NHL Hockey Sports Fan Blog

Next up on the clock at this years NHL Draft in Pittsburgh will be the New York Islanders. In the last seven years the Islanders have only made it to the playoffs once, and they lost in the first round (4-1) in 2006-2007. Needless to say they need some more depth at every position in order to get out of the funk their in. One position they need to fill is on defense. They need not only a defensive defenseman but also a puck-moving defenseman. Ryan Murray will fill one of those spots for the Islanders when he gets picked fourth overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. He is the type of player you can pencil into a top pairing for the next bunch of years. Being the top defenseman in this years draft the Islanders are going to need him. As a rookie in the WHL he tallied 27 points in 52 games while averaging 30-35 minutes a game. Murray is looked at as being a future two-way defenseman in the NHL and will be a solid player in the future, something the Islanders will need to lock down. Look for him to be the first defenseman drafted this year going to the New York Islanders.

Trades are known to happen during drafts and general managers will do anything they can do move up in the draft and try and get players that go to free agency in the following week. Probably the biggest player this year that caused the most talk during the trade deadline is Rick Nash. There were so many teams that wanted Nash but he finished the year where he started, in Columbus. The Toronto Maple Leafs have the fifth overall pick but I see them doing a trade instead of picking someone. With Toronto sending the #5 pick, Luke Schenn (D) and Joe Colborne (C) to Columbus for Rick Nash and a 3rd round pick the Rick Nash saga will finally come to an end. By doing this Toronto solves one of their major scoring problems by getting the high-profile Nash. This situation was the best situation for Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson. Columbus beings their rebuilt in a strong way by getting Luke Schenn to help an up-and-coming defensive core, Joe Colborne to hopefully build into the mold of Ryan Johansen and with the help of recently drafted Alex Galchenyuk everything will soon fall into place. And with this trade the top five picks will be: Nail Yakupov (Edmonton Oilers), Alex Galchenyuk (Columbus Blue Jackets), Filip Forsberg (Montreal Canadians), Ryan Murray (New York Islanders) and the trade between Toronto and Columbus ending the Rick Nash sweepstakes.

Since all eyes will be on Nail Yakupov and who the Edmonton Oilers select in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft Friday June 22nd in Pittsburgh the Columbus Blue Jackets are right behind the Oilers in needed to rebuild their organization. The advantage Edmonton has over Columbus is having the first round picks in three consecutive drafts. With the Blue Jackets coming off of one of the worst seasons they have ever had, the second pick in this years draft is something they need. The Blue Jackets need people in basically every position, a number one goaltender, first line center, more scoring from their second line, and puck moving defensemen. Center Alex Galchenyuk is perfect for the Blue Jackets. He is nearly identical to Ryan Johansen in that they both have similar skill sets. Having Galchenyuk allows the organization to start their rebuild in a positive way. They will probably look for another first round selection, especially considering the heavy defensive depth in the Top 50 picks this year. But look for the teammate of Yakupov to be a Blue Jacket after this years draft.

The Montreal Canadians have the third pick in the draft this year after having one of the worst years in the last decade ending the season with 78 points. The last time they ended the year with similar numbers was in the 2002-2003 season (77 points). The left winger from Sweden Filip Forsberg will go third overall this year. The Canadians, who desperately need a star on offense, need to look no further than Forsberg. Although he does not have the numbers like other players that will be available people have to remember he is only 17 years old. Given time to develop and get bigger and stronger and adapt to playing in the NHL he will be a great NHL player. This years Swedish star, Forsberg has shown his abilities on the World Juniors Championships stage and in his brief stint with Leksands in the Swedish 2nd Division. Once he builds some muscle and hones his

What is going on with the NHL? After being royally screwed against the Los Angeles Kings earlier this month, thanks to a stuttering time clock, last night the Columbus Blue Jackets survived an overturned buzzer beater goal against the New York Rangers. Or did they? Michael Del Zotto scored what looked like a goal on replays with 0.1 seconds left in the 2nd period, but the War Room in Toronto controversially waived it off after further review. The puck clearly is over the line and in the net with time left on the clock…so why is that not a goal? Apparently, the time that everyone in the stadium saw was not the “official” time. On the replays in Toronto, the time read 0.00, ending the period, and the goal being disallowed. OK, just for the sake of argument, let’s say I agree with the decision to waive off the goal despite what everyone saw on national tv. If there is an “official” time, why was that not the time inside Madison Square Garden? To make matters ever more confusing, apparently in Columbus the clock read 0.2 seconds, so they didn’t even understand why the goal was being reviewed at all. If there is an “official time” as Toronto claims there to be, it just seems logical every game clock should be playing based on that time. No…that’s too easy I guess. Well, maybe the NHL is just a fan of the idea that no publicity is bad publicity.