OKPOSO, COMRIE READY TO GO
Islanders getting healthier, but roster moves ahead
1:00 pm, Iceworks - The Islanders may start to look a little more like a rebuilding team again, now that 20-year old right wing Kyle Okposo is set to return to the lineup when the Islanders play in Minnesota on Friday night.
The rest of the Islanders’ roster for this two-game trip, as of 1:00 today, was still very much up in the air. Before the Islanders board their 2:30 pm charter - or at least prior to tomorrow’s game - there are still decisions to be made.
Mike Comrie is confirmed to be back at center. “We’re excited to have Mike back,” said Scott Gordon. “He gives us a more proven offensive player in our lineup.”
Comrie could center Okposo, the St. Paul native who played his first collegiate game for the University of Minnesota in the Excel Energy Center, the home of the Wild. “I was terrible,” Okposo said today after practice. “I was so nervous, I could barely skate.”
The kid is also poised enough to understand the gravity of his team’s current plight. Asked how important if would be for the Islanders to win in Minnesota, Okposo said, “We just need a win anywhere, no matter how we get it. If we could win a game 1-0 in a shootout, I’m sure we’d take it.”
Stay tuned to Point Blank as we await any news of roster decisions.
Comments.
53 Responses to “OKPOSO, COMRIE READY TO GO
Islanders getting healthier, but roster moves ahead”
Please Wait
Walter and Fritz I would guess are going down.
You do realize that Logan is saying the opposite? That Comrie might not be back because of a “logjam”. I couldn’t really believe that.
Finally some good news. Hey I hate watching Comrie play, but we need any kind of offensive punch
Okposo rushed himself back for this game in Minnesota. Unfortunately, I think it may hurt him in the long run! I wish he would be shut down atleast one more week for a full heal, and then he can play.
Berginheim.Weight.Guerin
Comeau.Comrie.Okposo
Hilbert.Bailey.Hunter
Sim.Park.Jackman
Sutton.Streit
Witt.Meyer
Campoli.Pock
MacDonald
Danis
That Comeau-Comrie-Okposo line sounds pretty good 318
Fritz is the obvious cut for KO. My guess is, the “problem” is that Coach liked what he saw from Walter against the caps, and all season, his line has been “I don’t want to penalize players who have been playing well”. If it weren’t for the roster # limits, I’d put a 10% chance of Walter staying, sitting someone like Sim, and moving Park to a wing. But with the roster limits…the odds are probably closer to 1%.
Kyle and Comrie- Im definitely looking forward to seeing those two again!
i hope Comrie can perform well to bring up his trade value.
also maybe Okposo is rushing back so he can play in Minnesota, but if he returns and scores there it will give his confidence a major boost.
Like Okposo lit up the net when he was healthy. He’s just gonna be another 3rd liner at best. We are loaded with them.
Glad to have KO back. Hopefully Comrie will be playing with more energy now that he’s healthy.
Liked what I saw from Walter against Washington. Kid can skate and has a nose for the puck. Hope he doesn’t get sent back down yet.
I realize that it’s just the way things work out, but they dress Fritz against Pitts who were without Goddard, then they dress him to keep Brashear “honest” and play a pretty good game. Now the general speculation is that he sits against a team with Boogaard… Jackman’s gonna need plastic surgery after the season.
Fritz takes away the “roll four” aspect, but I hope that there is at least some thought in sitting Sim and Comrie (two guys who won’t be islanders in 2009-10) to give Walter a chance, and keep Bailey from having to be scraped off the half boards.
The team seems to be in a place now where they can afford healthy scratches, and Gordo said they would use Fritz in spots where they needed toughness. Nashville doesn’t have a heavy in the Fritz class anyway.. sit him Saturday.
Thanks for the good news CB! Okposo back in the lineup starting in MN, his hometown area… I hope that it’s a good start to a great rest-of-season for him. Having Comrie back should boost some of the long-time Islanders’ games too. Go-go Islanders, go-go!!
Maybe Kyle O will actually score some goals when he returns. You know, like the calder finalist he was SUPPOSED to be. What’s the excuse for him? Not enough ice time, like Trivino?
Bailey and Okposo should stay together they looked really good…
Also don’t forget Tambs comes back this weekend as well
My take:
Berginheim.Weight.Guerin
Comeau.Comrie.Hunter
Hilbert.Bailey.Okposo
Sim.Park.Jackman
I also think once Tambo is back he is going to replace Sim…
very glad to have kyle back. this should help bailey too. we really have to make some moves before noon tomorrow to make room for them. anxious to see what happens.
Not sure how anyone else feels about it, but I would love to see this line …and would love to see them get a ton of minutes (both 5 on 5 and on the PP)
Comeau-Bailey-Okposo
Let’s get a kid line rolling here …
Okposo needs a set-up guy to be successful. Someone to feed him pucks so he can finish. He hasn’t really scored any points since the first half of his first and only full season at Minnesota when he had playmaker Tyler Hirsch on his line. His second season (only half a season) at Minnesota was a big disappointment and he has been a disappointment so far here at the Isles. I wouldn’t expect much from him tomorrow night.
Probably they should send down those who can be sent down, make some moves, then call them back up…rather than forcing moves to guarantee roster spots. I’d hate to see someone like Comeau go down in favor of Sim or Tambs, but if Garth goes to teams who know he has to move players in a day’s time, he’ll probably get fleeced.
bottom line jbranny- the isles youth just isn’t very good. If you look around the league every good young player you notice on the ice. You just don’t notice Bailey anymore, or Comeau really. Okposo showed flashes and they are all very young but no young player the Isles have is better than a 2nd liner at best which is depressing.
Re: Fritz
What is the team’s record with FRITZ and without ?
I know that it seems foolish to “obsess” on Fritzie. That he is even on the roster is signs of how low the Isles stock has fallen in many regards.
But he is a deterrent to keep other teams from running our good players. I am not so familiar with the Wild and the Predators, but am aware of Boogard. Both he and Nick Schultz had 5 min major fighting penalties vs Calgary in their last game. Friday Night at home - you think Boogard will be looking for a dance partner ? He played 4:39 in the Calgary game - Fritz neutralizes him. The people who trade hockey fight tapes are excited about this one
Pat
I don’t know, the Isles have Weight and Bailey, both of whom can set up scorers. Comeau as well is more of an assist man than a goal scorer. If anything, the team lacks someone who can finish off those passes. In light of jbranny’s post, I’d put Okposo out there with Comeau and either of the two playmaking centers and see what happens.
Fritz plays about two shifts every game. If he played 6 or 7 minutes I think we could have a discussion, but having him on the team over a comeau or anyone for that matter makes no sense if Gordon won’t throw him out there for 2 or 3 shifts a period. If he isn’t out there then he can’t do anything to protect the young players.
i read this blog a few times a day and i cringe at most of the comments i read. Mostly everyone is a bunch of hypocrits. After a nice win its all “yea the future is bright” and loving the rebuild. After a loss or in this case a loosing streak its “we suck , snow sucks , gorden sucks , okposo sucks ” bla bla bla. Okposo will be fine, joe thorton a player whose style is similiar, had three goals and four assists in 55 games his rookie season on a crappy Boston team. Okposo will be much better in the future , on a much better islander team. Be patient , everyone called for a re-build so now live with it and especially keep the negative comments to yourself because they aren’t going to help this franchise turn it around any quicker
Did somebody on here post that KO will be nothing more then a 3rd liner? So at 20 yrs old and about 20 pro games he has hit his celing??? It’s posts like that, that mkae it hard to read all of these posts. I think I’m going to stick to just readingthe article and bypass this forum. It’s downright embarrassing at times.
To follow up volmeezy…. I get tough on the young players but we do have to be patient. These are Dustin Brown’s career numbers and he is now just 24.
2003-04 LA 31gm 1g 4a
2005-06 LA 79gm 14g 14a
2006-07 LA 81gm 17g 29a
2007-08 LA 78gm 33g 27a
2008-09 LA 31gm 12g 12a
Career 300gm 77g 86a
To an earlier post, Joe Thornton’s 1st three year stats:
1997–98 Boston Bruins 55gm 3g 4a
1998–99 Boston Bruins 81gm 16g 25a
1999–00 Boston Bruins 81gm 23g 37a
For the record, I never said KO will be nothing more than a 3rd liner. All I said is he needs a set-up guy to be effective. His numbers and performance the last two years prove that.
The Isles are not a terrible team. They are one star scorer and a couple of defensemen away from being a very good team. I would like to see them get rid of the older veterans who have proven to be dead weight. Giving time to guys like Comeau, Bailey, Colliton, Joensuu and a few others in Bridgeport the end of this season and early next would be much more productive than trying to resurrect the careers of a number of the guys on the roster now.
Note to PB readers… The word of the day is “perspective.” Look it up.
At the risk of calling out certain individuals who have recently posted these gems: “Isles youth just isn’t very good”… “You just don’t notice Bailey anymore”… “no young player the Isles have is better than a 2nd liner at best.” I suppose that’s at least better than someone thinking Okposo is “just gonna be another 3rd liner at best” or faulting him because he was SUPPOSED to be a Calder finalist by now (and don’t they vote on that at the END of the season, btw?).
Are you people kidding? Josh Bailey has played in a grand total of 17 NHL games, and Kyle Okposo has all of 27 NHL games under his belt. Just in case you missed this in their bios, they happen to be all of 19 (barely) and 20 years of age, respectively. Think maybe we could wait for them to be able to grow some facial hair before we label them as colossal failures (or 3rd liners)? How many players come into this league at 18 years old and light it up from day one? Go ahead, I’ll wait for you to do the research. Hint: It won’t take long.
Gotten to the point where CB could probably just write up the all-too-predictable negative comments along with any new blog entry he posts, because it’s the same damn thing no matter what the subject.
i agree with you jax, im going to read the article and just leave it at that. i will post every now and then but there are just some posts that make me get stressed out. anywho, i wanna see fritz fight boogaard. should be awsome. cant wait to see the moves
Give it time. Things will work out and KO will not be a 3rd liner. He will be a very good 2nd liner at worst.
I like to point to Ollie Jokinen as far as late bloomers. His stats just went off the charts and have stayed there after about five or six years of posting like 10 goals. I think you have to look more for potential in a lot of young players rather than results. Do they skate to the right places? Can they bring the game to their speed instead of always looking a step behind? Do they have good shots? Nice passes? Good positioning? Etc. With some young guys, they contribute a lot right off the bat. A lot do not, however. I think there is decent to good potential for Bergy, Comeau, KO, and Nielson. Bailey’s shown promise, but we haven’t seen much of him yet at all to make a judgment call.
I’m not going to get into a whole speach but I’ll just say this - the same people that are hating on the Isles prospects and are giving up on them after a handful of games will be the same people to kill Snow if they were dealt and bloomed somewhere else …
Marc- Besides Okposo and Bailey what young player on the Islanders has tremendous upside? There is nothing wrong with them being 2nd liners and good 2nd liners but beyond those two kids who else can we say that about? That is really my point and should have made that more clear as I read over my prior post. Okposo by the way has more than twice as many points than Dustin Brown did at this point in their careers.
Has anyone ever heard of the term development??
There are only a few special players who can step into the NHL, or NCAA at an extremely young age and be awesome immediately.
Steven Stamkos, Luke Schenn, Alex Pietrangelo, Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian, and Mikeal Bodeker aren’t lighting up the NHL so far this year….does this mean they are not going to be top flight players? NO it means that they are 18 and 19 years old and are adjusting and developing into the type of player they will become.
Not everyone lights the world on fire like Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin did. Thats what makes them superstars.
Drew Doughty is actually playing amazing and is the best player so far from that mix but you are right.
Lots of negativity, gloom, and doom on the island right now. what can we do? we all knew it was going to be like this, time to batten down the hatches and weather the storm. glad to see kyle and comrie back. hopefully they’ll add a little glimmer of hope. (even if it’s just the trade option on comrie)
all i can say is that garth has his work cut out for him. i really don’t think that many nhl teams are even interested in the vets that we’re looking to unload. i guess we’ll have to wait till the deadline to see.
Boedker’s doing fairly well also…I watch Phoenix quite a bit, actually. I think that team shows exactly how young kids play. Some games they look like an unstoppable wealth of talent. Other games they’re shut down very easily. Sometimes both scenarios happen in the same game.
AZS
I am ALL OVER YOU on that kid line of
Comeau-Bailey-Okposo.
Let’s go one step further and put ‘em on the #1 PP unit with Weight and Streit on the backline.
Let’s get THIS YOUTH MOVEMENT ROLLING!!!
Prospect = A player with potential to perform at high level during their career. It doesn’t equal star player as a prospect. As Isles 316 and Rob pointed out .. star players can start off slow.
We have to manage our expectations. These players are prospects playing in the NHL … They’re not just going to take over the league. I saw in the previous thread some people quoting Hockey’s Futures. I like Hockey’s Futures … I browse it from time to time .. entertaining .. I used to hold it up there as some kind of hockey prospect bible… reality is … it’s created by hacks that assemble articles and follow the game just as we do.
Last season I quoted Hockey’s Futures while using that as a source to support my debate on why Nolan should bring up Tamby last winter. The guy I was debating was a scouting analyst for a company that specializes in hockey players of all levels (N. America and Europe).
I must of looked like a moron to him. In hindsite I see how foolish I was to pin my debate on Hockey’s Futures. The guy I was debating was also once a prospect in the early 60s… Infact he belonged to the Habs… he never made it to the NHL because he had a career ending knee injury … but he stuck around the game and coached and then scouted.
He told me that the essense of scouting is a science, psychology and technique. Not everyone has that gift… He said that Hockey Future’s was a disingenuous (sp) pile of outdated, inaccurate and careless missinformation. He put it right there with Hockey Buzz… another site I enjoy browsing through sometimes.
He said the true real accurate scouting reports have to be paid for. He said scouting is hard enough for the pros, and also mentioned that it is nearly impossible to rate prospects on the same scale because of the variables … age, range of development, current league, playing time, current coaching, level of maturity, physical development, team mate talent level, injury, late bloomer or early burnout, quality of previous coaching … I can go on … but I forgot most of the variables he mentioned.
Sure … there are certain talents that stick out as can’t miss … but the NHL is also full of stars that weren’t highly regarded during their first couple of years of pro. Remember … we are mostly talking about guys 20 or under. Sure I’d feel better if I saw sites like Hockey’s Future list the Isles in the 10 ten … but what does that really mean anyway?
Julien … the name of the scout I’m referring to .. he also mentioned that over 80% of prospects didn’t match their projection during their careers. Either they fell short .. or the excelled above expectations. The other 20% were close to expectations … and Julien said that is actually an impressive record. That is how hard it is to rate players.
He said that is the problem with scouting players under 20 … it’s a best guess situation rating players that will either get better during their careers … or fade away.
He also pointed out to me that players usually hit their prime around 25 years old … and start fading around 28 - 30 … players above 30 that were stars during their mid to late 20s can sustain respectable #’s based on their skills and teammates (ex: Gretzky, Hull, Yzerman) … but find it very hard to keep the pace past 30 … even Gretzky couldn’t match his late 20s #’s once he was in his 30s… look it up. There are a handful of players (late bloomers) that actually excelled in their very late 20s into their mid 30s.
Sorry for the long post CB … I was just growing weary of the negativity … maybe you can corner some of those scouts you talk to and do a story on what intangables they look for when scouting players.
For what it’s worth, I wasn’t saying that guys like Bailey and Okposo are definitely going to be star players. They might, they might not. The point was that it’s WAY too early to be making judgments about them which include either hinting or flat-out stating that they are “failures” or won’t be anything better than 3rd liners. Anyone with even an ounce of common sense perspective should be able to understand that.
So who does have potential? I think both Bailey and Okposo have great potential, and others like Neilsen, Comeau, Bergenheim, an Campoli still have plenty more to go before they hit their peaks. Go ahead and cue the wise-ass remarks, but I also happen to think we haven’t yet seen the best out of guys like Tambellini, Gervais, and DiPietro, either.
This is obviously a team in transition (the very early stages of such), but by no means is the cupboard as bare as many here like to say.
I agree Marc, especially with Campoli and Gervais. It is said that D-men take the longest to develop. I think Tambs is better than what he has produced which is nothing. We do need to be patient but I understand why people are getting frustrated. It’s one thing to lose with young players growing but with the injuries and contracts we still had on guys we are watching a veteran team for the most part lose and that is very frustrating when we are rebuilding.
The Fritz as a “deterrent” argument is pretty weak. Motteau destroyed The Great Dane when Fritz was on the bench. Having a big goons on the bench as a “deterrent” became moot when bench clearing brawls were outlawed back in the stone age. A player is not going to care about a mountain man being on the bench when he decides to run someone especially when it is a guy that he won’t get into a fight with anyway because he’s a foot taller and a 100 pounds heavier.
Saw on TSN that a marginal AHL/NHL player may be defecting to the KHL despite being under contract. If that happens, I don’t see any reason the Isles can’t pull Petrov at any time if he wants to make the jump. The KHL at least had some excuse (lame as it was) about the timing of the agreement in the Radulov case. Not so here.
UIF… It’s already happened. Without checking out that TSN report, which may be re: a different player, I know for a fact that Matt Murley bolted the AHL’s Albany River Rats (my hometown AHL team) a day before their season opener to go to Russia, despite his contract with the Carolina Hurricanes being in full effect. Murley got an offer from KHL which would be for more than his 2-way NHL/AHL contract, and asked the ‘Canes to release him from that contract. They wouldn’t, and he took off anyway. Not sure what happens next, but you can be damn well sure that Murley’s name is mud over here, and that he better make some coin over there because I’m not sure he gets another NHL/AHL job any time soon.
I’ve been a fan of Matt’s since college, since we share an alma mater (RPI), but I thought it was a bad idea at the time, and the things I’m now hearing about KHL make me feel even worse about it now.
There are two reasons to have fritz in the lineup, and admittedly, 10+ not to. As 19 has already posted a gigabyte, I’ll just say that as long as Gordon is the coach of this team the 10+ far outweigh the 2. But the 2 are pretty important.
1. fritz is an imposing presence, but he has to be present. 3+ minutes of ice time (1-3 shifts per period) would be enough to create space for the other three lines. That is written on the two tablets passed down from Moses.
2. Fritzie is no brian boytano(I’m sure that’s spelled incorrectly, but I’m afraid to google the name because I’m sure it will have links to gay porn) but if you stick him in front of the net he creates a huge screen [door] and should be TAUGHT to manhandle defensemen the way other teams push freddy and campoli around.
Instead of managing our expectations, our “management” should MANAGE their ASSETS a little better. that’s all I’m saying. If we’re gonna do this, at least do it RIGHT!
JP … sorry to take up your Gigabyte … but good point on Fritz … the question is … are those 2 reasons to keep up Fritz more beneficial then the other 10+ reasons not to have him up? In other words … if Gordo used Fritzie more … does he hurt the team? Or does playing him less but yet inhibiting his ability to roll four lines work better? Is it a quality over quantity issue?
Players have still been getting run with Fritz on the bench .. as you said … he must be present to be effective. At this point as much as I like Fritz … and was a very strong supporter of keeping him up … I think he’s become more of the junk yard dog barking behind the fence and not really a threat if he’s not unleashed … and I think a lot of teams know that now. Thoughts?
At least sundin signed with the Canucks
dman i was just about to report that
Guerin 2 goals from 400 …. Weight 3 points from 1,000 … hymmmmmm … what happens if Weight gets his 1000th point assisting on Guerin’s 400th goal? It is highly probable that can happen.
I’m glad to finally read some cautious optimism instead of the normal criticism of everything around this team (I’m speaking about the posters not Mr. Botta). Its way too early to see if Gordon has the chops to make it at this level. Its way too early to write off Okposo and Bailey and its way too early to say the rebuilding process is doomed to fail. Its also tiresome to read complaints that this isn’t really a commitment to rebuild with youth since there are several older vets in the everyday line-up. As has been said previously, these guys are placeholders while prospects are acquired and developed. No one rebuilds the system with home-grown talent in one off-season and a third or the regular season. My advice, look for progression on this team and thoughout the farm system (and juniors and colleges). If things aren’t markedly different in 2-3 years then we’ve been sold a bill of goods but until then I’m willing to go along for the sometimes bumpy ride. Let’s go Islanders (and Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Utah Grizzlies and……..)
This is a season of hard decisions for Snow. He has to take a good, long, realistic look at the talent on this team and cut accordingly.
Yes, the really young kids have to be given time. But the players that are hitting 24 or so need to be judged once and for all.
This team has paid for drafting too many of the same player. Players with “Character” who can’t ever seem to score. They all turn into 3 rd and 4 th line checkers at best.
Last year Snow took skill players and he has to continue down the same path in this years draft.
Talent, and only talent, is what will lift this team out of the fog that it’s been in for the last 15 years….Sir William