first 102 picks in the draft, including three in each of the second and third rounds, and 13 of the first 175 to finish. Petrov is under contract for the next two seasons in Russia, but if he ever comes to the NHL, Snow said the Isles will be getting a player who is a "first-round talent, top 15 to top 20," who fell because of the lack of a transfer agreement with Russia.
Still, if Snow misses on Bailey and if any of the four players he passed in the first round -- defenseman Luke Schenn and forwards Nikita Filatov, Colin Wilson and Mikkel Boedker -- turn into superstars, he'll never hear the end of it from Isles fans.
Explaining his determination to improve the talent level in the system, Snow said, "There was a method to the madness, so to speak. We not only got a player in the first round that we thought highly of, but we got to re-stock our prospect group. It's a good thing. It's crucial to have a full cupboard of prospects."
By trading down to No. 7 with Toronto and then to No. 9 with Nashville, Snow began a process that ultimately added picks in the second, third and fourth rounds (via another trade Saturday) this year plus Toronto's second-round pick in 2009. But the price was cheap from the perspective of Snow's trading partners. Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher spent only two picks to grab Schenn, who figures to be a rock on the blue line for 15 years. It cost Nashville one pick to grab Wilson, a two-way center who was the strongest player at the NHL combine.
Snow paused when asked if he expected Filatov, who was taken sixth by Columbus, to be available at the seventh spot. Then he indicated with a shake of his head that Filatov wasn't his target. "Our objective at that point was to get the player we ended up getting," Snow said.
That decision was met with boos during the Islanders' draft party at Nassau Coliseum, but Snow defended himself by noting that Bailey's 96-point season with the Windsor Spitfires ranked second only to Stamkos' 105 points among draft-eligible players. "I like the fact that our player has hockey sense, the ability to put up great statistics, 96 points, and he was a leader on his team," Snow said. "We're happy with Josh Bailey. That's why we moved down."
Jankowski praised Bailey's vision, saying, "Detroit just won a championship with players who have hockey sense. I would say Josh is a top-three hockey-sense player of all the players in this year's draft."
They'd better be right.
.JPG)
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