Islanders: Best and worst draft classes of the 1980s

The 1980s was a great decade for the New York Islanders on the NHL Draft floor.

The 1980s were the golden era for the New York Islanders. With four Stanley Cup championships and five Stanley Cup finals in five years, a golden era is an obvious distinction for the unimaginable success the Isles were having.

And honestly, even with all that success on the ice they were still pulling quality out of the draft. That shouldn’t necessarily be the case. If the Isles didn’t lead the league in points during the regular season (they did that twice) they were near the top of the standings.

For a draft order that was based on regular-season standings, that’s impressive.

I’ve made rankings for the 2010s, 2000s, and 1990s. Here are the other rankings:

• Isles 2010s draft rankings
• Isles 2000s draft rankings
• Isles 1990s draft rankings

Before I get to the rankings I want you to know how I ranked these draft classes. I don’t base the rankings on the drafted player’s entire career. It’s only based on how these players did with the New York Islanders.

I also primarily look at the numbers of games played. It’s the best way to look at how impactful a draft was. The entire reason of the draft is to find NHL caliber players. The longer the tenure, the bigger the impact, the better the draft.

If for some reason, there are two drafts that are close for the total number of games played then I’ll look at production for the entire draft to split the difference.

1987 – Ain’t so Bad

Total games played: 268
Biggest impact: Dean Chynoweth

For the 90s drafts, I split up the results into the good, the bad, and the ugly. But I can’t do that for the 80s. The drafts in the 80s, even the not so great ones, weren’t that bad in comparison.

Consider this. With 268 games played from four picks, the 1987 draft had a better return for the Islanders than five of the ten drafts in the 90s. Five.

Dean Chynoweth, the Isles first-round pick that year played 147 games played between 1988 and 1995 had the largest impact on the club. He’d be traded in ’95 to the Bruins for a fifth-rounder.

1988 – Eighth Round Win

Total games played: 345
Biggest impact: Marty McInnis

Marty McInnis has the biggest impact on this draft with 337 games played. He was drafted in the eighth round. Unfortunately, the Isles first-rounder (16th overall) Kevin Cheveldayoff sustained a knee injury and would never hit the NHL.

That name should sound familiar. Cheveldayoff is the Winnipeg Jets current GM.

1981 – A Few Good Picks

Total games played: 536
Biggest impact: Paul Boutilier

The Islanders pulled four NHL caliber players with their first four picks. Paul Boutilier selected 21st overall in the first round, had the largest impact for the Isles with 213 games played. He hoisted the cup as part of the 1983 team.

This draft wasn’t great for stocking the team with talent. But the Islanders had just finished as the top team in the regular season and had just won their second Stanley Cup. I don’t think they were too upset about it.

1989 – What Could Have Been

Total games played: 682
Biggest impact: Travis Green

Selecting Dave Chyzowski with the second overall pick looks like a mistake in hindsight. The next three players selected played at least 941 NHL games. Dave played 126, with 118 for the Islanders. To be fair, Chyzowski had 104 points in 68 games in the WHL during his draft year.

In the tenth round, the Isles picked Russian defenseman Vladimir Malakhov. Malakhov would eventually play 712 NHL games and win a cup in 2000 with the Devils.

Current Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green was drafted in the second round. He’d play 388 games for the Isles of his 970 NHL games. He had his best years wearing blue and orange with a 70 point season in 1995-96.

1984 – Volek Save

Total games played: 738
Biggest impact: David Volek

Jeff Norton was a good pick up in the third round. The defenseman played 282 of his 799 NHL games with the Islanders before being traded to the San Jose Sharks.

Note: Norton was traded to the Sharks three different times. In 1993, 1998, and 2001.

But in the tenth round with the 208th pick, the Islanders took Czech David Volek. Volek would play his entire NHL career with the Islanders and score 95 goals. None more memorable than this one.

1986 – Not a Pilon

Total games played: 1109
Biggest impact: Rich Pilon

In the first three rounds, the Islanders pick some good players. With the 17th overall pick, they selected Tom Fitzgerald. He’d play 205 of his 1,097 NHL games with the Islanders. Dennis Vaske, selected in the second round, played 232 of his 235 NHL games for the Isles.

But the biggest impact on the Islanders goes to their second seventh-round pick; Rich Pilon. The defenseman spent most of his career with the Islanders playing 509 games with the Isles from 1988 to 1999.