Yes! Islanders

You probably heard the Edmonton Oilers won the Draft Lottery last night, which means the New York Islanders keep the 4th-overall pick. We discussed the dickens out of that in yesterday's threads, but the debate and philosophizing over the draft continues there.

Today's news has a Bridgeport slant as the Sound Tigers get ready to resume action Friday night against Providence, but first a quick look at the previous times the Islanders have had the 4th overall pick -- which unlike the 20th and the 22nd and the 30th pick, is now and has always been in the first round:

1974: Clark Gillies

Hey, he turned out okay!

Just missed: Wilf Paiement, one of the few who can say they wore #99 before wearing #99 was outlawed by this silly league cool.

Could've had: Dave Maloney, taken by the Rangers at #14. {smirk} The Isles also took Bryan Trottier in the second round, at #22, so it was an alright year.

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1991: Scott LaChance

I mean, Scott LaChance is a guy...

Just missed: Scott Niedermayer at #3, which is why LaChance gets such a bad rap.

Could've had: Peter Forsberg, selected at #6 ... okay, that's really why LaChance gets a bad rap. Seriously, LaChance played 819 NHL games. That's not mild.

They also took Ziggy Palffy at #26 in the next round, so we can't complain 1991 sabotaged them. That came later.

1997: Roberto Luongo

Hey, he was OK too! Why, I remember his NHL debut as if I rewatched it yesterday.

Just missed: Olli Jokinen, taken by the Kings at #3. But ahhh Milbury fixed that in the Palffy trade now didn't he.

Could've had: Eric Brewer, selected by the Islanders at #4. ...Wait.

He Who Shall Not (usually) Be Named like taking a goalie high so much, he did it again three years later. Now he gets to play a hockey person on TV.

Islanders/Bridgeport Bits

• When he was a player, Butch Goring didn't know no nutrition. He knew offseason boating and fishing and stuff.
• Straight outta Compton: Isles find themselves in the lottery again - Season in Review
• Mark Streit and Doug Weight on captaining. The site is promoting Moulson as Byng, too.
• The Sound Tigers have brought Ferris State center Jordie Johnston in on an ATO. He had a breakout senior year.
• In the paper, Fornabaio has Casey Cizikas on his NHL experience. He should be ready by playoff time.
• Lots of tidbits in yesterday's chat as well (in the Cover It Live window at the bottom of that post): John Persson intriguing, Brock Nelson probably needs strength, Jeremy Colliton still a ways away.
• A Sound Tigers/AHL stretch-drive FAQ for the uninitiated.
• The Sound Tigers are auctioning off a few more Autism Awareness jerseys.
• High road: LaFontaine won't let Milbury drag him into muck - Inside the NHL - The Buffalo News

General Hockey

• Copper & Blue "celebrates" the Oilers lottery win as only Copper & Blue can. Okay, everybody had to take a jab.
• Highlights: The top 10 hits of the 2011-2012 season | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com
• This is how Keith titled this clip, and appropriately so (ESPN warning): Want to punch yourself in the face? You will...
• Brian Burke says there is no replicable Pittsburgh Model (he's right), but then the hockey gods smack him by giving the Oilers another 1st overall pick.
• Battle of California doesn't like the Sharks-Blues matchup by the numbers, so it turns to astrology.

Speaking of which, Mark has our playoff prediction pool up, and we'll also continue our series-specific posts and polls with your picks of how many games, etc. (The Canucks-Kings poll is here. And Predators-Red Wings is here.)

I'm also doing some coverage for the SB Nation hub and video for our YouTube channel, so you're going to see some of that here and there. The video stuff will probably (hopefully?) provide opportunities for some intentional laughs once the series get under way.