A Bailey, with ice please

Wow.

Like most of you out there in Islander Country, I found myself eagerly reading each of Logan's recent posts which discussed the Islander's myriad options for tonight. What I do not remember reading was a scenario where the Isles would trade down twice and select Josh Bailey. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, but I'm just trying to get my thoughts around what happened tonight.

As speculation swirled today I thought back to number 5 in '72. The draft pick, a defenseman, upon whom our dynasty was built. I came into this draft hoping to secure a solid d'man you could QB the powerplay. Contenders are cornered around such individuals. The possibility of trading up to LA's pick and acquiring Bogosian or Doughty intrigued me. However, it was not meant to be.

My initial reaction to Snow's moves was disappointment. A top 5 pick is exciting, and its an opportunity to put people in the seats. It was the silver lining this April. Was this truly, however, an opportunity lost?

If this draft is a strong as they say, then having the 9th , 40th , and possibly 60th pick could yield strong dividends. If nothing else, it shows a commitment on Snow's part to develop a young team into a contender down the road. There have been a few bananas out there that have suggested Snow's moves were Miburyesque. If that were so, we would have picked up McCabe and taken his curse of a contract off the Leafs hands. No.

Snow had a plan, and he executed it. This was not, I believe, an impulsive decision. Snow saw something in this center, and he went for it. And in doing so, he added some picks that can help him fill some of the other holes the Isles have.

Only time will tell if this was a brilliant draft, or an unmitigated disaster.

I am going to have a beer and mull it over. Until then, I stand behind the man who broke his ass preparing for this draft and navigating infinitely complex scenarios to do what he felt was best for this organization. I stand behind Garth Snow.