Isles Draft History - The Gems

With so many drafting blunders in the early stages of draft/trading during the 90's, it is easy to overlook the players which we drafted that have become solid contributors to the NHL--the steals of the 90's.

1989 - In round 10 with the 191st pick, defensemen Vladimir Malakhov was taken. This Dman played 3 seasons with the Islanders before being shipped to Montreal in the horrific Pierre Turgeon deal. For a defensive Dman, Vladdy put up solid numbers with 712 GP, 86 G, 260 A, and 697 PIM.

1993 - The 5th round brought the Islanders a goalie by the name of Tommy Salo. He played parts of 5 seasons for the Isles before being shipped off to Edmonton (we really love dealing with them). In return for Salo we got Mats Lindgren and an 8th round pick which turned into maybe our best draft gem to date. (See 1999 below)

1994 - Dick Tarnstrom, selected in the 11th round with the 272nd pick, played a season within the Isles organization in 2001-02 before leaving for the Penguins in 2002. He seemed to only get better once he made his way over to the States after 6 years of plaing in Europe.

1999 - If not for being so injury prone, Radek Martinek would probably be the Isles best current Dman. Considering we found him in the 8th round with the 228th pick, Radek was really a diamond in the rough. 5 years into his NHL career, while Radek has developed into a very reliable Dman, he seems to suffer one serious injury per season. Lets hope he is finally healthy for this upcoming season so we can see his best and make this 8th round selection that much more of a reward for letting Salo go.

2000 - In this draft we selected two defensemen with our selections in the 7th and 9th rounds and received Ryan Caldwell and Tomi Pettinen. While both have not made large impacts at the NHL level, the chances of having found two 6/7 serviceable Dmen at such a late stage of the draft exemplifies the Isles' solid scouting team. Once a competitive team has been built, picks like these often push an organization to an elite level. That isn't to say that we need all the #6/7 Dmen in the world, but the depth factor they could provide has shown to be extremely important to many successful teams in years past.

2003 - In the 6th round, we found one of our young Dmen which we are banking a lot on this upcoming season. This defenseman taken with the 182nd pick is Bruno Gervais with whom we have seen only improvements in his play since he began playing for Sound Tigers in 2004.

2004 - It was the 7th round and 227th pick where we found our other young defensive talent in Chris Campoli. As with Bruno, Campoli's play has seemed to improve over his short period of time within the organization. While many believe his play slipped last year, let's still remember it was only his 2nd year in the NHL and he did gain valuable experience this year. I would say this year is a real determinant into which Campoli we will see for his career, the stellar rookie season or the stumbling sophomore. I also believe that starting the season in Bridgeport last year really affected his play from a mental standpoint after having such a solid rookie campaign. But Campoli must learn that nothing at the NHL level is given and he must continue to work harder in order to earn a spot with the Isles this season.

2006 - While it is still too early to really determine if any of the later picks become gems or not, the early return is that G Stefan Ridderwall looks to be a solid addition to the goaltending corps of Ricky and Dubie.

Let's not also forget come current Isles selected late in the draft by other clubs around the league. These players include Trent Hunter (6th round, #150 - 1998), Miro Satan (5th Round, #111 - 1993). Also the current Isles squad seems to feature many players that went undrafted in the NHL Draft. Marc-Andre Bergeron, Wade Dubielewicz, Ruslan Deadotenko, Jon Sim, and Freddy Meyer fall under this category.