New York Islanders Top Draft Options

With the 5^th pick in the draft this upcoming Friday GM Garth Snow and the New York Islanders have many options. Does he use the pick to draft a player or trade the pick for a player that can help the team in the immediate future? Here are options I think the Islanders should explore with the pick.

Draft Michael Dal Colle: Dal Colle has seemed to be the player everyone is penciling for 5^th pick if the Islanders hold on to it. Dal Colle put up 95 points for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. The powerful Left Winger would fit perfectly with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo but could the Islanders wait for another prospect to develop? Dal Colle will most certainly need another year in the juniors before coming up to the NHL.

Trade for Evander Kane: The most common name that has been floating on Islanders’ twitter is Winnipeg Jets Left Winger Evander Kane. The speedy 22 year old has 99 goals and 101 assist in 324 career games. A 30-goal scorer in 2012, Kane was the 4^th overall pick by the Atlanta Thrashers and has shown huge potential in his short NHL career. The question is, would Kane be worth the 5^th overall pick? If not the Islanders have many trade chips to try and get a deal done.

Draft Leon Draisaitl: Draisaitl is projected before the Islanders pick in many mock drafts but in the unlikely event he slides, the Islanders will take a long hard look at the German center. Draisaitl had 105 points in 64 games with the Price Alberta Raiders of the WHL and like Dal Colle, is very strong with the puck. The one problem is that Draisaitl is a center, a position the Islanders are strong at. If they do draft Draisaitl, it would most likely require a center like Frans Nielsen moving to the wing.

Sam Reinhart: Reinhart, the brother of top Islanders’ prospect Griffin Reinhart, will be a top-3 pick in the draft. In order to get Reinhart, the Islanders will have to trade up to the 2^nd or 3^rd pick which may be a possibility considering the plethora of prospects they have to give up. Reinhart has expressed interest in playing with Griffin on Long Island or with his other sibling Max who plays for the Calgary Flames. The talented center put up 99 points in 69 games with Kootenay of the WHL, has as much talent as anyone in the draft and would certainty be a great fit.

In a season ticket holder event Garth Snow said ” We’re open to trading the pick for something we think can come in and help us right away”. It would be in the teams best interest because the rebuild must end now and the team needs immediate help rather then waiting for another prospect to develop.

The New York Islanders are at a crossroads in their history – and now is the time to take the leap forward back into relevance.