EDMONTON 3, ISLANDERS 2
Let ‘em hear you, Coach…Kautonen on Ullstrom
12:02 am - In this age, show business is as big a part of coaching as, well, coaching. When you’re losing, sometimes it’s not a bad idea to go to outlandish lengths to show the fans you care. In New York, we’ve had some legendary actors: Billy Martin, Bill Parcells, Al Arbour. When Al compared Kevin Hatcher to Paul Bunyon, you think he really meant it?
The MSG Plus cameras almost never fail to show Scott Gordon after an opposing goal. Tonight for the 3-2 game-winning goal by Edmonton, the camera went from Andrew Cogliano to Joey MacDonald to Gordon in under five seconds.
When the calls are going horribly against your team - as they did tonight from Ontario to Alberta - Scott might want to consider drawing the cameras to him. There is no downside to freaking out on the officials. The refs will understand. The fans will see the heart beating.
That may be unfair, but it’s the truth. It’s the difference between Shrugging Eric Mangini and all the men Jets fans now want to coach their team.
(12:12 am, P.S.: Gordon did well in the post-game, showing some fire in his press briefing. Next up, he might need an Instant You Tube Classic wig-out within a game).
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I called Islanders European scouting director Vellu-Pekka Kautonen tonight with a few questions about 2008 fourth round pick David Ullstrom of Team Sweden and snuck in one about another guy.
Point Blank: Do you get the sense from David Ullstrom that playing in North America, playing in the NHL, is very much in his plans?
Kautonen: I’ll tell you what happened last night. I went with the rest of our scouts in Ottawa for the WJC out to dinner at The Keg (a sort of Friday’s in Canada). We get there, and it turns out David’s father, mother and sister are at the table next to us. His father told me that David is so excited about the opportunity to come to North America and be part of the Islanders organization.
David has been blown away by the incredible excitement at the WJC and he’s following all the hockey since he got here two weeks ago. His father said that David can’t stop talking about how much he wants to make it to the NHL. His dad told us he was going to do everything in his power to make sure his son is doing everything to get to this level. It was a real nice moment.
PB: Do you think Ullstrom’s style would be a good fit for the Islanders and at the NHL level? Is he what you would call an NHL-style player?
Kautonen: Absolutely. He already has the size (6-3, 205) and his skating gets better with each year. He has the willingness to pay the price and is not shy in traffic. He has very good potential at this level.
PB: There’s been a sense since you drafted him in the fourth round last summer that Ullstrom may have been the Islanders’ biggest steal.
Kautonen: You’re always happy with your picks in the days after, but it was nice when 4 or 5 of my European colleagues came up to me at the NHL Draft and said David was right in their sights with their team’s next pick.
Ullstrom’s a good player. Since we selected him, he has played in the Swedish Elite League and seen some time in the second league. (Former Islanders dynasty member and current scout) Anders Kallur sees him a lot and is very happy with him, and I know (Islanders scout) Eric Cairns was pleased with his progress when he traveled to Sweden last month to see Ullstrom and some of our other European draft picks.
PB: Any idea of a timeline for Ullstrom coming to play in North America?
Kautonen: Probably too early right now to be sure. I don’t think we can rule out him coming here next season, but I’ll also say that if he could play a regular shift on the third line of HV-71 of the Elite League next season, that would a very good option for his development. We’ll have a better idea of a good plan for David after this season.
PB: Okay, I fibbed about talking Ullstrom-only. I’m doing a bad job if I don’t ask the Islanders Director of European Scouting about Victor Hedman.
Kautonen: He’s real good. It’s been an interesting time for Hedman at this tournament. Because of the hype around Victor, people are disappointed when he’s not as flashy as they expect of him. That’s not the type of player he is. He may not ”wow” you every shift. He may not even “wow” you every game. It’s not fair for anyone to compare him to John Tavares. Hedman’s going to be fine. He is an outstanding prospect.
PB: I’m curious. When NHL scouts go to the World Junior Championships, do they spend time with their draft picks or do you leave them alone to focus on the tournament?
In most cases, you don’t meet with them. You want them to be able to concentrate on the hockey, and you want to show respect to their teams. After David’s first game in Ottawa, Eric Cairns gave him a quick call on behalf of all of us to tell him we were proud of the strides he has made. David has always been very good with the puck, but now he has come a long way in his play without the puck. David appreciated the call and since then we have kept our proper distance. This was an important time for him and for Team Sweden.
PB: How did Ullstrom do in the final tonight?
Kautonen: It was Canada’s night tonight, but David played very, very hard. He had an excellent tournament and gave everything he had tonight. We’re proud of the way he played.
PB: Will you go visit with Ullstrom after the game?
Kautonen: Part of you wants to, but it’s always complete mayhem down there after the championship game. David knows we’re proud of him. We will definitely make contact with him soon.
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Since we’ve had to change our focus to The Big Picture about ten games ago, here’s your mid-season report.
Tonight’s loss in Edmonton takes the Islanders to 12-25-4 at the 41-game mark.
That’s 12 wins in 41 games. That’s 13 games under .500 just 41 games into a season in a league where only 7 of 30 teams are any games under .500.
In the interest of balanced journalism, the Islanders entered tonight’s game with an astounding 253 man-games lost to injury.
After 41 games, the Islanders have won only 8 of them in 60 minutes of regulation play.
Believe me, I wish it were different. I really was looking forward to writing about hockey games. But 12-25-4 is the answer to the question why our coverage will continue to focus on trade deadline and prospective UFA decisions, the Tavheduch Watch and the development of young players in the NHL, AHL, Europe and junior hockey. It is why one of tonight’s lead stories was about a fourth round draft pick from Sweden playing in the final of the World Junior Championships.
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Good point by Jiggs McDonald: when the rosters for the Young Stars Game on All-Star Weekend are announced on Friday, Kyle Okposo should be part of it. Here’s hoping the Islanders have campaigned to the league on behalf of Okposo. The Islanders assuming the NHL has got it covered would be a mistake.
Comments.
51 Responses to “EDMONTON 3, ISLANDERS 2
Let ‘em hear you, Coach…Kautonen on Ullstrom”
Please Wait
John Tavares cannot come soon enough, God I hope we win the draft lottery!
gordo just went off on the refs in the post game! he went parcells on the refs! he stood up for the team and ripped the garbage refereeing tonight. good for scott. it’s the right thing to do. he looked like he was going to rip somebodies head off. good to hear about ullstrom too.
That was garbage refing maybe the NHL wants us to get Tavares! I pray every night that we will draft him and he will stop this organization from being a joke.
Tough night. Several BS calls cost us the game. Hey, but as someone said before, when we lose we win. Hopefully we win the darn draft lottery, as we are already rapidly descending.
This was the most disgustingly biased POS excuse for refereeing that Ive seen in years. I am glad Gordon was pissed off (the most pissed off Ive ever seen him, actually!) because there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for what I saw from these refs tonight.
Hook an Islander? Sure, go for it! Heck, lets give the Isles a penalty for goaltender interference even though he hardly touched the goalie and was recovering from the hook we allowed to go unpunished! Dont worry, its cool!
Blatantly and obviously kick in the tying goal? No problem!
Plow into the Islanders goalie and knock him the heck over? Its OK, we forgive you. We wont even call you on it- and we will allow you to score the GWG on what SHOULD have been the Isles PP. Dont worry!
Boarding against multiple Isles players at the end of the game? Go for it, we wont call THAT!
Yay! We win! Oops, I mean, The Oilers win! Cause we arent biased at all. Nope.
DISGUSTING.
It is very (…..) very discusting (trying not to use “french” words) to see your team which is trying to play good hockey being shut down not by the opposing team but by the Rat type refferies and their bosses in Toronto reviewing room!!! This is got to be stoped somehow. All the Isles fans should get together and buy those overpayed bums good glasses! Enough said.
Thought I was watching Game 5 of the 1984 Stanley Cup Finals tonight…..whoa……
have seen a homer game like this one in years.
Again for effect……I know Tavares put some numbers up in the WJC….
But he sure spent A LOT OF TIME in the garbage dump in front of the night.
I was more impressed with the overall play of guys like Hodgson, Esposito, Hedman and Ullstrom.
Just my opinion, from two time zones away.
My uncle once waited outside the Coliseum to give Terry Gregson $10 to buy himself a rule book. I don’t think it helped.
TMC, I turned it off before Gordon’s interview, was he really that upset? He has every right to be, and I hope we can see some fire out of him so the Mangini comparisons stop.
505, Hedman didn’t impress me at all today, I thought he played very “small” when you consider his size. Am I misinterpreting his game? Should I actually be happy that I barely noticed him most of the time? (Seriously asking this; I love that a guy like Martinek goes completely unnoticed when he’s on his game)
Correction….
“But he sure spent A LOT OF TIME in the garbage dump in front of the NET”
In regards to CB’s comments about the coaches spouting some fire on the broadcast, I know exactly what you mean. I was watching the Oilers broadcast this evening - I really like Quinn and it was interesting to hear the other side’s perspective - and they showed MacTavish getting upset on several occasions, most notably the half-hearted touch-up by Streit at the end of the game. As you said, it may not mean much in the grand scheme of things, and it’s highly unlikely to change a referee’s mind, but it gets the home crowd fired up and makes them aware that their coach is going balls-out as much as the team is.
Yeah Nick- Gordon was ticked the heck off during the post-game, saying the goal was kicked in, citing some of the noncalls, pointing out the ridiculous double standard on that goaltender interference BS, etc. He stuck up for the boys saying they played a good game. And you know, I dont think Ive seen such CRAP officiating since the Buffalo series. It was absolutely and completely inexcusable.
Nick….
Hedman’s a D-man….FIRST…. and for the most part he played like that tonight
…Very steady back there.
In a lot of ways he reminded me of Potvin.
Didn’t see much offense out of him….but I did see enough “take charge” moments that were impressive enough.
I’d really like to see Ullstrom here next year…QUICKLY.
Like I said in the previous thread…..Just enough “dirty Swede” in him with an obvious edge.
Why don’t they show pre and post game on the NHL Center Ice package?
The refs were baised tonight. One day the NHL will want to be taken seriously and grow the game and for that to happen NHL officiating and justice have to be fair and consistent.
Also, Bettman being so stupid as to only allow one winter classic per year is just insane.
Excluding the first season of 1972-73, could this be the worst Islanders team ever? Not counting the lockout 94-95 season, the lowest point total is the 2000-01 team that had 52. I don’t think this team will get to 52 points.
the kicked-in goal was a disgrace…so incredibly obvious not even a review should have been necessary…if you can’t reverse that on replay, why bother having replay? and the cross-check on Smith was an equally disgraceful no call
One thing I’ve noticed in a bunch of games this season (including tonight) is that the team’s play seems to be defined by the quality of their neutral zone passing. I don’t know whether the bad play leads to the bad passing, or if its the other way around, but in the 1st tonight, more neutral zone passes were connecting, and in the 2nd, most were not.
Tonight was not the first time. It seems to me, the nights when they just can’t get anything going, the problems don’t start with the forecheck, and don’t start with defensive zone coverage. To me, its always the 2nd pass that is the start of the problems. Either its sloppy, or its a miscommunication, or they crack under pressure and just turn it over. This might be kind of self-evident (when the team is not playing well, they don’t play well, what do you know) but does anyone have any thoughts about this?
Bad calls? Yup. Who cares? Did you really want to win this game? If things are ever going to change around here you have to let this season go.
It’s not like beating Edmonton would vault us into the playoffs. I find myself actually rooting for them to lose. Without a Crosby or Ovetchkin type player this franchise is doomed. One can only hope that Tavares turns out to be that type of player…….SW
WOW!!!
well the islanders played a good first period, the rest of the game they had no shot at winning with all those calls going against them. i was actually more entertained by having weight in the studio booth than the game itself. anybody else agree that its fun and insightful to hear an actual player on the current team watching and talking about whats going on? i can’t remember if i’ve ever seen anything like it but i really do hope it happens again sometime soon. its gonna be sad to see weight get shipped off he seems like a class act all the way. CB any opinion on having weight on the mic tonight?
Hey, the Isles lost. Byt life is good. We have another 4th round superstar coming along in this Ulstrom, the biggest steal in last years draft. Way to go Isles. All our prospects are superstars.
Agreed Sir William, Weight was excellent on the mic and it was a unique thing to hear a guy rooting for his own team on the broadcast. very cool stuff.
sorry i meant Steve
Remember when the Isles drafted Connolly, Pyatt, Mazei, Kudroc…. then guys like Weinhandl and the Russian kid that wound up in Florida and the Isles prop machine was telling us the future was tremendous and then they blew it up and traded all the picks? And all thse players they were selling either didn’t make it big or didn’t make it all. With Botta selling us prospect after prospect (now its this Ulstrom dude) it kind of brings me back to those days. When the Isles are just reduced to selling us goods on 4th round picks. Oh yeah….. Weinhandl was tremendous for the Isles!! I’m sure Ulstom will be too. After all, the Isles are known for 4th round steals.
was hoping someone from team canada would give jacob markstrom a good reason to tip over like a feather with only 2 mins left
dive much sweden ?
At least we now know what Doug Weight will be doing when he retires from hockey. What a treat to hear him along with Jiggs and Jaffe. It helped to keep my mind off what was happening on the ice. Now looking forward to Calgary? Good grief.
if you want a good unbiased opinion of the potential of a draft pick, i find its always best to ask the guy who is responsible for picking the kid. did anyone expect the guy to say “Ulstrom sucks man, I really wasted that 4th rounder?”
Im sorry to be so negative, I just cant take this much more. Kills me to now start hearing that Hedman is not playing up to a level that would make him an option for the #1 overall pick. If he is clearly behind Tavares, you know we will come in dead last, lose the lottery, and he will be the next Dick Tarnstrom and not the next Nik Lidstrom…
It’s alright if Hedman isn’t flashy every game, but during a championship game there is no excuse. Still, I do not deny his potential.
I find it a complete waste of time to read about the potential of a 4th round draft pick when the last 4th rounder the Isles drafted to have any kind of impact was Mikko Makela, who was drafted two and a half decades ago.
Reminds me of the Hockeys Future Board where every Isles prospect will have a huge impact.
>>>>Remember when the Isles drafted Connolly, Pyatt, Mazei, Kudroc…. then guys like Weinhandl and the Russian kid that wound up in Florida and the Isles prop machine was telling us the future was tremendous and then they blew it up and traded all the picks?<<<<
Remember the Isles telling us how good Mapletoft from that draft will be?
Well, I’ve already got my nominations in for this year’s winner….and it’s only January 6th….
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28410907/
Every single Islanders game I watch, I am very torn by how I want it to end. I love to see them playing well and winning, however, it doesn’t hurt so bad when I see them lose. Actually, when they lose I get excited at the mere fact that maybe we are finally doing what is necessary. We have some great young talent in the minor leagues between Ullstrom, Figren, and many of our other picks, plus we have tremendous prospects already in Okposo, Bailey, and Comeau. Add a player of Tavares’ caliber to that mix and we do have a great team in a few seasons. Add in maybe another mid to late first round pick where we choose an all-around defenseman, and that could shore up the defensive corps for us. It’s a painful season, as we all expected, but it’s one that is worth the pain in the end (even if we wind up with Duchene or Cowen).
PS - Sorry for the long post, but I was ridiculously impressed with the power-forward and speed game of Paajarvi.
Yes, the officiating was horrible… who cares. I’m glad GoGo had a little rant in the post game, but he really needs to call the officials over DURING THE GAME to give them an earful… just so we know he’s paying attention and he cares.
The most important thing about last night’s game, IMHO, is the corner that KO seems to be turning. Much like the different Jackman we saw in his call up. This kid found confidence somewhere… and Comeau is just on the edge of that as well. If Blake can figure out where he’s supposed to be (and I think he will) a little more often, those two will make this season worth while.
Also… Freddy the numeral has been OUTSTANDING lately.
Did there seem to be too much line juggling last night?
What’s the wait for Weight?
Smith looks pretty impressive, will he be a part of this team after the deadline?
Asked if he was expecting to play against the Oilers, DiPietro said, “No, I think the plan all along was to let Joey play tonight, then have the extra two days off and then play in Calgary.”
MacDonald admitted he was a “little bit surprised” to get the starting nod after the morning skate…
This team’s entire method of operation is based on lying and BS. If there was some benefit to it, some reason that made sense in terms of wins and losses or even PR, it might be understandable. But there isn’t. It only reinforces their image as incompetent boobs. Chris, anyone, someone please tell me what a 12-25 team gains from such nonsense? Please.
Amazing, but then again, not. I saw that one and have started to write about it…CB
I have to say i was very impressed with Hedman… Skates great for a big dman. You can tell he needs to grow into his body and be a little more physical but he shows great upside
Four shots on goal in the 3rd period from the worst 3rd period team in the NHL. Gordon wants to blame the refs but he needs to look in the mirror. Overspeed can’t cut it for 60 minutes.
Would it be the worst thing if DP and Joey went every other game?..Say Joey loses every game like he has been recently and DP wins half that means the isles will win 10 of their final 40 games. I would think that would be enough to get the worst record…but it is very frustrating to see a “healthy?” DP suited up as the backup
My opinions of last night’s WJC game are these:
Esposito has a little of the captain in him…
Chris, I’ve totally agreed with you about sending Bailey from day one. After the fact I think that the time spent with Quinn can not be gotten back… HUGE LOSS. I’m sure EVERYBODY saw how every kid on that squad was finishing every check and NOBODY was afraid of getting in front of the net. We really should have sent Tambellini as well(Doesn’t Wang have somebody who can forge birth certificates on the payroll?)!
I’m guessing we are the front-runners for hedman (anybody wanna give me even money Toronto wins the lottery..I’ll take it). Cairns needs to move in with him right now and give him tours of swedish meat packing plants(ala rocky)… He resembles Zedno as a rookie, and the Isles just don’t have 5 years to wait for him to grow stones.
I liked Ullstrom, but he doesn’t seem to have anything more than 3rd line upside… way too many of those type players in front of him in the organization already. It would be great to see him have a growth spurt into a legit NHL prospect, but isn’t that the mystery of the draft since they started allowing 18 year olds to join the club.
skeptical on - Jan 6th, 2009 08:59:36 said:
“Asked if he was expecting to play against the Oilers, DiPietro said, “No, I think the plan all along was to let Joey play tonight, then have the extra two days off and then play in Calgary.”
MacDonald admitted he was a “little bit surprised” to get the starting nod after the morning skate…”
This team’s entire method of operation is based on lying and BS. If there was some benefit to it, some reason that made sense in terms of wins and losses or even PR, it might be understandable. But there isn’t. It only reinforces their image as incompetent boobs. Chris, anyone, someone please tell me what a 12-25 team gains from such nonsense? Please.
Amazing, but then again, not. I saw that one and have started to write about it…CB
And you would think that if they are going to carry on with this …intrigue, they would at least try to get their story straight. I don’t like thinking this, but the whole mindset is somewhat reminiscent of what Mr. Wang’s detractors and accusers contend with respect to CA issues.
Even if Rick feels healthy, if coach doesnt think he looks 100% to play and sits him out, whats wrong with that? I dont know about you guys but personally *want* some caution.
DP should play NHL 09 on playstation to stay sharp and wait till next fall….although i do fear a thumb injury..
I wish I had seen the WJC, but I am still too cheap and haven’t bought the NHL Network package from Dolan. I’ll just have to take everyone’s word that Hedman played “his stealthy way” and Ullstrom is more satisfying than Poutine in Montreal and Tavares is “the saviour” of the Islanders. Maybe I’ll pony up the dough next year when it’s in Buffalo.
At least last night’s game was easy to watch. Okposo is impressing me with his development on this roadtrip. Park made some of his “usual” alert plays. It was easy to tell when Comrie had the puck. The low baritone of Weight’s voice, plus his insights on the game from a player’s perspective, was nice to hear for 2 periods. I’m starting not to mind the end results of these games so much after seeing good game-play decisions by some/many/most of the Islanders. The lack of consistent rules enforcement by the officials was the most frustrating part of the game.
Hedman isn’t even as good as any of the defensemen drafted in the 2008 draft. Reminds me a lot of Vladimir Malakhov and could be one of those guys thats in the league a long time but, really doesn’t do much, just like Vladi.
cgs, just so you know, the WJC aren’t in Buffalo until Dec 2010-Jan 2011. It’s somewhere else in Canada next year again (forgot where, but I know they said it’s in North America for a few years straight).
WJC is in Saskatoon/Regina next year. All hail Saskatchewan!
Buffalo is in Dec 2010/Jan 2011
Calgary/Edmonton have Dec 2011/Jan 2012
canada hosts 3 out of 4 years?? no wonder they win each year….or, it could just be the talent…
When the WJC was going on talking about it is of course understandable. Talking about what happened in it is also understandable. But now we are already going to start talking about the NEXT one? I guess its that Im just tired of hearing about it. If I could filter out the terms “WJC” and “Tavares” for the next few months Id be thrilled.
I wish we could talk about players that are in this organization instead of the waste of talking about kids who will never be Islanders. That kind of talk is for the boring offseason as far as Im concerned.
when you have 9 regulation wins in 41 games, the regular season is pretty boring to talk about too, dont you think??
i sure do…
JPinVa (33)… If you heard all of Gordon’s post-game comments, he repeatedly said that he tried to talk to the officials during the game, but that THEY wouldn’t talk to him. What a surprise.
Can’t really add more to what has already been said about the officiating last night - both on and off the ice. Pathetic. Not sure who the post-game interviewer was who asked Gordon whether there is a lack of respect given to the Isles by the officials, but happy it was asked. I also liked the coach’s reply - how is it that Isles have only received 4 PPs in 3 games on this trip? He seemed pissed, and he should have been.
Each loss brings us closer to Tavares! That in itself makes for exciting games. Surely Garth won’t screw that draft up too.
Dump the vets, the time is now. Load up on pics. Play the kids and mail in the remaining points. Let’s start putting things together after the draft!
Colin Campbell must go!!! I think its time for Snow to pull a Milbury. He should get his tapes together and gather all the evidence he can, call a press conference and really blast the NHL, Colin Campbell and Bettman as well. It wouldn’t hurt to stand up for yourself once in a while. And gordo should pull an Al Arbour and start throwing sticks and bottles on the ice just to let the refs know someone is watching the game and therefore watching the refs as well. The usual post game “the refs were bad and we didn’t get any calls” just doesn’t do it for me anymore.