god I hope he’s wrong. i really think Duchene will be the best forward out of this draft.

With any of the top 3 picks. I really don’t think we can go wrong.

Duchene to the Islanders has picked up a lot of chatter lately. More likely Hedman drops, mind.

NO INDICATION ON WHO THE ISLANDERS WILL DRAFT

Other than having a few one liners from Snow, McKenzie seem to just be regurgitating what everyone else is saying.

For the first time in the last six or perhaps seven years, the clear identity of who will go No. 1 in the NHL entry draft is not known in the days leading up to the event.

Even though London Knight centre John Tavares is the consensus No. 1 choice, the New York Islanders have not committed to taking Tavares one week from tonight in Montreal and there is a very real sense that any one of Tavares, Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman and perhaps even Brampton Battalion centre Matt Duchene could be the top choice.

Snow knows who he’s taking, but isn’t letting anyone know till the final hour…

All anyone seems to know for sure is that the suspense and intrigue is going to build. While fans and media and the teams immediately behind the Islanders in the draft – Tampa Bay at No. 2 and Colorado at No. 3 – guess and speculate on how things may unfold, the only man who knows with certainty what will happen isn’t saying and doesn’t intend to tip his hand until he walks up to the podium with sweater in hand and makes the announcement.

“That’s the plan right now,” Snow said. “Don’t you think (the suspense) is a good thing? Don’t you think that’s the way it should be?”

There is one thing that makes it sound like the Islanders and Snow are just playing on the hype and trying to build the suspense. Snow says he has know who they wanted since they won the lottery, but has gone through the process to confirm their choice.

How long has he known the player’s identity?

“Well, when we won the draft lottery (on April 14) I was asked if I knew who we were going to take,” Snow said. “I said at the time that I had a pretty good idea but that I wasn’t firmly committed to it until we went through the process of doing our due diligence on all the top guys. Let’s just say the process re-affirmed what I thought back then. We want the same guy now that we wanted back then.”

And that player is…

“Nice try,” Snow said.

At the time of the lottery it was pretty clear in most peoples minds that Tavares and Hedman were the top two choices and that #3 was the beginning of the drop off. It has been since then however Duchene’s stock has risen. However, the Islanders signed one of Duchene’s Brampton teammates already and maybe they’ve had an inside track to him for a while. Either way it’s going to be an anxious draft day for Islanders fans and Avs fans alike.

Haven’t the Isles done some marketing with Tavares? I think this is just Wang, Snow and Co. effin’ with the press…

I hope so anyway…

Les Isles can have Tavares. Truth is, they need him as much for his press and the fact that the casual fans know him (and likely only him) as the number 1 prospect, regardless of whether he is in truth the best. They’re trying to fill an aging and decrepit (team) arena in hopes of getting a new one. They need Johnny and Johnny’s ego needs the NYC metro area.

Bolts need defense much, much more than forwards, so Victor works best for them.

Young Matthew will do just fine here, thanks so much.

Pre-Draft Rumours Heating Up

"Burke may have been playing possum in order to move up to get Duchene when he was saying he wanted Tavares but no one is indulging him….

Rumor is that there will be no movement in the top 3 as the Islanders and Avalanche want Duchene but the Avs will settle for Tavares. Duchene, Hedman, Tavares in that order apparently.