2009 NHL Entry Draft Recap - Part IV

Finally, part four of a four part series that has seen us recap the Islanders 2009 NHL Entry Draft. While it was somewhat successful for the most part, the two players we will look at today were somewhat off the charts for the Islanders and many other teams, however, they apparently have tremendous upside. Doesn’t it always seem as if the Islanders are taking the flyer picks hoping that it will turn into something big, and unfortunately, it hasn’t thus far. Anyway, onto the players.

Casey Cizikas: Drafted in the fourth round by the New York Islanders, Casey Cizikas was actually considered one of the top 15 players to be coming out of the Ontario Hockey Leauge in this very deep draft for the Canadian leagues. At 5 feet, 11 inches tall, he is expected to finish out around 6 feet tall, possibly even 6’1,” however, I will leave that to hereditary luck. He currently weighs in at a fair 186 pounds, and he is definitely going to need to bulk up considerably before he can ever be an impact player in the NHL.

Cizikas is considered to be a great all-around hockey player. While his vision and passing are considered excellent, it is his ability to find space on the ice and his above-average skating that entices the scouts tremendously. He is also gifted with a great shot, however, it is believed that he needs to utilize his shot more often than he currently does, and he needs to be more selfish with the puck at times (a la Kyle Okposo). Lastly, Cizikas has a much softer set of hands than many people believe, and he has no problem stick handling in traffic. His “skill-set,” as it is referred to by many people, is considered of excellent class, and was compared to the top of his draft class.

While reading a positive synopsis like the one above, it makes you wonder why a kid would drop so low into the fourth round. To be fair, his size is not something that has many scouts foaming at the mouth, however, he is not considered small by any means. His upper body strength seems to be an area of concern, and he must begin to put on muscle mass quickly if he is going to be able to find any success at the NHL level.

His upside and talent far outweigh his cons, and this could turn out to be a steal. If you want to know the biggest reason why he may have fallen to the fourth round, it may have been personal issues that have been ongoing for two years. As I do not want to spread an inappropriate word, I would ask that you kindly turn to Chris Botta at Islanders Point Blank (http://www.islanderspointblank.com) so that you can read a great story on Casey Cizikas and the personal issues he has dealt with over the past few years of his life. Furthermore, and a part that stands out tremendously, is when EJ McGuire is quoted as saying, “he has Patrick Kane-like skills.” How nice it would be if that turns out to be true!

Draft Grade= B If all of this holds to be true, and the real reason he dropped so low into the draft is because of his personal issues, the Islanders may have found themselves a nice pick. However, we must keep in mind, 29 other teams passed on him in rounds one, two, and three, so we shouldn’t hold our breath for a miracle.

Anton Klementyev: Drafted in the fourth round by the New York Islanders, just like Casey Cizikas, Anton Klementyev is your prototypical stay-at-home defenseman from Russia with a tremendous way to go to ever becoming a true NHL player. While he was drafted in a mid-round, Klementyev did not appear on any draft board and he was not mentioned by any scouting outlet leading up to the draft. This tells us that the Islanders did their own heavy scouting on this player, and they believed that he was flying under the radar.

At 6 feet, 1 inch tall, and weighing in at 198 pounds, Klementyev definitely has the stature to develop into an NHL player, however, many parts of his game need help. He is a right-handed shot, and is comfortable playing the right side on defense, however, in rare occasions he has moved over to the left side. While he has an average shot, he rarely ever takes it, and that can be noted by his lack of points. On skates, his mobility is a bit above average, and he can skate quite well. While he does need to work on his side-to-side movements and his positioning, the physical part of his game helps him to make up for any lack of speed (much like Brendan Witt). When he goes into the corner for a puck, he usually comes out with it, as he does not mind dishing out the hits or taking a big hit as long as he wins the puck.

One thing that the Islanders liked about Klementyev, and I am sure it was visible through his psyche test earlier in the year, is that Klementyev played a sharp mental game, and he was a very focused player. He is constantly willing to give it his all, which is very rare to find in many Russian players (Yashin, Kovalev, etc).

To be fair, this was definitely a flyer pick. Although he definitely has the potential to be a number 4 defenseman, if not better, it will take many years (four, at the minimum) before we even begin to hear his name mentioned by Garth Snow and the New York Islanders. Fortunately, he was drafted by the London Knights in the CHL Import Draft this year, and if all goes well, he will be playing there for at least the next two seasons before moving into professional hockey. Here is to a positive development cycle for him, and the hopes that he can develop into his potential.

Draft Grade= C+ While he may have some upside, I am not completely sold on taking so many flyers picks. De Haan, Koskinen, Cizikas, Lee, and Klementyev all seem like they are coming from this mold of “prove the world wrong,” and I am not feeling it tremendously. While I feel Cizikas is going to develop into something special, I am not sold completely on Klementyev, especially when their may have been better players still on the board. I hope to be proven wrong in four to five years, however, I reserve the right to my opinion on this one.

That about wraps it up for the Islanders 2009 NHL Draft Recap. Overall, I feel that the Islanders did fairly well, especially at the top of the draft with Tavares and de Haan. Let us hope that this is the second draft in a long line of drafts that helps to maintain a successful team for us here on Long Island.

Looking Forward: It’s only Monday, and already the week looks like it is going to be swamped. I am interning for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office this summer and for the last three weeks, we have been out working on a trial in Riverhead, hence the reason the blog updates have come late at night. I am going to try and get to the Tavares press conference on Wednesday, as long as I am able to get off. If I do, I will try to take as many pictures and videos as possible from my iPhone, and I will post them as soon as I get home. It should be a very exciting day at the Coliseum, and I would encourage all of you to come check it out. The more people we get there, the better the reception for Tavares.

I hope you all have a great Tuesday at work! Check back either tonight or after the presser at the Coliseum for the next update!

-Justin