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de Haan (left) plus Gudbranson would be big for the NYI

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As someone who would like to see championship-contending hockey in Uniondale in the nearish future, I was disappointed the Islanders’ 8% didn’t come through in the Draft Lottery last night.

As someone who writes about the team and the league, I was disappointed for another reason. It would have been fascinating to watch a pair of premier offensive talents in John Tavares and Taylor Hall grow together on Long Island. It would have been equally fascinating to see if the Islanders could flourish as a team and hold on to both players well past unrestricted free agency at age 26.

Of course, not only is that getting way too far ahead of ourselves, the point is now moot. The best thing that happened to the Islanders on Tuesday is that they didn’t slip back to sixth.

So the debate begins: what will the Islanders do with the fifth overall pick?

In order from most likely to least (or no chance at all)…

1. Stay at 5 and take the best available player. No matter how the first four shake out, the Islanders will have a multitude of terrific 18-year-olds to choose from with the fifth pick. One from the name-brand trio of defensemen Cam Fowler, Erik Gudbranson and Brandon Gormley, plus first-line wing prospect Brett Connolly, will be available.

Fowler and Connolly would be slight risk/huge upside home runs, game-changers if they pan out. Gudbranson is this year’s Luke Schenn – but better, because he hasn’t played an NHL game yet (if you know what I mean). Gormley is the safe bet, the buzz-free sure thing who will be a top-four defenseman.

The Islanders could also decline to go chalk. This is how it works. If one kid aces his psychological/hockey I.Q. exam, and Garth Snow and Charles Wang have a hunch about him, he will be an Islander. That’s what happened with the move down for Josh Bailey, with mixed results so far. That’s what happened with the move up for Calvin de Haan (promising, though very much tbd). That’s even what happened with John Tavares, you can be sure.

One thing you can also bank on: the Islanders will take the best available forward or defenseman. They are still not deep enough at either position to consider otherwise.

2. Trade down. If Seguin, Hall, Fowler and Gudbranson are gone by the time the Islanders bat fifth, and team medical staffers are squeamish over the medical reports on Connolly’s hip, there is an excellent chance of another Bailey bonanza.

Make no mistake: there will be at least a half-dozen teams desirous of one of the prospects at 5. The Islanders could acquire additional second and third round picks, depending on how far they are willing to move down. I do not see Snow moving past the tenth overall pick.

If the Islanders move to the 7-10 range, some of the youngsters in play for the Islanders would be Gormley, USA defenseman Derek Forbort or – you guessed it – Swiss cult hero Nino Niederreiter.

3. Trade up to 3 or 4. Same deal. Impeccable psych test + impressive meeting on Long Island = Snow pushing for a bold trade to make sure a Fowler, Connolly or Gudbranson does not leave his grasp. A move from 5 to 3 or 4 would not be cost-prohibitive for the Islanders.

4. Trade up to 1 or 2. Not happening. Edmonton and Boston will not give up the chance to draft Hall or Seguin. The Islanders do not have the assets to entice, nor can they afford to give up too much of the store.

“It’s an exciting time to be an Islanders fan,” said GM Garth Snow – always trying to sell tickets, always trying to sell something the rare times he issues a public statement - to Newsday after getting the fifth pick that comes with finishing in 26th place.

Not quite yet, sir. Just about every team in the league has prospects their fans can get excited about. The best teams in the East are going to stay that way a long time. After qualifying for the playoffs, Boston just got a lot better.

Nevertheless, the table is set for Snow to deliver. He has cap space. He has Andy Sutton’s $3 million to spend. He has an additional $6 mill in unessential unrestricted free agents freed up. And that’s all just to get to the salary cap floor. As he has said repeatedly for two years, Snow has the money to spend above and beyond to make his team better. Now he has the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.

The GM is not quite right. It should be an exciting time to be an Islanders fan. If he takes care of business at the NHL level between draft week and when most of the key trade and free agent activity subsides in mid-July, then there will be reason to be primed for 2010-11.

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