Seeing as the draft lottery occurred tonight, is the perfect time for the first 2012 Mock Draft:

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So for last year's draft, I did a few mock drafts and loved doing it, even posting one here, so I figured I would do one every month or so leading up to the draft in June! Hope you guys enjoy this; as hot as these Islanders are, what with the playoffs now in sight, the draft is always an exciting time and leads to great discussion. So here is the first mock draft for 2012 (based on the inverse standings as of Feb. 13) after the jump.

2012 NHL Mock Draft

1.) Columbus Blue Jackets- Nail Yakupov, LW

- No brainer here, as Blue Jackets land the star of the draft.

2.) Edmonton Oilers- Ryan Murray, D

- Oilers choose steady D-man Murray over strong center Grigorenko.

3.) Anaheim Ducks- Mikhail Grigorenko, C

- Potential candidate for #1 pick, Ducks land potential star at 3.

4.) Carolina Hurricanes- Filip Forsberg, LW

- Forsberg has size and skill, and has shown a knack for clutch scoring.

5.) Tampa Bay Lightning- Mathew Dumba, D

- Riskiest player in the draft, but could be the best when all is said and done. Adds depth to TB blue line

6.) Buffalo Sabres- Alex Galchenyuk, C

- Sabres have #1 center fall into their hands, as season-ending injury has Galchenyuk falling here.

7.) New York Islanders- Cody Ceci, D

- After consensus top 6, draft opens up a bit. Isles land most complete defenseman left, as 6'3'', 210 lb. Ceci is a PPG player in the OHL this season.

8.) Montreal Canadiens- Radek Faksa, C/LW

- Canadiens land fast-rising Faksa, who is reminiscent of Ryan Smyth.

9.) Winnipeg Jets- Jacob Trouba, D

- Fast, exciting defenseman adds depth to Jets blueline.

10.) Minnesota Wild- Zemgus Girgensons, C

- Wild land skilled center instead of defensemen with question marks.

11.) Dallas Stars- Morgan Reilly, D

- Stars take shot with Reilly, who reminds scouts of the good Tomas Kaberle, after season-ending ACL injury. Good complement to last year's first-rounder Oleksiak.

12.) Calgary Flames- Griffin Reinhart, D

- Flames land best player available at this point, as 6'4'' defensemen are always highly valued.

13.) Washington Capitals*- Pontus Aberg, LW

- Caps use Avs' pick on skilled winger Aberg; potential to trade up for Galchenyuk or another top 6 player with two mid-first rounders.

14.) Washington Capitals- Olli Maatta, D

- The Caps add well-rounded blue liner with second first rounder.

15.) Toronto Maple Leafs- Brendan Gaunce, C

- "Burke type of player"; center with size who is a safe pick, as some scouts question ultimate upside.

16.) Phoenix Coyotes- Sebastian Collberg, RW

- Fastest skater in the draft uses wheels to increase offensive creativity.

17.) Ottawa Senators- Slater Koekkoek, D

- Some scouts love this 6'2'' blue liner; some scouts question his upside. BPA at this point.

18.) Florida Panthers- Matt Finn, D

- Fast-rising all around blue liner makes a good fit as second or third pairing guy in Florida.

19.) Chicago Blackhawks- Derrick Pouliot, D

- Portland Winterhawks D-man BPA this far down the board. A little small, with defensive question marks, but an excellent skater and passer.

20.) Los Angeles Kings- Tomas Hertl, LW

- 6'2'' Czech winger reminds some scouts of Martin Hanzal. High upside.

21.) New Jersey Devils- Malcolm Subban, G

- With no obvious pick here, Devils go for their goaltender of the future. Andrei Vasilevski also an option, but Jersey opts with Belleville Bulls net minder who is the younger brother of MTL d-man PK Subban.

22.) San Jose Sharks- Brady Skjei, D

- 6'2'' defenseman wows scouts; bit of a project at this point putting all the tools together.

23.) Philadelphia Flyers- Tom Wilson, RW

- 6'4'' winger not afraid to play tough and drop the gloves.

24.) Pittsburgh Penguins- Martin Frk, RW

- The most infuriating talent in the draft; Frk has top-10 talent but 7th round attitude. This year's Kirill Kabanov?

25.) Boston Bruins- Jarrod Maidens, C

- Bruins add clutch hard worker who will fit in perfectly in Beantown a few years down the line.

26.) Nashville Predators- Jordan Schmaltz, D

- Talented two-way D-man best player available.

27.) St. Louis Blues- Ludvig Bystrom, D

- Swedish D-man in similar boat to Oscar Klefbom; professional experience abroad, tons of potential, but a long-term project for whichever team selects him.

28.) Vancouver Canucks- Matia Marcantuoni, RW

- Marcantuoni has struggled this season, but Canucks look past that and select his talent. Very risky pick, but could pay dividends down the line.

29.) New York Rangers- Andreas Athanasiou, LW

- Underwhelming season has most scouting reports dropping Athanasiou to the second round.

30.) Detroit Red Wings- Nick Ebert, D

- Same as Athanasiou; stock dropping heavily, but Detroit could use some blue line depth and will be sure to not let Ebert fall too far. Once thought of as a top-10 pick now lucky to be drafted first round.

I just read that John Tavares' former junior league teammate Brett MacLean was waived again, this time by the Winnipeg Jets. Should the Islanders not let him get past them twice in two months' time? The Islanders could use a little offense and this guy was a force in the OHL with JT. In two seasons on JT's line, he combined for 108 goals and 219 points, including a league-leading 61 goals that second season. Honestly, seeing how our offense is struggling right now, I might take a chance on this guy. He's clearly got some talent- maybe re-uniting him with JT will help him figure it out. And if not? Oh well. We got him for nothing. We can always waive him ourselves if it doesn't work out. No risk and high reward. I say we take the chance. 

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=371987

Wow. And look at how far ahead of #3 he is. Quite incredible. Here's hoping he can keep it up in the future, which I don't think will be a problem for him because of his speed. If anything, I think he should improve on his goal totals, assuming he converts more of the breakaways he gets. Remember: his first half wasn't great, and he was stopped on quite a few breakaways. I could easily see 40+ goals from him going forward. AND if he gets more power play time? Forget about it.

Now, I know the "rumor" that the Islanders gave Doughty an 8 year, $68.4M offer sheet is BS. But I think it makes a lot of sense for the Islanders to try and get him the offer sheet way.

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According to Islanders Point Blank, Christian Ehrhoff has turned down the New York Islanders (who apparently offered him $6M per year). Good riddance! If he's turning down 6, I'm happy Garth didn't keep going. Unless he wants to buy in and be here, we don't need him. I think we would need a little more of a defensive player anyways, seeing as Streit, MacDonald, and De Haan are all offensive D-men. My bold idea would be to, once Shea Weber is locked up in Nashville, pry Ryan Suter out of their hands. I've heard in many spaces that Suter will likely not be resigning there if they lock up Weber, due to the cap, so I think an offer including Bailey or Comeau, plus our 2012 first rounder and a prospect like Aaron Ness would be enough to land him. It's a big package, but Suter is well worth it. Thoughts? If not Suter, who do you guys think Garth should aim for?

So today my Netflix sent me a DVD that was in my queue from the Islanders Greatest Games DVD set: Game 4 of the first round series versus Toronto. This series was probably the most exciting playoff series any of my teams has played in.
I can't wait until this new Islanders team is back to the days like this, with the rally towels and the "Steve Webb" chants, etc.

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Matt Puempel, 6'0'', 190 lbs., Right Wing (Peterborough Petes, OHL)

ISS:29

CSS;28 (NA)

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So these past few days, considering it's summer and life is good, I decided to do my own little mock draft. Figuring Lighthouse readers can't get enough of this stuff, enjoy and feel free to discuss, debate, etc.

2011 NHL Mock Draft:

1.)  Edmonton Oilers- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, 6'0'', 165 lbs.

- Oilers go with the high-end offensive center to play with Taylor Hall for the next decade. Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson will also get consideration for the top pick.

2.)  Colorado Avalanche- Adam Larsson, D, 6'2'', 210 lbs.

- Avalanche have a tough decision at #2, with Larsson and Gabriel Landeskog both available. They could draft Landeskog at 2, and a defenseman with their 11th overall pick, or could draft Larsson 2nd and a forward at #11. Avs will opt with future franchise blueliner Larsson.

3.)  Florida Panthers- Gabriel Landeskog, LW, 6'0'', 207 lbs.

- GM Dale Tallon will choose Landeskog over Sean Couturier because of his leadership and goal-scoring touch, with Landeskog reminding scouts of a young Mike Richards. Landeskog and last years first rounder Eric Gudbrandson will provide the young Panthers with leadership and identity for the next decade. 

4.)  New Jersey Devils- Sean Couturier, C, 6'4'', 197 lbs.

- Devils, by virtue of winning the draft lottery, jump up to #4, where they land Couturier, a big center with skill who has been mentioned as a possible #1 overall pick for at least a year. Couturier has been compared to Jordan Staal, and if his goal-scoring touch fully develops, a Vincent LeCavalier comparison would not be far off.

5.)  New York Islanders- Dougie Hamilton, D, 6'4'', 193 lbs.

- Once the "big four" are off the board, there is a group of players in the 5-8 range that the Isles will look at, starting with the blueliner Dougie Hamilton. Compared to Jay Bouwmeester and Brent Burns, Hamilton combines considerable size, skill, and smarts to form a future top-pairing defenseman.

6.)  Ottawa Senators- Jonathan Huberdeau, C, 6'1'', 170 lbs. 

- The Senators have built a lot of defense depth over the past few years, so they will undoubtedly go forward with their pick. Huberdeau has seemingly come out of nowhere to be potentially this years Jeff Skinner, translating a 100+ point season into a top-10, and possibly even top-5, pick at the draft.

7.)  Atlanta Thrashers- Ryan Strome, C, 6'1'', 183 lbs. 

- The Thrashers will go best player available at this position, and that player is Strome, the skilled, lanky center. Compared to Patrick Kane, Strome has also come out of nowhere to be a top prospect in June. Expect Strome and last years first rounder Alex Burmistrov to form a solid 1a-1b punch down the middle  for a long time.

8.)  Columbus Blue Jackets- Mark McNeill, C, 6'2'', 210 lbs. 

- The first surprise of the draft, the Blue Jackets land a big power center compared to Ryan Getzlaf. Expected to go anywhere from pick 10 to pick 20, McNeill could rise into the top 10 with a good showing at the combine. McNeill is a perfect 1b center behind Ryan Johansen, and for a team that has had trouble in the past obtaining centers, the Jackets will have two good ones relatively soon.

9.)  Boston Bruins- Duncan Siemens, D, 6'3'', 197 lbs.

- The Bruins will use the final first rounder acquired from Toronto for Phil Kessel on a defenseman who imitates Scott Stevens on the ice. Siemens has limited offensive ability, but combining that with his immense defensive ability, Siemens has top-pairing potential, and will be a stalwart on the Bruins blueline for years.

10.)Minnesota Wild- Mika Zibanejad, C, 6'3'', 185 lbs .

- The Wild have never been afraid to draft international prospects, and will add to that reputation with Finnish center Mika Zibanejad. Zibanejad has sky-rocketed up the draft rankings with a tremendous two way game, and has top six potential. He is also one of the least risky players in the draft, with a near certainty of being a third-line center should his offensive game never explode.

11.) Colorado Avalanche- Sven Baertchi, LW, 5'10'', 185 lbs.

- The Avs, having drafted Adam Larsson with the second pick, land Swedish winger Sven Baertschi out of the WHL champion Portland Winterhawks with their 11th overall pick. Like last years top 5 picks Ryan Johansen (Blue Jackets, 4th overall) and Nino Niederreiter (Islanders, 5th overall), a Winterhawk will represent well at the draft.

12.) Carolina Hurricanes- Ryan Murphy, D, 5'10'', 175 lbs.

- Although not exactly a Fowler-like drop, the uber-talented, but undersized, Murphy will fall to the Hurricanes at 12, who are quietly developing a great offensive core of players. Murphy, drawing comparisons to Brian Rafalski and Mike Green, is arguably the most talented offensive player in the entire draft, but questions about his size and defensive ability linger.  

13.) Calgary Flames-  Matt Puempel, RW, 6'0'', 190 lbs.

- Another relatively surprising pick, the Flames land a pure goal scorer who has been dealing with a nagging injury for months. Similar to last years 6th overall pick Brett Connolly (Lightning), there is risk with this pick, but the reward is sky high. Compared to Patrick Sharp, Puempel plays with one purpose at all times on the ice: to put the puck in the net.  

14.) Dallas Stars- Jamieson Oleksiak, D, 6'7'', 245 lbs.

- The Stars land a hulking defenseman who, by virtue of his size alone, could already be a third-pairing or depth defenseman. But add in his skating ability and hard shot, and you potentially have the next Tyler Myers, or even Zdeno Chara if it really breaks the right way.

15.) New York Rangers- Mark Scheifele, C, 6'3'', 175 lbs.

- The Rangers choose the two-way center Scheifele over Joel Armia and Brandon Saad solely based on position. Few years away.

16.) Buffalo Sabres- Joel Armia, RW, 6'2'', 185 lbs.

- Best player available.

17.) Montreal Canadiens- Brandon Saad, LW, 6'2'', 200 lbs.

- Need size.

18.) Chicago Blackhawks- Nathan Beaulieu, D, 6'3'' 190 lbs.

- Big drop for Beaulieu leads to Hawks drafting BPA.

19.) Edmonton Oilers- Joseph Morrow, D, 6'1'' 200 lbs.

- Get their D-man after picking RNH first overall.

20.) Phoenix Coyotes- Zack Phillips, C, 6'0'', 180 lbs.

- Pure scorer, year or two away. Needs to prove he can perform without Huberdeau.  

21.) Ottawa Senators- Nicklas Jensen, RW, 6'2'', 185 lbs.

- Impressive scorer  

22.) Anaheim Ducks- Boone Jenner, C, 6'1'', 195 lbs.

- Ducks kind of player, future third-line, two-way center.

23.) Pittsburgh Penguins- Jonathan Miller, C, 6'1'', 200 lbs.

- Surprise pick, going with a center, but mix of size and skill, on top of an impressive performance in the U-18 championship tournament, give Penguins the impressive aura of a BPA pick. Can always move to wing to accommodate Crosby-Malkin-Staal.

24.) Detroit Red Wings- Oscar Klefbom, D, 6'3'', 200 lbs.

- Impressive two-way Swedish defensemen skyrocketing up the rankings will go a long way towards stabilizing Detroit's blueline corps.

25.) Toronto Maple Leafs-Ty Rattie, RW, 6'0'', 170 lbs.

- Speedy sniper out of Portland a few years away, but could be one of the more offensively proficient players in the draft.

26.) Washington Capitals- Tomas Jurco, RW, 6'2'', 193 lbs.

- Flashy sniper has a chance to be an electrifying offensive player, or the next Rob Schremp. Skills very worthy of the 26th overall pick, but must work on two-way play and consistency to be a difference-maker at the NHL level.   

27.) Tampa Bay Lightning- David Musil, D, 6'3'', 190 lbs.

- Defenseman has good size, underwhelmed scouts this season; boom or bust pick for the Lightning.

28.) San Jose Sharks- Jonas Brodin, D, 6'1'', 170 lbs.

- Outstanding skater a good fit in San Jose.

29.) Toronto Maple Leafs- Tyler Biggs, RW, 6'2'', 200 lbs.

- Once considered a top-10 talent, falls to back of first round where Toronto gladly scoops up, at worst, a third-line grinder and at best, a top-six power forward.

30.) Vancouver Canucks- Scott Mayfield, D, 6'3'', 175 lbs.

- Although he's likely two-to-three years away from the NHL, the Canucks will gladly take a flier on a shutdown D-man, especially with the likelihood of Kevin Bieksa and/or Christian Ehrhoff about to depart as free agents