Monday, Monday

Monday, and here we are.

Okay, so the Islanders didn’t trade for Jonathan Bernier. The Leafs did. How’s James Reimer feeling about now? Unless the Leafs are planning some odd Draft day resale, I think a few people are a little surprised at this. But okay.

My buddy Daniel Friedman says he still thinks it’s possible the Isles come up with a Luongo deal. Luongo, however, Tweeted he’d stay in Vancouver and play for free if he got to sit in on every one of Tortorella’s press conferences. Roberto is a laugh riot. I would love to see him back in Long Island. The locker room would never be the same.

So, now let’s turn our sights on the draft. It is only days away and as I write this at 7 am, I am realizing that by late this afternoon, it’s a pretty good bet there will be something I don’t expect out of Islanders Country.

Personally I have not done any homework on the draft this year because the 15th pick is a little daunting for me to do the math on. But there are so many who have had the time, energy and experience to play with the numbers and make their projections. Here are a few from around the net.

From Tony Stabile at HockeyThisWeek:

15. New York Islanders – Hunter Shinkaruk C/LW – Medicine Hat WHL While I have a feeling Islanders GM Garth Snow may look to trade down here to replace his traded 2nd round pick (for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky), he may have to rethink that if Shinkaruk falls to 15. Shinkaruk is coming off an impressive season with Medicine Hat where he scored 37 goals and 86 points in 64 games. He is considered an extremely passionate player who works very hard and produces results. He has a great shot, slick hands, and has great hockey sense. As ISS puts it, Shinkaruk doesn’t take no for an answer. He’ll need to get stronger, but with a deep and expansive talent pool, Shinkaruk would have all the time he needs to develop.

From the guys at SB Nation’s LightHouse Hockey comes this prediction:

With a nod to our resident Swedophile David Hanssen, we looked at what was left and declared Alexander Wennberg of Djurgarden our selection on behalf of the Islanders at 15th overall. (Hey, if Kevin Connolly can select for the Isles, we can too, right

From Hockeysfuture.com their selection has a great name:

15. New York Islanders Bo Horvat, C, London Knights (OHL) Considering Garth Snow selected defensemen with all of his picks last year, a hard-nosed forward like Bo Horvat would go a long way in strengthening the Islanders forward depth. Horvat plays a solid two-way game and is considered by many to be the most well-rounded forward in this years draft. He is also thought to be among the more NHL-ready players available, which could pay huge dividends for a team already on the rise.

Now, leave it to the Canadian Hockey Bloggers to REALLY do their homework and present an excellent argument. From AllHabs.net, the choice for the Isles is a right winger.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS Pick 15: ANTHONY MANTHA – Val D’Or Foreurs (QMJHL). Right winger, left shot, 6’3″ 200 lbs. Season Stats: 67 GP, 50 G, 39 A, 89 PTS, 71 PIM Ranking: 24th ISS – 10th in North American Skaters by the Central Scouting Bureau

In the last two years, the Islanders have drafted no less than 11 defensemen, so I don’t see how they could pass up on a forward in this first round, especially one like Mantha. He’s a naturel scorer with good skating abilities who’s always in good position to get that puck behind the goalie. He’s good at protecting the puck, which tends to get frustrating for opposing d-men. His defensive game needs to improve and he sometimes goes MIA during games, although he usually finds a way to contribute. NHL Comparable: James Neal

On the other side of the hockey border, Chris Triantafilis from EyesOnisles.com says a left winger is for the Islanders: >

With the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Fansided Mock Draft, the New York Islanders select Valentin Zykov, LW, from Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Zykov scored a rookie-leading 40 goals for Drakkar during his first season in North America. For his 75-point effort, Zykov’s earned himself the Michel Bergeron Trophy, which is awarded annually to the QMJHL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the 2012-13 BMO CHL Rookie of the Year Award.

Now, we have to wait until Sunday to see if anyone was right!

I still say they try to pick a goalie to restock the cupboards. But time and again Garth Snow has said he will take the BEST possible candidate that is available at the time, no matter what position he plays.

Are these the ‘best’?