Despite the fact that the pick the Islanders got from the Senators will most likely be one of the final picks in the first round, Islanders General Manager Garth Snow is hopefully the pick will help the team in he long run.

“Bottom line, we’re getting a first-round draft pick and that falls into the plan we’ve set out all along,” Snow told the Associated Press before Saturday’s 4-0 win over New Jersey. “Now it’s up to us to draft a good player with that pick. … We have a significant amount of draft picks, especially in the first and second round. We’re going to build this the right way.”

While it probably would have been better to have a pick like this in last year’s draft, especially considering how deep it was, the Islanders will have an opportunity to bolster their team in the long run. Now I know what some of you are thinking, that the Islanders basically traded Chris Campoli, a player entering the best years of their career, for a player that will most likely been in juniors next season, but it was the only thing they could do.

“Yes, I asked for the trade,” Campoli, who had a career-worst minus-20 rating, told Newsday. “I was frustrated with my year and the way things had gone. I felt like a change was needed for me. From my perspective, I don’t think I fit in with what Scott (Gordon) was trying to do.”

So, knowing this, the Islanders, for a change, did the best they could and actually got something that could end up playing a bigger part in the team than Campoli can. With Mark Streit on board, Campoli was never going to get the ice-time he needed to truly develop into a potent offensive defenseman. So again, at least the Islanders got something for him. Now they just have to make the pick count.

Thoughts on McAmmond- Overall, I thought he was solid, even though you could tell he was trying to do a bit too much as far as some of the passes he was making were concerned. Nevertheless, I like his speed and if he sticks around next season, I could see him on a line with Richard Park and a gritty youngster, rounding out the last of the forward lines. As for right now though, he’s not going to make the team any worse and if he can get a few goals under his belt in the next few weeks, the Islanders could even move him. If not, the guy will at least have an opportunity to show the rest of the league he can still play.

Something to definitely keep an eye on over the next few games.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009