T-Minus 4 Hours

It's officially been 78 days since I've last sat at this computer and have written about our favorite hockey team. Working 55-60 hours of construction a week will do that to you...

In less than four hours, the Islanders will name their newest player with the first overall pick in the draft, and in doing so will do one of two things: either 1) make ALMOST everyone in the building feel ecstatic, and more importantly, proud to be an Islanders fan, or 2) select someone not named John Tavares first overall, and Snow, Jankowski, and company will see a faint glow to the south from Montreal. That faint glow, of course, will be the burning of the Nassau Coliseum.

Anyone who has read this blog knows how I feel about John Tavares. It's not that I don't love him as a player, but I'm more enamoured by the mammouth defenseman from Sweden, and have now officially joined the "Matt Duchene Man-Crush" bandwagon.

When asked on the way home from my rain-shortened workday how my perfect draft would pan out, I could only respond, "there's no way we can get all three?"

Who do I think the Isles WILL take? John Tavares. No question. He's been the consensus best available prospect this year. He's broken almost every scoring record in the OHL, and has drawn comparisons to the likes of Islanders great Mike Bossy. Not to mention, if the Islanders do not select him, you may not see a full seat for opening day this season.

Who do I think the Isles SHOULD take? Matt Duchene. True, you don't draft according to the system your coach runs, but a two-way center with blazing speed, phenomenal vision, great hands and a scoring touch is almost too good to pass up. He's being compared to the likes of Joe Sakic, and one of my all time favorites, Stevie Y. Of all three top prospects, I can see him having the bet career.

Who do I want? Victor Hedman. I'm not having this argument anymore. If you want to know why I'm so in love with Hedman, just read some of my earlier posts. You build your team from goaltender out, and with Mr. 2021 a huge question mark for next year, the Islanders really should booster up that D-line, because, let's face it...we are not signing J-Bo, Komi, or even (another favorite and LI boy) Rob Scuderi.

This draft will either make or break the Islanders in the future. If whomever they pick doesn't pan out, the second guessing will never end. Lets just hope for the sake and safety of everyone at the Coliseum, the pick's name starts with a T and rhymes with "Lavares".