Isles Third Round Flyer: Kirill Petrov
June 22nd, 2008 by murph
When the dust settled yesterday, the Isles ended up with 13 picks in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and whatever you think of their first overall pick, it’s hard to argue with the Isles’ strategy of adding as much young talent as possible to their franchise. There are only 7 rounds in the draft – the Isles almost averaged two per round.
XM Radio was most impressed by the way Islanders GM Garth Snow traded down to acquire extra picks while still drafting the player they targeted from the beginning. The show went onto say that this enabled the team to take a chance on Petrov, who was the second ranked European skater in the draft, but fell because of his contract status in Russia.
Said one of the show’s hosts: “What goes un-noticed is by moving back down twice and picking up three extra picks in the first three rounds [the Islanders] were then able to take a complete flyer on [Petrov], who was a top-10 talent at No. 73.”
You can listen to the full NHL on XM audio here.
Petrov is signed in Russia for the next three years, and the risk is he could stay there and never play for the Islanders as the Russian hockey leagues offer more and more money to keep their talent away from the NHL. When you have 13 draft picks, you can make a gamble for a Top 10 payoff like that.
The NHL’s exposure to Russian encroachment has been lessened over the past few years. NHL teams have shied away from drafting Russian-born players because of the lack of a transfer agreement. The lack of an agreement provides NHL teams little leverage in signing Russian prospects still playing in their native land, making it a significant risk to use a high draft pick on a player who might never compete in North America.
FB Says
not one guy on NHL.com or ESPN/nhl.. mentioned the Isles in their draft wrap up.. I was dying laughing.. Hey guys.. I know they are not Canadien but they drafter 13 effing guys… 5 of the top 20 prospects in the draft.. maybe u should mention it.. maybe
Jun 25th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Vancouver Islander Says
At first I thought that, because of traumatic experiences at recent drafts, we were just trying to avoid the whole thing by trading down (and down). Then the real strategy dawned on me — the Isles have traded away so many picks/prospects, we had to address a very thin system. What better way than to stockpile picks (and hopefully draft well) from one deep draft.
A brilliant strategy born of desperation but also foresight.
As much as Bob Gainey sent the message loud and clear that the Habs are gunning for yet another Stanley Cup at the end of the coming season, GM Snow and the inscrutable Wang sent an equally unmistakable but opposite message to all — the rebuilding is in full swing.
Do not expect to make the playoffs this season, although we know our coach will get the most out of the kids.
So here’s some advice that’s tough to hear — cut the NYIs, the coach, the GM and the owner some slack for a year or two at least.
Assuming our drafting this year pans out (Trivino, Ness, Niemi, Petrov), in about three seasons the Isles will have as much good, young, inexpensive talent as anybody in the league. If we have a good blend of experience in key positions, we’ll be quite a handful at playoff time.
For this season and perhaps the next, take pleasure in watching some young studs develop in the system and start to contribute.
At least you get the impression our braintrust has a plan that doesn’t involve trading away every asset in return for first-round elimination. I want another Cup, dammit, and I’m willing to wait a bit for it.
Jun 29th, 2008 at 11:13 pm