Monthly Archives: September 2008
The Islanders’ defense for 2008-09 will be probably be underrated in most season previews in the media and likely even by their opponents. Let’s make the leap that the D will look something close to this:
Witt – Martinek
Streit – Hillen
Sutton – Meyer
Campoli (inj.), Gervais
Of course, what’s missing is a 30-minute, all-zone stud that many contenders have (although Carolina did not when they won the Cup). As the Islanders build, Garth Snow will have to decide when the time is right to add one. They do not have one in the system. Snow’s next opportunity – since the Islanders are way under the cap – will be in the first round of the 2009 draft in June and if Jay Bouwmeester becomes an unrestricted free agent in July.
After the Islanders’ back 8, the team could run into trouble during the year if there is an injury crisis. If Jack Hillen (on a two-way deal) starts the year in Bridgeport (AHL), he may be the only other dman on the roster you could play in an NHL game and feel reasonably confident. Beyond Hillen, the Islanders have just one home-grown prospect that could play in the NHL at some point this season: Dustin Kohn.
The 21-year old Kohn is not ready to play long stretches at the NHL level and his development could be hindered if he is asked to do too much too soon. Since the Islanders are committed to developing their prospects, they will not rush Kohn into the lineup just because they may be shorthanded on defense.
If the Islanders choose to go with veteran American Leaguers as injury substitutes before giving Hillen and Kohn NHL time, the choice would likely come down to three new Bridgeport Sound Tigers:
Joe Callahan
Chris Lee
Brett Skinner
Callahan is coming off a strong regular season and eye-opening playoff with Portland and, at 26, may be the Sound Tiger most ready for the occasional promotion.
Lee had a solid season with Iowa and – heck – the 27-year old played three years for SUNY-Potsdam, so how can you not root for him?
Skinner is a 25-year old former Canucks prospect who has tantalized scouts in the past and had his best season as a pro last year under Scott Gordon with the Providence Bruins.
These three young men combine for a grand total of zero games of National Hockey League regular season experience. This is where Kenny Morrow and the pro scouts earn their money, or get grief at their year-end reviews.
An option for Snow is to add a player via a trade or the waiver wire when the need arises. It makes no sense to do a deal before the season even gets started because then you have a Freddy Meyer situation where someone you want to keep has to clear waivers. Snow will likely have his list ready, check the wire daily, and could easily make a move when he really has to.
There is no doubt in my mind that at some point during the season Snow will have to.
Just got a call from a mole in Moncton who tells us Sean Bergenheim took a full practice this morning after sitting out the last few with an injury. Now if I can only get Sean to tell me the story of why he switched agents this summer.
For those of you that have emailed me about the issue of Islanders pre-season games on the television, I should have a column on the subject late this evening after I obtain some final bits of information. Thanks so much for a wonderful first 48 hours. Got any questions? Drop them in the Comments area.
R.I.P. Paul Newman, humanitarian and star of stage and screen – including the best hockey movie ever.
(editor’s note: B.D. Gallof is an original member of the NYI Blog Box and a featured blogger on The Site That Cannot Be Named. A recent champion of a blogosphere-wide Photoshop competition on Puck Daddy – he had Gary Bettman stand in for the King of Sparta in “300″ – Gallof will be a contributor and guest editor on Point Blank. I’d also like to personally thank him for his assistance prior to launch…CB).
LUDICROUS SPEED
Coach Gordon Channeling “Spaceballs?”
by B.D. Gallof
When Scott Gordon took over, I thought he was the best man for the job. It was his time, and the Isles were his perfect place to set up shop. Sure, the vets might say they want to compete now. But the reality is, this year the NY Islanders are pockmarked with missing elements and attributes. This is not a terrible thing; it allows the kids to take advantage of opportunity to show their stuff. I think many of us have been waiting for a clear vision and commitment to give playing time to those that are the promise of a better future, vet wishes or not.
There are severe holes on goals, offensive output, and even top defensemen. This is not to say there is no quality within. But, ladies and gentlemen, much is either slightly over the hill or just below the slope upward. So, Gordon is no fool. He’s got a plan.
Gordon’s known strength is making mediocre teams better by installing a system and also being very prepared. Knowledge is power. But it will only go so far. Upon training camp, he has installed some base to create some structure. He’s put forth something for Islander players to hold onto. Something conceptual, if not nebulous, if not maybe even spiritual…
He has given them OVERSPEED.
Huh?!?
What??!?!
If you didn’t know, a hockey player is capable of playing at four different speeds: sub-light speed, light speed, ridiculous speed, and…well… clearly, Scott Gordon is channeling his Mel Brooks by having them play . . .
Obviously, Gordon is not planning for this team to don a pair of rockets on their skate boots to somehow overcome scoring and defensive liabilities. For the Isles are not the speediest or agile of teams. So what was Coach Gordon thinking?
Perhaps ludicrous is right? Maybe. Then you look deeper under the surface. The concept Gordon has devised is really quite nifty.
Do you know what the term overspeed means in athletics? Probably not, since nobody has really wrestled with it, simply too stunned or flabbergasted by its introduction this training camp in Moncton.
OverSpeed: in the sports industry means that a player moves his body or limbs of the body at speeds higher than normal competitive speeds. OverSpeed actually requires a lot of training, including a regimen that requires athletes to run 8-13 percent faster than they are capable. This program is actually used in the sports training industry, first developed for college soccer players who needed to get up to speed fast, especially when there are no rivals or competition that can raise their game. Instead, the high-end training raises it instead. They become their own competition, raising themselves and the stakes.
Done correctly, it can raise a player’s level up anywhere from 10 to 20% according to a few websites and doctor-driven articles.
But, is this really Scott Gordon’s plan? Will he be channeling his Burgess Meredith? Does he plan on making the Isles into a team that will train for Apollo Creed chasing live chickens? Or is this more just picking up a loose buzzword and concept, and redressing it for a live mantra on the ice.
Bingo!
Per the Isles website:
“The essence of the style is to be constantly moving and getting the puck up the ice quickly. It’s all about high speed with and without the puck and putting pressure on the opposition.”
Well, that’s very different from the real applied concept. But the same idea is there at heart: How to get more from little. Or, to be blunt, draw water from a stone. Gordon wants up-tempo speeds, quick decisions, and committed actions on that ice. This is more than prepared strategy and quick implementation. It is asking for a level of activity that will not just outwork the other team. It is, by process, in a small long-term way to raise the Isles level of play day in-and-out, so over the long haul, they get better. Perhaps raising exponentially their output where the training of overspeed is applied in each game.
So, at the bigger picture, maybe Overspeed does fit. Maybe Gordon is onto something?
Sure it is simplified, even far-removed from the defined applied use. But, it might be basic and simple enough to work and be taken to heart by a team that needs something to grasp onto. This team is starved for something like this. This team must come out with something to offset gaps in talent and offensive output. Activity and tempo, besides poise and some good moxy, can be the difference of closely fought games.
This won’t be an easy year for Isles player and fan. It’s a tough NHL out there. The best system for those without top tier talent, oodles of cash, and draft boons up the ying-yang is something that they all believe in heart and soul. That’s all it takes.
Overspeed is more than just some gimmick. It is a philosophy that needs to be absorbed and held even if the Isles take a string of losses. It will take time to instill, condition and might be sporadic on the results. It is the right idea, and deserves player commitment.
So fellow Isles fans, may the Schwartz be with you.
Tagged blog box, gallof, Islanders, NHL, overspeed, Scott Gordon, spaceballs |We’ve covered the existence of Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais, Radek Martinek and Freddy Meyer as near-mortal locks on the Islanders’ blueline and also left room for your Mr. Hillen. Here’s the trio of veteran defensemen that completes them.
MARK STREIT
6-0, 200 pounds, 30 years old
Rating: 3.0
Contract: first year of 4-year deal signed this summer
2008-09 salary: $4.1 million
Scout’s Take: “I had him on my list and my team looked at him but in the end we weren’t willing to give four years at his price after just 3 years in the NHL…The stuff about whether he’s a defenseman or a forward is stupid. He’s an offensive defenseman and he’ll get at least 40 points for the Islanders no matter what style they play…Streit is not the disaster in his own end that Bergeron was for the Islanders, but if I’m the Gordon I’m playing him with Martinek, who has the wheels to get back and cover for him.”
Point Blank: Pals in Montreal say he is a team player and should be a good fit with all the youngsters on defense because he doesn’t act like he invented the game. Still, 4 mill a year for four years is a rich investment, so Snow needs to have gotten this right. Gordon started Streit with Chris Campoli in camp before Chris was injured. It’s not where you start…
ANDY SUTTON
6-6, 245 pounds, 33 years old
Rating: 3.0
CCE: Plus. Gordon will give Andy more minutes.
Contract: second year of 3-year deal signed summer, 2007
2008-09 salary: $3 million
Scout’s Take: “I wasn’t a big fan when he was in Atlanta and thought the Islanders gave him too much last summer. (laughs) Scouts almost always think the other teams overpaid…I thought Sutton was excellent for about six weeks before he had that nasty injury that knocked him out for the year. The Islanders were thin because of all the injuries and Sutton was one of the guys carrying them…He’s a guy that, if he has his best year from start to finish, he can help the Islanders push for a playoff spot.”
Point Blank: I thought Sutton took a little while last season getting comfortable on Long Island and with his new team. Over time, he became tight pals with Rick DiPietro, stepped up his game and – the scout nailed it – he was exceptional before his season-ending injury. Word out of Moncton is Sutton came to camp in phenomenal shape.
BRENDAN WITT
6-2, 220 pounds, 33 years old
Rating: 4.0
CCE: Plus. Witt played well for him, but as you may have heard there was a disconnect between Nolan and a few of his veteran leaders.
Contract: two-year extension begins in ’09-10
2008-09 salary: $3 million
Scout’s Take: “I don’t think I was the only scout who thought maybe all those years of standing in there might have taken a toll, but Witt changed my mind last year. He was on a team that was fighting for, at best, one of the last playoff spots. He could have mailed it in like we’ve seen guys do all the time. But Witt did the opposite and won a ton of respect around the league… Snow made a great move locking him up. Even if Witt slows down that last year, the Islanders got a good deal.”
Point Blank: You’d think Witt wouldn’t have anything left to prove in the NHL after all these years, but he was pretty remarkable last year before the team finally shut him down. It wasn’t even a contract year for the veteran, but he played his nuts off and the team rewarded him with a contract extension in July. He gets pumped to play a Crosby or Ovechkin when I’ve seen other veteran defensemen not want the challenge with young stars because they think they can’t catch up. Some players talk about how they like the team and like it here. Witt backed it up by agreeing to a deal that could have been matched (or surpassed) by a dozen teams next summer.
Next: The blueline prospects closest to primetime and the minor league veterans most likely to be recalled from Bridgeport in a pinch.
Here’s the expected Islanders lineup for Saturday when they play the Florida Panthers on Prince Edward Island:
Forwards: Trent Hunter, Jon Sim, Frans Nielsen, Trevor Smith, Kurtis McLean, Kyle Okposo, Mike Iggulden, Jeremy Colliton, Sean Bentivoglio, Mitch Fritz, Rob Hennigar, Tim Jackman
Defensemen: Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek, Chris Lee, Jack Hillen, Mark Streit, Brett Skinner
G: Joey MacDonald, Yann Danis
Greg Logan has a comprehensive report from today’s camp session in Moncton here. Scott Gordon told Greg that his lineup Saturday would be “based on health.”
To the readers emailing me about Jeff Tambellini not getting in the ex games, I assume Jeff is still out with his below-the-neck injury. Bergenheim too, with whatever he’s got. Even if I was in Moncton, I doubt I’d find out.
Plus: the shocking story of the national magazine article that never was!
Some may get a giggle over the notion the Islanders are holding training camp in Moncton right now and Ted Nolan, the former head coach of the Moncton Wildcats, is no longer the head coach of the Islanders. This is like the National Hockey League scheduling the Rangers to play a season-opening game in Prague with Jaromir Jagr no longer on the squad. Oops.
But this isn’t the first time the Islanders had a camp destination and the town advocate wasn’t there. In September of 2003 the team scheduled a week of camp in Wheeling, West Virginia at the nudge of Peter Laviolette, who coached a year there in the East Coast Hockey League. The Islanders made it to Wheeling, but Pete did not.
Of course, it’s a bit awkward to have camp in Moncton and not have Ted there – although I wouldn’t be surprised if Ted ends up back with the Wildcats soon in some capacity. But when an NHL franchise does a deal for a camp location, the contract is between team and municipality. Very little hinges on whether the person who made the recommendation is still going to be around. I would expect the percentage of Monctonians jacked to host the Islanders has not changed from this September to last. The team is back in Moncton because they felt the city, its facilities and its embrace were exceptional.
In the case of the Islanders, GM assistant Kerry Gwydir heads up an advance team to check out the town, hotel and rink accommodations. Kerry comes back to Garth Snow with his suggestions and then negotiations with the city begin. The team’s experience in Moncton last year was a positive one. If the Islanders have a third camp there next September, call it a love affair between team and town.
(By the way, the hockey staff will tell you it’s imperative the team goes away for the first week of training camp. The sales and marketing department – especially for a team like the Islanders that has tickets to sell – may not agree. On the media side, it’s mostly a wash. The odds of the Daily News sending a writer to Islanders camp in Syosset are about the same as them sending one to New Brunswick).
Wheeling was so-so, but there’s a reason I’ll never forget our trip there. About two months before camp in ’03, I approached a major national magazine with the idea of doing an all-access piece on an NHL team spending a week of training camp in the beautiful woods of West Virginia. With the approval of Islanders management, I was able to provide the writer and photographer access to everything – roster cuts, meetings, meals. Nothing was off-limits.
We get to Wheeling and everything is going magnificently. For the writer, there are plenty of storylines and a few whiffs of controversy. The players, six to a group, are staying in cottages – lending a rustic touch to the story. The photographer hired by the magazine – we’re told he is an award-winner for his work covering international conflicts – is over the moon with the access and the vistas. He’s completely ga-ga, in hindsight peculiarly ga-ga.
To be honest, I’m distracted during my daily showdowns with Alan Hahn for world’s worst golfer because I’m thinking I’m gonna be a frickin’ hero when the mag is published.
We’re back on Long Island two days when I get a call from the writer. The masterwork of the award-winning war photo-journalist? None of it came out.
I press for details, but they’re sketchy. Sensing the magazine is more than a little humiliated, I back off. Maybe the artiste never took the lens cap off. Maybe he didn’t realize he needed a flash when shooting in dark cabins at six in the morning. Maybe, just maybe, he really wasn’t an award-winning war photojournalist.
Like Jagr in Prague, Lavi in Wheeling and Ted in Moncton, sometimes life doesn’t turn out exactly as you planned. You make the best of it.
A text to Garth Snow tonight was returned with a note that the Islanders are unable to provide an official update on the status of Chris Campoli’s injury, suffered in Tuesday’s ex game. You’d have to think the Islanders would have a full report on Campoli from their doctors on Friday. Jeff Tambellini (“below the neck,” according to Scott Gordon) and Sean Bergenheim are also injured.
Greg Logan has a story on his blog with some important detail on how NHL teams are reporting injuries this season – which is not reporting them at all. I spoke about this on XM NHL Home Ice today (link to interview in entry below) and will follow this story over the next few weeks after digging around some more.
What’s known is the general managers of the NHL – not the Board of Governors, not the Players Association, not the league office, not PR – pushed hard to essentially have no injury policy. This is an inane decision that no doubt will have major ramifications. And it’s unlikely to be pretty. Simply put, I don’t think the Boys Club thought this baby through. Prediction: they’ll be forced to re-group on it by Christmas.
Another one: commentators will wonder why the National Football League does full disclosure on injuries, but the NHL can’t.
Just wait til a major market writer decides to use a reliable source to make his own season-ending injury announcement about a star player. Oh, I pray the confrontation is in a locker room hallway where I’m standing.
Logan points out in his blog how a player can have a serious injury and be shamed as the team refuses to disclose why he’s not playing. Fans see these players on the arena concourse, looking sharp in their GQ suits, and wonder why the heck they’re not out there battling for their team.
For the Islanders and other teams that strive to communicate with their fans with integrity, I would suggest they consider their own team policy regarding the announcement of injuries. Islanders president Chris Dey has made strong strides opening doors to the fans, even going on Islandermania to clarify issues. When it comes to injuries, a balance between protecting your players and informing your fans can certainly be struck.
Above everything else, National Hockey League teams might want to feel an obligation to their ticket-buyers to tell the truth about whether their favorite players are going to be in the lineup.
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