Staple: Islanders, Rangers earnfans' trust

It's about trust.

Islanders and Rangers fans have been burned for trusting their teams' front offices during the last decade when it comes to making good on high draft picks.

Gordie Clark selected the right guys for Mike Milbury's Islanders, but they ended up succeeding for other teams after Milbury traded them away. Glen Sather's first few drafts produced precious little in the way of NHL-ready talent for the Rangers, who relied on big bucks instead of scouting smarts to try and win.

Things have changed. The Islanders, with Garth Snow and Ryan Jankowski in charge, have put their high picks to good use. John Tavares got the loudest ovation at Friday night's draft party at the Coliseum; Nino Niederreiter didn't get much of an ovation, simply because even the hardcore fans have a hard time figuring out who should go where after the top two picks.

And with Clark running the draft for the Rangers now, the trust factor is steadily going up. The Rangers had picked in the top 10 only twice before in Sather's tenure; in 2001, goalie Dan Blackburn went 10th to the Rangers. In 2004, goalie Al Montoya went sixth. Neither one panned out, not even close.

There were plenty of names swirling around at No. 10, including American-born defenseman Cam Fowler, who had been rated as high as No. 4 and was passed over by several teams, the Islanders included, as forwards were in vogue.

But Clark had his man in mind. Dylan McIlrath is at least two years away, but he has what the Rangers have long lacked: meanness, toughness.

Anyone who saw Flyers brawler Daniel Carcillo exchange punches with Marian Gaborik while the rest of the Rangers watched in a game last season knows that John Tortorella's team was missing something in that area.

McIlrath has that, even at 18. At 20 or 21, he might be able to step in and bring an edge that the team doesn't have.

Rangers fans will have to trust that Clark, as sharp a scout as there is, made the right call.

"That's the guy we wanted all along," a Rangers source said right after the pick. "We stuck to the plan."

The Islanders' plan has been to stockpile talent and restock a farm system that was barren when Snow took over four years ago. Niederreiter is a big scoring winger, the sort Snow clearly can envision riding shotgun with John Tavares for years to come.

Snow and Jankowski had a chance to grab Fowler to join a group of solid prospects on defense. They could have taken Brett Connolly, the prolific scorer with injury issues who went sixth to the Lightning.

Niederreiter was projected to go between eight and 14. He, too, likely will not be in the NHL next season. His big frame needs some filling out, and, at the tender age of 17 - he turns 18 in September - he doesn't need to be rushed to Long Island.

A few Islanders fans grumbled as they left the Coliseum. "That guy won't keep us from being right back in the lottery next year," one said.

It's time for a little trust. Both teams have earned it of late.