Top 5 Storylines for the NHL 2009 Draft

The 2009 NHL Draft is the 47th NHL Entry Draft. It will take place over the course of two days (instead of three) at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The reason why it's Montreal this year is to go with the Centennial Celebration for the Canadiens organization.

There are tons of rumours as to who the New York Islanders will take with their number 1 overall pick in the 2009 draft. There are discussions as to who the consensus number 1 pick is, between John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene. Here we'll take a look at the Top 5 story lines regarding the pick and the players in the draft.

1) With the #1 Pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Islanders pick...

In a recent interview with current General Manager for the New York Islanders, Garth Snow mentioned that he does have a name in mind and he knows which name he will call at the podium in Montreal. Whether or not the name is John Tavares has yet to be determined publicly. There are also players such as Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene who make their case to be number one for this year's entry draft. GM Garth Snow will be happy with who he selects regardless of who it's going to be this year. The idea of a possible franchise forward who has broken every record in scoring during his junior years is surely to help along the way on Long Island. With all the young talent, who's to say Tavares won't make an immediate impact? He does have help.

With young talent already developing in the farm system and in the NHL for the Islanders, maybe a talented defenceman is more the fancy of Snow, because with the impact Hedman does have for a team is like comparing him to Ray Bourque, Chris Pronger, or Nicklas Lidstrom. With each player, it's hard to tell who exactly Garth Snow will announce on June 26th, especially if he's not giving hints (Got Stamkos?).

My Prediction: They need on Long Island to score goals, reliable defence is available on the free agency market. John Tavares' name will be announced and will be with the Isles long-term to help them back to the success of the early 1980's.

2) Possible destination for superstar John Tavares:

There are 3 possible destinations for Tavares and they go as follows:

New York Islanders: The Islanders pick him, he plays in the NHL immediately and makes a small impact (depending on what they do with free agency). He gets with the younger players already and gains chemistry over the years. He relies on the veteran players to guide him into the NHL at a young age.

Tampa Bay Lighting: The Bolts pick him, and either we see him with the likes of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St.Louis and Steven Stamkos or we see St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal shipped out of Tampa Bay. Do the Bolts take another chance at another forward when they have too many already? What type of ice-time will he receive when they have Lecavy, St. Louis, Prospal, and Stamkos up front? Will there be enough time to split between these five forwards? Whether they go with Tavares or not, there will always be questions surrounding the Tampa Bay organization. A laughing stock after winning the Stanley Cup in 2004, the Bolts need to get their act back together, and Tavares may help more than Stamkos. Plus, General Manager Brian Lawton is looking to pick Victor Hedman, though.

Colorado Avalanche: The Avs pick him and maybe they found someone who would be able to score goals since the departure of Peter Forsberg and possibly Joe Sakic. Maybe it takes off the pressure of Milan Hejduk and Marek Svatos. If Paul Statsny can stay healthy, he would be able to set-up Tavares a lot more than Hejduk and Svatos. If Tavares shows up to the Colorado camp, maybe the confidence of Hejduk, Svatos comes back and they start scoring goals. The Avs management may have a legitimate scorer but their weakness of defence may have to be resolved through free agency over the course of rebuilding.

My Prediction:1) NYI-John Tavares 2) Bolts-Victor Hedman 3) Avs-Matt Duchene

3) Who's trading the marbles?

There have always been dealing in the draft with picks for players or picks for picks. This year isn't any different. It's been said that General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brian Burke wants to move up significantly. Unfortunately there isn't much in Toronto they can ship away. After an early exit, GM Doug Wilson of the San Jose Sharks would definitely like to move up and there are a ton of underachievers on the team with a lot of potential to offer. But at this point, GM Garth Snow and the New York Islanders want to keep the number one pick and hopefully rebuild around the future.

But what if they did? Who would they trade it to?

Now the whole draft isn't stacked like the Top 3, so don't expect them take something too far down in the draft, unless of course they get a Joe Thornton caliber player in return, plus a few depth players. At this point, there are plenty of teams rebuilding and don't exactly have much to offer, except a pick and some prospects. The furthest they should look to go down is the 3rd pick. They're looking to get either Tavares, Hedman or Duchene. All talented and if the Avs want Hedman and the Isles don't mind picking Duchene or Tavares, then there shouldn't be any reason to stop them from trading down.

Will the Isles trade the Avs for the 3rd pick, knowing the Bolts will take Hedman if Tavares isn't available? Probably not.

My Prediction: Isles keep the number 1 overall pick.

4) Who's coming with me?

There are always surprises in the draft, but not particularly in the Top 5. Usually they are all clear cut. For a long time, it was considered that John Tavares was the consensus number 1 pick. Then a Swede showed up and played tremendous hockey overseas as a defenceman. All of a sudden it was a who is number one? Then during the course of the year, a forward named Matt Duchene played his heart out and moved up in rankings and now we have a three-way dance. The fact remains though, everyone is looking at Tavares but he and Hedman are franchise players. Someone could sneak up to the third pick. Look for Evander Kane to pop up and make a case for that spot. A feisty, hard nose played is something any team would want, especially if they can score goals like Kane.

My Prediction: There might not be any surprises this year in the Top 5.

5) Who is #1?

From the time John Tavares was considered for any draft, he's been number 1. The Ontario Hockey League created a rule to allow him early eligibility. He was the first name people thought of when the World Junior Tournament started. He's broken records at every level. He's impressed veterans and his fellow players. A pure goal-scorer is hard to find, and he's been able to score at every level, and even at higher levels with players older than him.

Victor Hedman played professional hockey for Modo hockey team in Sweden when he was just 16 years old. Impressive for the monster 18 year old. He's been ranked no lower than 2nd in the rankings among professionals and fans. He played internationally and won two silver medals. Both losing efforts to Team Canada. He played for the Sweden's National Men's Team when he was 17 years old. A successful season in Modo with 21 points in 43 games has made him into a solid blue-liner that doesn't shy away from the toughness and grind that comes with the National Hockey League.

I would love to make a case for Matt Duchene, but there is no way he makes the Number 1 or 2 pick. He's a tremendous player, but will not change a team like Tavares or Hedman.

My Prediction: There is no reason to think John Tavares has moved down. A goal-scorer is hard to come by with his vision, and work ethic. His determination will be what the New York Islanders want and are looking for in their future.

Make sure you watch the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at 7PM/EST, 4PM/PST on TSN or Versus.