From Newsday: The New Islanders

After trading down twice in the first round to take Windsor Spitfires center Josh Bailey at No. 9 on Friday night, the Islanders traded down once more in the third round yesterday with Chicago, adding another pick in the fourth round. That gave them a total of 13 picks in the NHL draft. Here's a look at the 12 chosen yesterday in rounds 2-6 to add to Bailey, including each player's overall draft number, position, height, weight, birthdate and junior team:

36. Corey Trivino

C, 6-1, 170, 1/12/90, OPJHL Stouffville: Scored 69 points in 39 games in the Ontario Provincial junior A league, had four goals to help Canada win the World under-18 Juniors in January.

40. Aaron Ness

D, 5-9½, 157, 5/18/90, Roseau, Minn. HS: Minnesota's Mr. Hockey in 2008 scored 72 points in 31 games (28-44-72) for high school team, member Team USA at under-18 Worlds, headed to University of Minnesota.

53. Travis Hamonic

D, 6-0, 192, 8/16/90, WHL Moose Jaw: Physical, stay-at-home D was 5-17-22 in 61 games in first season with Moose Jaw and was member of Canada's under-18 world champions.

66. David Toews

C, 5-10, 175, 6/7/90, Shattuck-St. Mary's, Minn. HS: Winnipeg native is younger brother of Chicago's Jonathan Toews. Had 100 points in 51 games (44-56-100) for Minnesota's elite high school program; speedy with good hands.

72. Jyri Niemi

D, 6-2, 192, 6/15/90, WHL Saskatoon: Finland native led WHL rookie defensemen in scoring with 34 points in 49 games (14-20-34), power-play QB shoots left and has slap shot clocked at 97 mph.

73. Kirill Petrov

RW, 6-3, 198, 4/13/90, RSL AK Kazan: No. 2-ranked European skater by NHL Central Scouting was 4-6-10 in scoring in 47 Russian Super League games; named top forward at under-18 worlds with 5-2-7 mark in six games.

96. Matt Donovan

D, 5-11, 185, 5/9/90, USHL Cedar Rapids: Oklahoma native was second-leading goal scorer among USHL defensemen with 12 and 18 assists for 30 points in 60 games with a plus-19 rating; headed for Denver University.

102. David Ullstrom

W, 6-3, 198, 4/22/89, Sweden HV 71-Jr.: Scored 54 points in 40 games (27-27-54) in his final junior season before move to Sweden's second tier; has strength, size, speed and finishing touch, but needs to improve defensively.

126. Kevin Poulin

G, 6-2, 210, 4/12/90, QMJHL Victoriaville: Seventh-rated North American goaltender had an 18-24 record with a 3.69 goals-against average and .887 save percentage that reflected his inconsistency.

148. Matthew Martin

LW, 6-2, 192, 5/8/89, OHL Sarnia: Rugged power forward scored 25 goals, 38 points and 155 penalty minutes in his second season with Sarnia and went 3-3-6 in nine playoff games.

156. Jared Spurgeon

D, 5-8, 175, 11/29/89, WHL Spokane: Had 43 points in 69 games (12-31-43) for WHL Spokane with a plus-36 rating. Helped lead Chiefs to the Memorial Cup championship.

175. Justin DiBenedetto

C, 6-1, 185, 5-11, 194, 8/25/88, OHL Sarnia: Scored 93 points (39-54-93) to finish just 12 behind teammate Steve Stamkos, who was drafted No. 1 overall. Had 10 points in nine playoff games.

Islanders select C Bailey with ninth pick

OTTAWA (TICKER) —After trading down twice, the New York Islanders on Friday selected center Josh Bailey from the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires with the ninth overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

New York, which entered the day with the fifth overall selection, traded that pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the No. 7 pick, which it in turn shipped to the Nashville Predators for the ninth selection.

Bailey, 18, registered 29 goals and a team-leading 96 points in 67 games for Windsor last season. His 67 assists ranked third overall in the OHL.

“I was just ecstatic to be chosen by the Islanders,” Bailey said. “Just to be selected by an NHL team is an honor, but to be selected by such a wonderful organization, words just can’t describe it. … I was hoping it would be New York because of the guys they’ve got from the top all the way down. It just seems like it’s going to be a good group of guys to play with.”

A native of Bowmanville, Ontario, Bailey finished the campaign with a nine-game points streak, notching five tallies and 18 assists as the Spitfires finished third in the Western Conference. The 6-foot, 188-pounder participated in the OHL All-Star Classic and netted a pair of goals in the Canadian Hockey League Top Prospects Game.

Bailey is not expected to be a high-end offensive player in the NHL but has good skating ability and vision on the ice. Said to have the makings of a future captain, he figures to be a mainstay on a checking line and the penalty-killing unit.

“Obviously, I’m going to work as hard as I can to make the team next year,” Bailey said. “I’ll do whatever it takes, and if I get sent to Windsor for another year, I won’t be upset. We’ve got a good team down there, so I’m just going to work as hard as I can to hopefully improve. I’m going to try to play my game as much as I can at the next level by getting into even better shape.”


NYIFORLIFE.com REACTION: Well, it wasn't a boring ride to say the least. I'm still shocked that my wife watched the whole first round with me; even if she was reading most of the time. Seriously, any woman who will stick by you while you're watching the NHL draft is a keeper. A little free advice to all of you hockey fans out there. Were a full service website!

Regarding the trading down stuff, I am guessing that with the fanbase that this is seen as fairly controversial but you have to give Garth and Ryan Jankowski one thing: they got the guy they has their sights on and they added more picks to play with later today. There's all sorts of rumors going on (like the ever-present McCabe stuff) regarding what the organization is planning but one thing is true: they are going with the kids and they're stockpiling options in what is universally described as a very deep draft.

One thing Bob McKenzie mentioned regarding Filatov stuck with me. He mentioned that without an agreement between the Russian Federation and the NHL, Russian players could come here, find out that they don't like it, and just go home to play in the new Super League for a lot more money. That makes Filatov a double-jeopardy pick.

Anyone else kinda creeped out by Pierre McGuire's reaction to the Leafs taking Luke Schenn?