For Part I, click here.
Tier Two: Red-Chip Prospects
8. Kevin Poulin, G, Kalmazoo Wings (ECHL)
Drafted: Fifth Round, 2008
Last Season: Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL
Viewing Experience: 1 game
NHL ETA: 2012-2013 season
Ceiling: A starting goaltender.
Floor: Never sees the NHL.
Comments: Poulin was receiving praise left and right from everyone who witnessed his performance in the wide-open, offensively-minded QMJHL. He was once regarded as a top talent for the 2008 draft, but a lackluster performance leading up to the draft caused his stock to crash. The Isles took a chance on him, and his stock has since recovered to its previous level. After a brilliant campaign for the Tigres in which he nearly singlehandedly propelled them to the QMJHL finals, Poulin was signed to an ELC this past off-season. I haven't seen him enough to profile him, but his production has earned him this ranking. In all likelihood, if Rick DiPietro stays healthy, he's headed to the ECHL to start the year.
9. David Ullström, C/W, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Drafted: Fourth Round, 2008
Last Season: HV71, SEL
Viewing Experience: 2 games
NHL ETA: 2011-2012 season
Ceiling: A good third liner.
Floor: A grinder.
Comments: Ullström first hit the scene in the 2008 WJC, where he represented Sweden with solid results. Later, he went back to the SEL and played with HV71, where he won the league championship this past season and picked up a playoff goal in the process. In prospect camp, he showed a good combination of size, speed, and physical play. It appeared he had a nice feel for the game, but it was impossible to tell in a game that didn't count for anything. In my other viewings of him, he barely had any ice time. My understanding is that he doesn't have the hands to be a top six player, but he brings other skills to the table that will allow to him to contribute on the bottom six. He'll probably spend this year and most of next year in the AHL before getting his first taste of the NHL.
10. Blake Kessel, D, University of New Hampshire Wildcats (NCAA)
Drafted: Sixth Round, 2007
Last Season: UNH, NCAA
Viewing Experience: 4 games
NHL ETA: 2012-2013 season
Ceiling: A reliable 22-minute all-around defenseman.
Floor: Never sees the NHL.
Comments: Kessel is being underrated because of his unimpressive pedigree, which seems paradoxical because his brother is one of the premier scoring wingers in the NHL. However, when you consider the fact that the Isles fan base has probably had enough of experimenting on All-Star players' brothers, this stigma becomes understandable. I can tell you that Kessel doesn't deserve that label, though; he's too good to lump in with the likes of The Better Lindros. He plays a very fundamentally sound all-around game, and he has all of the physical tools to succeed in the NHL. He has quietly lit up his conference in college hockey after a very successful campaign in the USHL. He made the Frozen Four tournament look like child's play two years in a row; it wasn't only me who was saying that he could've been signed to a contract right after his team suffered an unexpected loss to RIT in the postseason (and it wasn't his fault, either).
11. Mark Katic, D, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Drafted: Third Round, 2007
Last Season: Bridgeport Sound Tigers, AHL
Viewing Experience: 2 games
NHL ETA: 2011-2012 season
Ceiling: A nice offensive defenseman and power-play specialist to have on your team.
Floor: A career AHLer.
Comments: Katic is another product from the quiet but thus-far successful 2007 draft, in which the Isles didn't have a pick in the first two rounds. He suffered a shoulder injury last year, hurting his stock; however, it came after an AHL All-Star selection in his first full season in the Bridge. Some say he's the organization's best skater; I give that title to Aaron Ness, but it doesn't hurt to have two guys who can start a legitimate argument over it. Bridgeport observers praised his power-play ability last year. I have doubts about his work in his own zone, considering it has a ways to go before it's passable in the NHL, but he'll probably merit a call-up sometime during the next couple seasons to give us a better look at what we've really got in him.
12. Matt Donovan, D, Denver University Pioneers (NCAA)
Drafted: Fourth Round, 2008
Last Season: DU, NCAA; Team USA, WJC
Viewing Experience: >10 games
NHL ETA: 2012-2013 season
Ceiling: An All-Star caliber NHL defenseman.
Floor: Career AHLer.
Comments: Donovan was by far the toughest guy to place. He couldn't have had a more spectacular year between DU and the WJC. To call his performance "fantastic" would be an understatement. He admirably shared top-pairing duties with Cam Fowler for the red, white and blue; for the rest of the season, he starred as the top defenseman on a DU team that was dominant throughout the regular season before getting shocked in the first round of the NCAA tournament. His play in his own zone showed such marked improvement that I could barely believe it was actually him wearing the uniform. He still lacks in the physicality department, but his positioning is great and his transition game is wonderful. Offensively, he showed flashes of what could lie in store for us down the road: wonderful setups and crafty shooting that would fool any below-average NHL goaltender. Keep in mind he managed to accomplish all of this as a 19-year-old freshman.
And that's what keeps him from getting ranked higher: he's too far away. If the Isles brass signed him, I would've ranked him in the top five; however, he's got at least one more year in college, and then at least one year in the AHL, barring a dominant performance from him next year. However, there's little denying that Donovan could be something special when he hits Long Island. His play on both the national and international levels this season put the scouting community on notice.
13. Dustin Kohn, D, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Drafted: Second Round, 2005
Last Season: Bridgeport Sound Tigers, AHL; New York Islanders, NHL
Viewing Experience: >10 games
NHL ETA: Cracked the NHL in 2010; will battle for a spot this upcoming training camp.
Ceiling: A respectable NHL defenseman.
Floor: A career AHLer.
Comments: At this point, there's not much to be said. Kohn is what he is. He has very likely maxed out. I, for one, liked his performance in the NHL this past year, and I don't mind him as the eighth or ninth defenseman on the depth chart. He would need to set the world on fire to prove he's anything more than that, though. He's already made an AHL All-Star team, and he's already done well in his cup of coffee with the Islanders. Unless he does something spectacular, he'll eventually be a victim of the numbers game. In the meantime, though, he's ready to make a contribution to the NHL team in a pinch.
14. Shane Sims, D, Ohio State University Buckeyes (NCAA)
Drafted: Fifth Round, 2006
Last Season: OSU, NCAA
Viewing Experience: 3 games
NHL ETA: 2012-2013 season
Ceiling: A solid all-around 22-minute defenseman.
Floor: An AHL-NHL tweener.
Comments: Anyone familiar with my Isles-related opinions knows that Sims is my favorite prospect. He's entirely overlooked by the fan base for several reasons: (a) he plays for a mediocre program; (b) it's been four years since his draft year; (c) higher-profile prospects have since entered the system; (d) he's never put up eye-popping numbers; and (e) he's never on national TV. Everything about his NHL potential only comes through when you're watching him firsthand. He has an impressive all-around repertoire with above-average attributes in nearly every aspect of the game, with his hockey sense and his heavy slapshot being the most noticeable skills. He started as an undersized nobody coming out of a small town in upstate New York, but after a sneaky-good year in the USHL, he quietly picked up steam by growing three inches and adding 25 pounds over the course of his college career. Now standing at 6'1" 200, Sims has the frame to handle the rigors of pro hockey with relative ease. I think he's a no-doubter to get signed to an ELC after the year ends, and I'm confident he will eventually see the NHL.
15. Jason Gregoire, W, North Dakota Fighting Sioux (NCAA)
Drafted: Third Round, 2007
Last Season: UND, NCAA
Viewing Experience: 7-8 games
NHL ETA: 2013-2014 season
Ceiling: The next Kris Versteeg, but with a better wrist shot.
Floor: A grinder. I doubt at this point that he never sees a shift.
Comments: Gregoire is another NCAA kid who just doesn't get as much love from the fan base because they're not able to actually see him play all the time. If you have a premium cable package with the sports channels, you can catch Gregoire on Fox College Sports about 6 times a year, which is even more important info to know this year because Brock Nelson will be his teammate at North Dakota. I suggest watching Gregoire because he's becoming a keeper: a guy with a very high level of hockey sense with the skills to match. He packs a great wrist shot, which he used on his way to leading UND in goals last season. He's responsible at every turn, which is something you can see from him every game you watch; the first time I ever saw him play, he took a sure goal away from James van Riemsdyk in the NCAA tournament with wonderful stick work on the backcheck. He's a guy who's been steadily improving and might leave school early to join the Isles.
16. Rhett Rakhshani, W, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL)
Drafted: Fourth Round, 2006
Last Season: DU, NCAA; Bridgeport, AHL
Viewing Experience: 5-6 games
NHL ETA: 2011-2012 season
Ceiling: A nice bottom six player.
Floor: A career AHLer.
Comments: Rakhshani was the longtime unquestioned leader of the Pioneers who heavily considered jumping to the pros after his junior season before deciding to come back for one more round. His pursuit of a championship fell short at the hands of the feisty RIT team that also downed UNH in the following game. Despite that, though, Rakhshani put the cap on a great college campaign that saw his stock steadily rise. My doubts about him don't come from the hockey sense department or character department; he excels in both areas. Ultimately, I question whether he has the size, strength, and speed to translate his game to the pros. He found himself knocked off the puck a little too easily in college, which doesn't bode well for the AHL, let alone the NHL. His speed is good, but he's not a burner and won't easily beat a competent NHL skater in a footrace. His shot is consistent but not special, and his stick work won't create much space for him. So while Rakhshani brings a lot of important contributions to the table that could be useful to the Islanders down the road-- especially his mastery on the PK-- I'm not sure whether he can handle the NHL physically. Time will tell, and I'll be rooting for him.
17. Casey Cizikas, C, Mississauga-St. Michael's Majors (OHL)
Drafted: Fourth Round, 2009
Last Season: MSM, OHL
Viewing Experience: 1 game
NHL ETA: 2012-2013 season
Ceiling: The next Mike Sillinger.
Floor: A career AHLer.
Comments: Cizikas overcame some legal troubles to re-focus on hockey and turn in a wonderful year with Mississauga. More or less, this upcoming season will tell us a great deal about whether Cizikas is the real thing. He comes back to a good supporting cast in Mississauga, and his junior coach will head up the Canadian WJC squad, where he may make the team as its fourth line center. Cizikas impressed in rookie camp, and some members of the fan base have begun following him in earnest. Cizikas's strength is in his hockey sense (notice the recurring theme here) and his grinding skills, particularly in the face-off circle. He has good fundamental skills to go along with a decent offensive arsenal, though I don't see him ever putting up high point totals should he be fortunate enough to make the NHL. I think Sillinger is a good comparison here because Cizikas does many of the same things well. If he gets far enough to merit NHL consideration, he'll have to compete with the likes of Frans Nielsen, David Ullström, and others to secure a spot.
For Part III, click here.
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