On Sunday, The Hockey News' draft guru and co-host of the Staff and Graph podcast Rachel Doerrie joined the Hockey Night in New York crew to discuss who the New York Islanders could take at No. 49.

NASHVILLE -- We have arrived at the 2023 NHL Draft, which will begin on ESPN at 7 PM ET. 

Due to the Bo Horvat trade, the New York Islanders are without a first-round pick. 

The Islanders have picks every round following round one, besides their third-rounder due to moving Andrew Ladd to the Arizona Coyotes in 2021. 

READ MORE: Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello Shares Pre-Draft Updates

On Sunday, The Hockey News' draft guru and co-host of the Staff and Graph podcast Rachel Doerrie joined the Hockey Night in New York crew to discuss who the Islanders could take at No. 49. 

"When you get to that point, there are going to be guys that that shouldn't be there that are available," Doerrie said. "Regardless of position, you need to take that guy.

Doerrie mentions three potential steals in left-shot defenseman Tanner Molendyk, right-shot defenseman Lukas Dragicevic, and center Gracyn Sawchyn.  

Per Doerrie's The Hockey News Draft Rankings, she ranked Molendyk 28th, Dragicevic 39th, and Sawchyn 32nd.

Her favorite of the three for New York is Sawchyn, so let's dive into why. 

Gracyn Sawchyn

The Islanders, like many teams, love versatility, and that's something Sawcyhn brings. 

"He's a very versatile player, plays all over the ice, plays on the power play and the penalty kill," Doerrie said. "I kind of think Sawchyn is exactly what the Islanders need, and I sort of hope he gets to them."

The 18-year-old Seattle Thunderbird center -- the same team Mathew Barzal played for in juniors -- was a point-per-game player this past season with 18 goals and 40 assists in 58 games. 

Besides the consistent point production, there's another aspect of Sawchyn that stands out to Doerrie, and that's his character.

"The other thing that really matters with the New York Islanders is Gracyn Sawchyn is  a really high-character guy," Doerrie said. "Talking to people that were at the combine, they do a bunch of off-ice testing, but they also do mental testing, and Sawchyn graded really high on a lot of those tests. He's a really impressive human being as well."

Doerrie dives into a few more options, how amateur scouts and NHL scouts operate, especially in the world of analytics, as well as providing her outlook on the Islanders off-season. 

Catch the full show here: 

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