Quick Review Of The Draft & Moving to July 1st

Now that most of the hoopla is over with the draft, I'm just going to give my perspective on what the Islanders have done for their future with this particular draft. First off, the drafting of Griffin Reinhart was certainly the best move the Islanders could do. Many have been cautiously comparing him to Shea Weber. If Reinhart can come close to that kind of potential, big win for the Islanders. But it's what they did after Reinhart that intrigues me the most.

The Islanders went out and drafted 6 more defenseman. Some of them (4 to be exact)  have some size to them, something these fans are not accustomed to seeing. If you were to tack on the current prospects already in the system, you're looking at least 7 players (Mayfield, Pedan, Wishart, and from what I hear Kichton is no slouch either) that could make an impact for the Islanders in the future. So as far as I am concerned, this was a great draft for the Islanders. Do I think all 7 make the big club? Probably not. None of these players, except maybe Wishart, will be in the lineup after 10 games into the NHL season. I would think more along the lines of 2-3 years away. But I cannot help to think the Islanders pulled a "Ottawa Senator" by accumulating lots of defenseman only to trade a good defenseman for some needed offense (hello Rundblad for Kyle Turris?).  So even if two or three prospect defenseman pan out to be future NHL'ers, Garth Snow has a good problem ahead of him. Which leads into July 1st.

Unfortunately, unless the Isles decide to trade another future draft pick, I don't see the Isles making a huge splash in this upcoming free agency. To be honest, I (or for that fact nobody) know(s) what Snow's plans are. He has been true to form in not trading away prospects for quick fixes (for now). Parenteau will probably not be resigned by the Islanders, but I think the more glaring problem will be at center, which could use more scoring from that department. I don't think Cizikas is the answer and I'm not sure if the Islanders will play Ryan Strome this year, but looking at this years unrestricted free agents, it might be wise to make a trade for a center or let Strome do another 9 games and go from there. Comments? Don't forget to follow me @Netminder39.