Islanders draft recap

[TheScorpion]

We aren't finished drafting but I wanted to share some quick thoughts on the guys we've taken so far ...

19. Ben Kindel — I think there's a pretty good chance the Flames end up taking Kindel at 18. He's a talented guy who scored a ton this season and has been consistently rated as a first-rounder by pretty much everyone except Corey Pronman. If the Flames do pick him, he'll be a valuable asset in this league.

21. Malcolm Spence — Older guy but plays an extremely pro-suited game and is committed to an excellent Michigan program. Reminds me a bit of Jacob Battaglia. Traded up to get this pick and felt like I got a much better prospect than I would've had I stood pat.

35. Henry Brzustewicz — Another guy who I knew would get taken earlier because his brother is a Flame. Bigger than Hunter but not quite as skilled. Think he could end up being a first-rounder.

37. Joshua Ravensbergen — Was hoping to get Ravensbergen or Ryker Lee here. When Lee went at 36, knew who I had to take at 37. Surprised Ravensbergen fell out of R1, he'll be a much higher pick in the NHL.

46. Nathan Behm — Wasn't planning to take Behm when I had my sights set on Lee but after I missed out on him, I switched gears a bit. Behm reminds me a little bit of Andrew Basha in terms of pedigree. Think he'll be a high second-rounder in the NHL. I had initially targeted Daniil Prokhorov with this pick.

49. Kurban Limatov — Considered taking Limatov at 46 but elected to wait. Huge guy with pretty impressive MHL production. Reminds me a bit of Dmitri Simashev, who of course went much higher in his own NHL draft year.

59. Ethan Czata — Felt just OK about this pick, think the upside might be more limited than others, but Czata had a decent U18 showing and is a pretty good two-way guy. See him as being similar to Milton Gastrin, who went quite a bit higher.

63. Alex Huang — Super late birthday, strong QMJHL production the last two seasons. Not the biggest guy but is a righty who skates well. Reminds me a little of Henry Mews.

69. Semyon Frolov — Could see him being the second goaltender picked, potentially as early as Round 1. A lot of folks really, really like this guy. He's legit.

Still have a few more picks remaining and a number of different targets at all positions, but I'm quite satisfied with my haul so far. Been fun to be so active making moves, too.

[TheScorpion]

Welcome to Long Island!

Spoiler!

[BagoPucks]

Spence and Behm were my guys. I waited too long on Spence and I took a guy that was falling instead of Behm. Like goalie picks. Love the images.

[TheScorpion]

OK here's a look at my other guys:

71. LJ Mooney — Logan Cooley's younger, much shorter cousin. Was quite productive with the USNTDP this season but in a normal year would likely go VERY late (as in, Rounds 4-6 late) because he's generously 5'7". Wouldn't normally pick a guy this short but this year's draft is not particularly deep at all and I felt the upside play was worth it here.

78. Drew Schock — Played a bigger role than expected at the USNTDP after Carter Amico suffered an injury and ended up leading the team in points by a defenceman. Not big, but he's going to Michigan next year and could be a solid second-pairing guy there to start. Wouldn't, uh, Schock me to see him take a big step forward next year.

85. Reese Hamilton — Looked like a future first-round pick as a 16-year-old. Very much did not this past year. In most drafts, that'd probably mean he'd be destined for the very latest rounds (like Cam Allen in 2023). This year, well, there aren't enough other guys with the skill to push Hamilton lower than Round 3 or 4 in the NHL, IMO.

98. Cooper Simpson — Had debated between Simpson and Mason Moe here and San Jose made that choice easier with the previous pick. Simpson is a bigger guy who scored an absolute boatload in the MN High School ranks this year before joining USHL Tri-City and scoring a whole bunch there, too.

111. Aidan Lane — Another guy I considered at 98 and was happy to take 13 picks later. Lane is a Harvard commit and a classic St. Andrew's College grad. Played a bit in the OHL this year, too, and did reasonably well there. I suspect he'll be picked higher than where I got him.

Overall pretty satisfied with my crop this year and hoping I got 3-4 first-round NHL prospects and maybe that many second-rounders, too. We'll see.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I was going to take Mooney at 72

[TheScorpion]

I think my favourite pick in the draft might actually be Frolov.

[TheScorpion]

We did quite well in retrospect.

Kindel: 19 -> 11 (+8)
Spence: 21 -> 43 (-22)
Brzustewicz: 35 -> 31 (+4)
Ravensbergen: 37 -> 30 (+7)
Behm: 46 -> 66 (-20)
Limatov: 49 -> 67 (-18)
Czata: 59 -> 56 (+3)
Huang: 63 -> 122 (-59)
Frolov: 69 -> 41 (+28)
Mooney: 71 -> 113 (-42)
Schock: 78 -> 101 (-23)
Hamilton: 85 -> Undrafted
Simpson: 98 -> 79 (+19)
Lane: 111 -> 176 (-65; Flame!)

Maintained by overall value relatively well. Entered the draft with two firsts and came away with three first-round prospects. Pretty solid.