Rob McGowan

"Off The Post: Inching Closer to the Future"

Long Island, NY • United States • 25 Years Old • Male

First Overall: A Definite? A Gamble? Or Wishful Thinking?

The Isles have the first overall pick...blah blah blah blah....Tavares or Hedman? Yada yada yada...we all know this by now. So what's with all the talk? The Isles are going to either draft a franchise defenseman or forward...right?

As usual during this time frame, there are a lot of rumors swirling around the pollen infested air to catch our attention and think, hmm, what if?

Typically I am not someone who pays a lot of attention to the noise. Usually that's all it is. Noise and ridiculous hoopla that never comes to fruition. But then I remind myself...we are the Islanders. Despite the good job he's done thus far, we can say that we've gone from Neil Smith to back-up goalie as GM; we have some of the worst trades in league history thanks to Mike Milbury; we thought we were drafting Filitov at five last year, but traded down not once, but twice, to draft Josh Bailey (which is looking like a good move, but still, did we expect it?); oh yeah, and we gave a goalie a 15 year contract.

If you haven't caught my drift, I'm trying to say that ANYTHING is possible with this team.

So what if the Isles don't go with either Hedman or Tavares, but go for more?

According to a few listeners I know, I heard that Toronto on the FAN has mentioned that the Isles may trade with Colorado to get their third overall pick, and even Stastny was mentioned somewhere in the deal. I can't tell you more because I didn't listen to the radio myself, but I trust that this listener was not making up what he was telling me.

But word of mouth is never enough. Chris Botta's blog at www.islanderspointblank.com mentions a scenario that has my support.

What if the Isles hold on to the first overall pick but move their 26th overall pick, some second round picks, and a little bit from the roster in order to draft Hedman and Duchene? Keep in mind Botta makes sure to put up a no-touch list of Okposo, Bailey, Bergenheim, Streit, and obviously our first overall.

I think it's a brilliant plan, and it makes me wonder (and secretly hope) that Snow has something up his sleeve. You don't get the opportunity to draft two out of the top three prospects for a given year very often. Duchene would be a great first line center to have with Bailey playing the supporting role and we'd have our own anchor on the blue line that will hopefully one day be our very own Chris Pronger.

Yeah, you too are getting that little excited feeling in your stomach now, aren't you?

The only thing I hate when talking about these "what-if" scenarios is that regardless if Snow pulls off this blockbuster maneuver or just goes with one of the two touted prospects, this team is still in jeopardy.

For once they are heading in the right direction. I've always loved watching young teams. I find myself rooting for the Caps (not just because of the Rangers series, I rooted for them last year too), the Blackhawks, and sometimes even the Penguins, just because they've done it right. Young and fast teams are the most thrilling to watch in my opinion, and these teams are turning themselves into contenders. Because they've done it right.

Thinking that this team will have Bergenheim, Okposo, Bailey, Comeau, Gervais, and then possibly Hedman or Tavares on their roster as well is great. We're getting younger, and I'll even say we're getting better.

But what if the Lighthouse never passes?

That's all I have to think about to ruin that excited feeling. This team may one day not be here. I know everyone likes to think something will happen and it will get done. I can't really say what I think will happen, I'm not as well-versed in the world of politics as some of my other fellow bloggers, but what I can say is that the fact that there is doubt is enough to have me concerned.

For the first time this team is doing it right, and once it shows, it might be too late.

-Rob McGowan

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