Islanders & NHL News: Draft grades, AHL signings, the last pick standing

Foudy, Gauthier re-sign, while prospect camp opens and the Isles prepare for Tuesday’s opening of free agency.

The New York Islanders begin their prospect camp this week — a return after it was axed/squeezed before preseason during the Lou era — and also prepare for free agency with a significant self-inflicted hole on their blueline.

There aren’t a lot of seriously desirable right-shooting defensemen UFAs out there, and the Isles did previously re-sign Adam Boqvist. They perhaps could also retain Tony DeAngelo, though there’s been no noise there.

On the RFA front, the Isles have Alex Romanov, Simon Holmstrom, Max Tsyplakov, newcomer Emil Heineman (and theoretically Scott Perunovich?) to deal with.

Islanders News

• The Isles did announce re-signings of AHL-bound depth forwards Liam Foudy and Julien Gauthier.
• But speaking of prospect camp, you are now allowed to attend (though you must RSVP), because the days of closing everything to fans in the name of culture are over.
• This post includes video from Mathieu Darche’s extended Draft Day 1 media scrum, as well as his full discussion of the trajectory of negotiations with Noah Dobson. At the end, he also discusses why he wanted a very beloved Emil Heineman included in the trade. [Isles]
• As free agency beckons, how the Islanders handle RFA Romanov will be critical. [Newsday]
• Matthew Schaefer on Good Morning America, where they talked the hockey. [GMA]
• Here are photos of the first-rounders arriving on Long Island via P Diddy (or somebody’s) private jet. [Isles]
• And here’s a notebook from the Isles’ draft weekend. A guy named Luca Romano was destined to be an Islander, was he not? [Isles]

Immediate draft grades are in, and of course by any measure the Islanders rated top of the class, what with three first-round picks that were all seen as good, plus several more on Day 2. At the Athletic, they topped Scott Wheeler’s list (based on the value/quality for each pick), and they topped Corey Pronman’s list (based on the quality of each team’s haul, not pro-rated for number or placement of picks).

That’ll happen when you draft #1 overall, have two more at 16 and 17, and don’t reach on any of your nine picks. But that’s the last we’ll say about draft grades. Now, we wait the two to five years it takes most of these guys to develop or fade.

Speaking of which, reading up on Sam Laurila, one thing that stood out was this from Wheeler’s pre-draft ranking of the overagers:

Here’s Fargo head coach Brett Skinner from a conversation earlier this year: “He’s having a great season for us. I think he has really kind of proven the detractors wrong from the offensive side of things. The NTDP time was great for his defensive base. He’s a great defender. I couldn’t teach a kid to defend like that in 10 years if you gave me. But for me, knowing that, it was really pushing him to the offensive side and he has really taken to it. It’s natural for him. He does have the skill and the ability to do it

Elsewhere

• Elliotte Friedman has been reporting that there may be a sign-and-trade with Vegas for Mitch Marner, and now he thinks Toronto may file a grievance for tampering unless Vegas pays up with more than a “here’s a 3rd-round pick” for negotiating rights. [Sportsnet]
• Some Geekie dude signed a six-year extension with the Bruins. [NHL]
• Some Fabbro guy signed a four-year extension with the Blue Jackets. [NHL]
• Brad Marchand could go anywhere, and Aaron Ekblad is one of the few top right D available, but the Panthers still hope to re-sign both. [NHL]
• At long last, the Yzerplan has found a goalie for Detroit: They’ve traded for John Gibson, who was once great but either fell off a cliff or had the life sucked out of him by Anaheim. That’ll fix it! [NHL]

This was fun from the very end of the draft. The second-to-last pick is from Southern California so, while he didn’t expect to be drafted — and didn’t dress the part — he was in the venue when the Oilers called his name. Hoodie and shorts.

His former roommate Ryker Lee, picked earlier in the draft by Nashville, reacts in real time: