We're Moving Up!

Just like George and Weezie, the Islanders are moving on up. In the upcoming NHL entry draft, that is.

With Anaheim's elimination of San Jose on Monday (4/27) night (early Tuesday morning in New York), the Isles have snagged the 26th selection in the opening round. The Isles had already controlled San Jose's pick regardless of the Sharks' fate, but we now know that "Team Teal" won't be making the Conference or Stanley Cup Finals, events that could have altered the slotting. As an update to this post, the Isles now control a plethora of early and hopefully franchise-altering selections:

(Round 1) 1st Overall
(Round 1) 26th Overall (Formerly belonged to San Jose)
(Round 2) 31st Overall
(Round 2) 37th Overall (Formerly belonged to Toronto)
(Round 2) ~60th Overall (Final slot to be determined by Boston's playoff finish)
(Round 3) 62nd Overall
(Round 3) ~88th Overall (Final slot to be determined by Pittsburgh's playoff finish)
(Round 4) 92nd Overall
(Round 5) 121st Overall
(Round 6) 151st Overall
(Round 7) 181st Overall

Wow. 7 picks in the first 3 rounds, including the converted Bill Guerin-to-Pittsburgh pick.

Getting back to Anaheim for a moment (and a deserved 'thank you' to them), the NHL Western Conference Semifinals opponents are as follows:

Anaheim vs. Detroit
Chicago vs. Vancouver

As nearly everyone is the New York area knows, the Eastern Conference side is still up in the air.

Lastly, though June 26th is still a long way off for Islanders fans, opinions regarding the #1 overall selection have been flying all over the Internet. Former Blog Box member Jon Jordan shares an opinion similar to ours. You can read it in his newest piece here, and as always, Let's Go Islanders!