I don’t remember this much media scrutiny of any club prior to the NHL Entry Draft. This is the most media attention the NY Islanders have received since their Dynasty years, maybe even more. The coveted first overall draft pick has put the Islanders stoic GM under the Hubble Telescope. When every hockey media outlet in North America is speculating and waiting for Garth to give any indication as to what name he will speak at the podium on Friday night, you can only compare it to Britany Spears paparazzi caliber pressure. It’s too much.

To all those who have questioned, scrutinized and predicted what the big man will do on Friday, I say this… It’s Thursday. You will all get your answer tomorrow night, so time to BACK OFF!

If those outlets that are positive the NY Islanders will actually select John Tavares, then this has been the most brilliant PR move ever carried out by the Islanders. They capitalized on Garth’s innate dislike of the media and cameras. His answers are simple, monotone and non-committal. You will get no answer from Garth Snow that he does not want to give. You will get silence or a well crafted script.

We know that the prospect Garth and company had their eye on months ago is still the one they want tomorrow. -- Okay.

We know the organization did their “due diligence” in carrying out “the process.” -- Okay.

We know that each of the three top ranked draftees have tremendous up-sides and can each potentially be an impact player on any team. -- Cool. It’s all good.

We know that both Matt Duchene and John Tavares have the same agent. -- Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

We know that both Matt Duchene and John Tavares spent time with the Snow family. -- Getting to know them was a key part of “the process.”

BUT… what we don’t know is -- Who gets the Rose? Wait; is that too female a reference? Crap, I didn’t even watch The Bachelor. Okay, so who gets the new - old style royal blue jersey?

In today’s Newsday, Greg Logan had a few quotes from Chris Dey, Islanders team President, that put the decision making squarely on Garth Snow’s shoulders. “I fully believe and trust in Garth and his staff to get us that star player they believe is perfect for us.” And “I’ve always told Garth to do exactly what he feels he needs to do, and everything will take care of itself.” With luck, those statements will put to rest speculation that non-hockey ops dictate hockey decisions.

Tomorrow night’s draft party will be the largest event this season for the Islanders -- should all 20,000 ticket holders show up. On NHL Live today, Billy Jaffe said he wasn’t sure how more fans could show up for a draft party than an actual game. He went on to say if only 10,000 show up, that would be astounding. Well, considering the tickets are free and the entertainment will make the kids happy, why wouldn’t fans show up?

But a word of caution to all those attending or waiting with baited breath for the announcement elsewhere. Please do not be disappointed if the name called is not that of John Tavares. If it isn’t JT, there will be valid reasons that we are not privy to resulting in the decision to go with someone else. Many hours of research goes into making these draft choices. Building a team is not easy. So many aspects need to be considered.

So consider Matt Duchene as a very logical choice for the New York Islanders considering his talent and his “character” and what he plans to accomplish.

Consider that Garth makes this decision knowing he will have to live with it his entire career. And I’ll consider that I’ll get flashed that broad smile as he asks me once again, “So… Did I surprise you, Dee?”

If it’s Matt Duchene I will be able to honestly answer, “No.”

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