We reach the mid-way point of the first round, and we get to the teams that were not involved in the draft lottery, the playoff teams. The holder of the 15th selection made a nice run to the postseason and is a young team on the rise.
#15 – NEW YORK ISLANDERS
May 7, 2013; Uniondale, NY, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Mark Streit (2) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins in game four of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
TEAM STRENGTHS: Young and talented group of centres and defensemen
TEAM WEAKNESSES: Depth in goal, prospects on the wing
HOCKEY’S FUTURE ORGANIZATIONAL PROSPECT RANK: 3rd of 30 teams
UNDER CONSIDERATION: Alexander Wennburg, Samuel Morin, Nicolas Petan, Adam Erne, Emile Poirier, Morgan Klimchuk,
FANSIDED MOCK DRAFT PICK: Eyes On Isles selected Valentin Zykov
SENSHOT’S CHOICE: Adam Erne from the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. Erne is one of the unheralded prospects, but one that is worth taking a gamble on. He has the size that the Islanders will need on the wing in the future, to go along with a decent set of hands. Erne will be a long-term project and will not make an immediate impact. The Islanders will be a young team as it is, but Erne could develop into a front line player in 4-5 years.
MOCK DRAFT TO DATE (click on team to view the selection):
PICK | TEAM | PICK |
1 | COLORADO | Seth Jones, Portland (WHL) |
2 | FLORIDA | Jonathan Drouin, Halifax (QMJHL) |
3 | TAMPA | Nathan MacKinnon, Halifax (QMJHL) |
4 | NASHVILLE | Valeri Nichushkin, Chelijabinsk 2 (KHL) |
5 | CAROLINA | Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) |
6 | CALGARY | Sean Monahan, Ottawa (OHL) |
7 | EDMONTON | Nikita Zadorov, London (OHL) |
8 | BUFFALO | Max Domi, London (OHL) |
9 | NEW JERSEY | Alexsander Barkov, Tappera (FIN) |
10 | DALLAS | Hunter Shinkaruk, Medicine Hat (WHL) |
11 | PHILADELPHIA | Zachary Furcale, Halifax (QMJHL) |
12 | PHOENIX | Anthony Mantha, Val D’Or (QMJHL) |
13 | WINNIPEG | Elias Lindholm, Brynas (SEL) |
14 | COLUMBUS | Bo Horvat, London (OHL) |
15 | NYI | Adam Erne, Quebec (QMJHL) |