Islanders Ranking 1990s drafts classes: Good, Bad, Ugly

The 1990s weren’t a great decade for the New York Islanders. The entry draft wasn’t an exception. Ranking the 90s draft classes shows why.

Going over the New York Islanders draft classes of the 1990s is a clear reminder of the dramatic turn the organization took to build a competitive roster under new management.

Bill Torrey, the man that built the Islanders from an expansion franchise to one of the greatest dynasties the NHL has ever seen would leave in the early ’90s and eventually be replaced by Mike Milbury.

Mike was the face of the movement that saw the Islanders drop from the golden era under Torrey into irrelevance and even comical relief for the NHL. Sure, Mike didn’t have the greatest set of owners to deal with, but he was the one making the calls and the calls he made didn’t pan out.

Just looking at the drafts that were conducted under his watch and what eventually happened to the players selected shows the direction he decided to take, and how misguided it was.

Mike wanted veteran players to take the Isles into a new era and in order to get those vets he used his draft capital to get them.

As with the other draft class rankings, what I’m evaluating is a class’s impact on the club by the picks the team made. For this, I don’t care if a drafted player was traded for a better (or worse) player. What I want to rank is the impact each draft class had on the Islanders.

I’m measuring “impact on the club” by the number of games played for the club. Only if the number of games played between two draft classes is pretty close will I look at production.

I’ve already done a ranking of the New York Islanders draft classes from the 2010s and 2000s. You can see them here:

• Ranking Islanders 2010s draft classes
• Ranking Islanders 2000s draft classes

The Bad

1990-One Pick Away

Total games played: 183
Biggest impact: Dan Plante

With the sixth overall pick at the 1990 draft, the Islanders selected Scott Scissons. A  player that would only play two NHL games over his career. To be fair injuries played an unfortunate role in Scissons career.

Two games played looks worse when the player drafted just before him with the fifth overall pick would play 1,733 NHL games and score 1,921 points in Jaromir Jagr. 

There were six other players drafted in the first round after the Islanders went up to the podium who would play 1,000 or more games in the NHL.

1994 – Eleventh Round

Total games played: 200
Biggest impact: Dick Tarnstrom

The 1994 draft was yet another one that would be defined by injuries. With the ninth overall pick at the draft, the New York Islanders selected Brett Lindros. Lindros would play 51 games in the NHL before he ended his career following a number of concussions.

The biggest impact on the club came from eleventh round pick Dick Tarnstrom who played 62 games for the Islanders in 2001-02 scoring 19 points

1996 – Big Z

Total games played: 273
Biggest impact: Zdeno Chara

Thanks to scout and member of the Core of the Four teams Anders Kallur, the Islanders drafted big Czech defenseman Zdeno Chara with the 56th overall pick.

Unfortunately, Chara would be traded to the Senators in the Alexei Yashin deal. But not before he recorded 231 games for the Isles. Chara accounts for most of the games played for the Islanders 1996 draft class.

1992 – Few Hits

Total games played: 337
Biggest impact: Darius Kasparaitis

With the fifth overall pick in 1992, the Isles selected Darius Kasparaitis. With 232 games played with the Isles before being traded to Pittsburgh, Kasparaitis had a big impact on the Isles.

He wouldn’t put up a ton of points, but he could control the blue line or make the opponent pay if they crossed it. Making him a fan favorite in the process.

The Good

1993 – Value

Total games played: 659
Biggest impact: Bryan McCabe

The 1993 draft saw the Isles get a decent amount of value out of their picks. From the first round to the seventh round, the Islanders selected a player that would eventually make the NHL. While some never played for the Isles, most did.

With 220 games played for the Blue and Orange, Bryan McCabe had the largest impact on the club. Goalie Tommy Salo wasn’t too far behind with 187 games played with the Islanders.

1999 – The Four

Total games played: 1,015
Biggest impact: Radek Martinek

The Islanders had four first-round picks in 1999. You’d think by that alone the Isles would have a great draft class in 1999. But they didn’t. All four – Tim Connolly, Taylor Pyatt, Branislav Mezei, Kristian Kudroc – would combine for 308 games.

Eighth round pick Radek Martinek would play 479 games with the Islanders.

1991 – Palffy Class

Total games played: 860
Biggest impact: Ziggy Palffy

Look, I know the class of 1999 played 155 more games than the class of 1991. But with four first-round picks, three in the top ten, the impact should have been greater.

Scott Lachance drafted fourth overall in 1991 by the Isles, would play the most games for the New York Islanders. But Ziggy Palffy had the largest impact with 331 games and 331 points. Point-per-game players don’t grow on trees.

It’s a shame that he was eventually traded away instead of trying to build a winner around him. What could have been, right?