Isles have big goals and big work ahead
As the dust settles from this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft, a question remains for Islanders general manager Garth Snow: What now?
For a team that is focused on winning the Stanley Cup next season, the Islanders went about this year’s draft as they have so many before. They kept their first-round pick Friday, taking 18-year-old forward Kieffer Bellows.
Then on Saturday, with the five picks they had from rounds 2-7, they took four more forwards and a defenseman. None of them are thought of as possible contributors to next year’s team — which does not mean Snow is done working.
In search of a top-six winger, as well as some veteran depth on defense, Snow is now eagerly approaching the free agent signing period, starting July 1. Teams were allowed to start talking to soon-to-be free agents at midnight after Saturday’s festivities were concluded, and rest assured, Snow and his staff have their work cut out for them.
They still lack a top-line winger next to John Tavares, as Kyle Okposo is all but assured to leave to as an unrestricted free agent. As talks with second-line center Frans Nielsen are seemingly getting closer to reaching an extension agreement, Snow also has to make up for the assumed departure of fourth-line grinder Matt Martin.
With some questions on defense, including a handful of promising young prospects from recent drafts who have hardly proven themselves as sustainable stalwarts, Snow also likely is looking for some added NHL-ready help on the backend.
Yet, this draft was spent looking towards the future. The Isles have added five forwards in the first round over the past three years. Following the selection of Bellows, they traded up Saturday to take Russian 21year-old Anatoli Golyshev in the third round (95th overall). They then picked 17year-old Finnish winger Otto Koivula (120th overall), followed by two 18-yearold Americans: Collin Adams (170th overall) and Nick Pastujov (193rd overall).
Their draft was completed by taking defenseman David Quenneville (200th overall), brother of two recent NHL draft picks and cousin to Islanders’ veteran defenseman Johnny Boychuk, as well as cousin to Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville.
So once again, the Islanders pantry is stocked. They are reloaded with a plethora of possible impact forwards, adding to the likes of first-rounders Michael Dal Colle, Josh Ho-Sang, Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier.
Come free agency or next season’s trade deadline, more than one of them might become available. There are lot of needs Snow has to fill in his current roster, but he has proven to not be overly hasty.
How that will work out for this year’s club is far from being figured out. But after this draft, it is clear Snow has a lot of work in front of him if the championship aspirations remain.