PHILADELPHIA — One guy lauded for character, one guy plummeted because of character, and the Islanders don’t really give a hoot what the perception of the first round of their draft was.
As a matter of fact, general manager Garth Snow had a little more choice selection of words while in reference to the Canadian media.
“They can’t sh-t on me any more than they already do up there,” Snow said.
What happened on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center was Snow and his Islanders surprisingly taking center stage. First, they held onto their No. 5-overall selection and took 18-year-old winger Michael Dal Colle, whose mother, Wendy, is a breast-cancer survivor and whose brother, Jonluca, has autism.
Yet the real fireworks came when Snow traded his two second-round picks, Nos. 35 and 57 overall, to the Lightning in exchange for No. 28. With that pick — which was originally the Rangers’ before they sent it along in the Ryan Callahan-Martin St. Louis swap — Snow chose much-maligned forward Josh Ho-Sang.
Having said in the lead-up to the draft that, “In three years, I’ll be the best player in this draft, and I have no doubt,” the multi-racial star from Toronto already had ruffled feathers.
And if those ruffled feathers allowed him to be ripe for Snow’s picking, then he certainly didn’t mind.
“I care that we win,” Snow said. “We get the players that we feel can help us win a championship, and we don’t give a sh-t what anyone else thinks.”
He then paused for a quick moment before adding, “Except our fans, of course.”
The fact was Snow and his scouting department had targeted Ho-Sang in the time prior, interviewing him twice doing their homework on the 18-year-old, who had 35 goals and 85 points for Windsor of the OHL last season.
“They took the time to get to know me,” said Ho-Sang. “I think I’m just different because I see the world a little bit different. I think I’m outspoken and I’m a little more opinionated than most people like. But I think that’s just part of growing up. I’m learning the areas where I can and can’t be, and I’m just working on that.”
Though Snow shopped the No. 5 pick throughout the past month, he never got a deal that he thought worthy. After big defenseman Aaron Ekblad went No. 1 to the Panthers, Snow was happy in his spot taking Dal Colle with the selection, as the winger had 39 goals and 95 points in 67 games for Oshawa of the OHL last season.
“Hockey-sense, he knows where to be round the ice,” Snow said about Dal Colle. “Those things you can’t really teach.”
Then when Snow saw the opportunity to move up and take Ho-Sang, he jumped.
“We have this currency, a couple extra picks,” Snow said. “Let’s use them and get the player we identified. We didn’t want to wake up tomorrow and have any regrets.”
The same can be said for Ho-Sang, and his attitude leaving the biggest moment of his young career.
“Everybody has their opinion on how I spoke out and what I said and my arrogance,” Ho-Sang said. “But it’s nothing like that. I’m calm and collected and I believe in myself. People can take that however they like.”
The Devils selected John Quenneville with the 30th-overall selection. Quennveille is the second-cousin to Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, and his uncle-by-marriage is Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk.