THE DOWNSIDE OF SASKATOON: What happens if
the NYI win the lottery? Plus: Wash 2, NYI 1 (OT)
The Islanders are going to Saskatoon for training camp in September for a few reasons:
- Like many NHL teams, the Islanders favor getting away and bonding for the opening of camp.
- The Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce has no doubt made it financially equitable (free travel, facilities, perhaps even an appearance fee plus take-home from games against Edmonton and Calgary).
- It’s another opportunity to spread the NYI brand in a hockey-mad region.
All good reasons, no question. But know this: if their number comes up in the lottery, the Islanders will lose big on their training camp deal.
They will lose out on 10 invaluable days of selling tickets and the brand of John Tavares in New York and on Long Island at the opening of his National Hockey League career.
The Islanders will lose 10 prime days with Tavares before the exhibition game schedule really kicks in. Ten days they will never get back.
WASHINGTON 2, ISLANDERS 1 (OT)
You know the main talking points: 0-3-1 on homestand. Two wins since Dec. 1 (a noted statistician told me post-game it’s now the worst stretch since 1972). Winless in 2009. With that out of the way, here are some notes from Sections 221 and 118.
(First off, my apologies to those of you who came by Section 221 and I wasn’t there. My group was escorted to some seats by the glass later on (note to MC: one row in front of Hilary!). My kids had never been that close before so we stayed there so they could stare at Ovechkin. Again, I’m real sorry).
Islanders fans continue to be the only local heroes these days. Four-game homestand during horrendous season: two sellouts (Rangers and Devils) and two 95% capacity games (Boston and today). Take a bow. Think Kansas City could pull that off when their team is 12-29-5 after 15 years without a playoff series victory?
My kids came to see Alexander Ovechkin and they weren’t disappointed. His highlights were not his two goals, but just about everything else he did. In the third, my son Cole said, “The Islanders need Ovechkin to make a penalty.” Just like that, AO flung the puck over the glass to set up the 5-on-3 power play.
Two penalty calls on the Islanders were outrageous. The ticky-tack slash on Brendan Witt in overtime - the kind of calls Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky got and now the league gives to Crosby and Ovechkin. Earlier, there was a call on Blake Comeau that was a complete mystery. Both were in the neutral zone.
Scouts I could spot in the press box: Atlanta, Minnesota, Dallas, Phoenix, Anaheim GM Bob Murray (the Ducks are at MSG Tuesday, the Coli on Wednesday).
Josh Bailey: 1 win, 8 losses on faceoffs.
The McDonough Sisters - with their Indigo Girls vibe - dueted on the best rendition of the National Anthem that I’ve heard at the Coliseum in a while.
When Washington was awful in the early days of Ovechkin, coach Glen Hanlon developed some rugged third-liners along the way like Brooks Laich (originally a 6th round pick by Ottawa) and Matt Bradley (a former Sharks and Penguins plumber). The Islanders need to find players like this. When we moved down to seats at the glass, the two Islanders I spotted giving that kind of effort were Tim Jackman and Nate Thompson.
For all the solid things the Islanders did today, a signature moment of the game was Laich and Tomas Fleischmann totally outworking the Islanders’ band of 5 when the home team was on a power play mid-first period.
An example of - to use the coach’s words - “grabbing your stick too tight”: Kyle Okposo showing patience, doing everything right, stepping up to the net and firing a shot wide on a glorious chance mid-third. Then shaking his head on the bench for a minute after. That 5-on-3 goal after was big for Okposo.
Scott Gordon goes into Mike Keenan tough-on-the-goalie mode whenever he is asked about Yann Danis. When asked by Logie about his third-string goalie’s decent play in a pair of 2-1 losses last week, Gordon said, “It’s just been two games.” This has been going on for a while and is somewhat surprising when you recall the coach’s praise all season for Joey MacDonald and even Rick DiPietro. Since Scott is a very kind and decent man, I can only assume he wants to keep the bar high for Danis. Other than that, I’m out of explanations.
David Backes - who has an aunt who works in the Coliseum’s luxury suites - scored for St. Louis with one second left in Boston to send the game to overtime. The Blues won in a shootout and are now 11 points up on the Islanders in the Tavheduch Watch.
*
As I’ve mentioned before, there will be times when I want to make sure the dialogue remains open, honest and frank. I have no interest in running a blog where we all just agree with each other. So what better way to end another day with a loss than with a little push-back?
Direct message to our regulars who go in Comments with various aliases, write the Islanders suck and invented that I’ve written Bailey and Comeau are gods, the Islanders know exactly what they’re doing by sucking and the plan all along was to suck on their way to a top pick: at 12-29-5, you can’t go wrong, boys. As long as you keep it within the guidelines, keep beatin’ that drum. You’re going to continue to sound brilliant for at least the rest of this season and probably longer.
Comments. Bring it.
84 Responses to “THE DOWNSIDE OF SASKATOON: What happens if
the NYI win the lottery? Plus: Wash 2, NYI 1 (OT)”
Please Wait
I give you the Hartford Islanders!!
HARTFORD: City Officials Meet With NHL Chief
January 15, 2009
Mayor Eddie A. Perez and business leaders met Wednesday with National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman in Manhattan to discuss nascent plans for a new arena in the city, Perez said in a press release.
Tim Jackman had a pretty good game I agree with you on that and with Thompson.
And about Tavares, wouldn’t he (or our 1st round pick) have to go to that rookie camp they have in the summer? Not exactly a money maker, but wouldn’t we be introduced to him in that way?
Was at game, better effort then the last few and Danis is getting his legs, but why do we need a 5 on 3 to score?????
If the Isles win the Tavares sweepstakes and he’s in camp in Saskatoon, there’s a good chance Canada won’t let the Islanders leave.
I’ll take that trade off any day of the week.
MIN and PHO appear to be camping out looking at Isles currently in the lineup…Both need D and O for a playoff push. Hmm…
Well, CB, is there another angle to the Saskatoon decision? I happen to think it’s a reach, but the optimistic timeframe has the Islanders breaking ground on Coliseum renovations over the summer and the team playing on the road the whole month of October. Could it be that the Islanders wanted to train at a neutral site in case there was construction at the Coliseum?
As for the goaltender situation, I don’t know why Scott Gordon has a thing against Danis. He looked pretty good today, though we have to always remember he’s the 3rd string goaltender. If he doesn’t have the coach’s trust, then scratch what I said in the previous thread, and the Islanders have to find someone they can trust to play goal.
Okay, I’ll try one disagreement: Although the OT call on Witt was “post-lockout” tacky, Witt *should have known better*. We’ve watched this rule enforcement for 2-3 seasons, and we know your stick has no business up by the puck carriers hands — particularly not in the neutral zone, where the feeble slash accomplishes nothing.
As for Gordon on Danis: I’ve always figured Gordon’s just not impressed by Danis, given how little he played him when McDonald was healthy — keeping him out after the 3rd-period Montreal collapse — and given how little he’s praised him even when’s he’s played alright.
Anyone who wants to dismiss Weigh/Guerin look no further than how far Okposo has come from Game 1 to now. Now, remember how clueless Taylor Pyatt was in his first NHL with ZERO vetern support, guidance, and leadership.
chris i couldnt have said it better LI loves the islanders.sat night i was up in 325 and as a goof i chanted kansas city like 2 times ,i thought i was going to catch a beating . i had to tell my fellow islander fans i was just kidding and i even drove dp back to the coliseum to get his stuff one time .TIME TO GET KATE MURRAY out of the way
Danis lets in soft goals….he’s gotta do a better job on rebounds….he’s exactly what we all thought he was oging to be….a 3rd goalie that splits time between the AHL and NHL.
Can’t be disappointed by the effort today…over speed is quite fun to watch when they’re actually playing hard. Witt’s gotta go(even though I love him), hes a Nolan-type player not a good fit at all for Gordan’s system.
1) Ah, the PR guy never completly goes out of you but excellent point on training camp and Tavares. The best solution find a way to televise the games live on either the NHL Network or tape delay back home. It isn’t perfect but the best of the situation, plus they been seen by a much larger audience even if they were at home. Last year it was neat to watch all the teams that participated in the preseason tourney on NHL Network, I would really enjoy seeing the preseason games as it gives a much better idea of the prospects and players.
2)The NHL really needs to put to an end it’s favortism for certain players and teams. It gives an unfair advantage. If it is a penalty no matter who or when it is we don’t need anyone’s interpretation or bias just call it. I can remember one play where Pilon cleaning checked Lemuix behind the Isles net, Lemuiex turned aroudn and went psycho on him with his stick more then I could count until and after the play stopped. The refs called a penalty and Pilon was sure it was on Mario since he just took a beating hoping to draw a call and they sent him to the box.
Wonder what is cooking with Pho and Minn? Dallas is a team I like to see scouting us, that d-man Fistic they have would be an excellent fit.
Hope you and your boys enjoyed yourselfs today Chris.
I agree with post #8. That slashing penalty has been called for three years now and even worse they ALWAYS call it when the slash is on one of the NHL stars. How has Witt not learned this lesson?! He is skating behind and to the side of AO and instead of moving his feet and getting back into the defensive zone he starts swinging his stick at the puck carriers hands?! And then has the nerve to argue the call as if it’s unheard of?!! Wow that’s frustrating to see, a rookie would be one thing but this is a vet. The same vet who has had trouble picking up a system that the rookies have no problem with. Apparantly Brendan has some sort of learning disability.
Chris - w.r.t. the pre-season + Tavares, The Isles have routinely played only 1 home exhibition game for the past few years. As a season ticket holder - I would only want to go to one game. Can they schedule more this time around ? I would think that it would not make a difference in selling Tavares if they held to a one game exhibition season.
The marketing departments and hockey dept. would have to work hard to sell this team - even with Tavares.
Winning during the season is the only way to go here. Nice problem to have ( meaning we get Tavares !)
Pat
If Gordon needs to blame anyone, he should take a look in the mirror.
I was happy to see another good crowd today. There is still a lot of love for this team even though they absolutely suck right now. I just can’t see myself rooting for the Saskatoon Mainlanders.
I was thinking today of an topic Logan covered a few times in that several Islander players (especially vets) hated Ted Nolan’s system. When one vet questioned Nolan why they were playing it he said it is what Wang wants. The vet called a meeting to find out Nolan was lying and thus said he lost all respect.
1) Point is I dont’ know why people are still crying because Nolan got fired.
2)What system would make these vets happy? Two coaches, three systems (Nolan adapted his at the end of the year)and it is fair to say some of the same vets still aren’t happy.
can we assume the boys will work on their shooting accuracy this week.
heh , 10 days of Tavares marketing lost ,10 years of waiting for Lighthouse ground breaking
well said blitz/post 9!
CB - Does the lottery result in any way change the likelihood of The Lighthouse project getting approved, and if so, could a positive result (ie, one of the first two picks) help expedite the groundbreaking date?
Jackman and Thompson are my favorite Islanders at this point.
we all know Danis is not an NHL goalie, not even a back up but he’s doing a decent job for a 35d stringer. Why can’t Gordon try and instill a little confidence in the guy - its sickening! Or at least try Mannino. Bigger issue is goal scoring and for as good as a teacher he is supposed to be he hasn’t taught them to hit the net when you shoot and when you’re defenseman and there is someone in front of you don’t shoot it into their shin pads…oh I forgot no defense coach on the team. A lot more entertaining team to watch these days - I’ll give the boys that - lots of hustle!
I can care less where the Isles hold camp as long as we get some sort of better coverage than we did this part year (Sorry CB I wasn’t on your blog yet). It drove me bananas trying to find updates and scores and everything else because the Isles site was just OK in my eyes. If the games are televised I would be a much happier fan. Plus by some miracle if they get the Lighthouse project approved, they can market the h*ll out of Long Island’s future - JT and the Lighthouse!!
How about a story on something that makes NVMC unique: the organ music/player. how many players have ‘performed’ at NYI games over the years, using certain songs, etc.?
I don’t recall, but the organ is part of the Lighthouse, correct?
Another 1 goal loss which is perfect for this team right now.
If some guys could hit the net we could have won this game, but I’ll settle for the point.
Even though Columbus played by the rules to grab Dubie, I hope Snow let Howson know that the price for Weight has gone up.
I truly do not believe any of our veterans can bring back a 1st Rounder on their own, so I hope Snow can make a bigger case for a 1st Rounder and more by packaging vets together: Weight/Witt, Weight/Hilbert, etc…
The team is not getting crushed even though some games they don’t seem like they bring it.
Three 1-goal losses to the Rags, Bruins and Caps and a 2-goal loss to the Devils. Wish they would score more but when it’s all said and done, everything is going according to plan.
We just need the puck (ping-pong ball) to bounce our way and our reward for the pain and suffering this season is Tavares.
CB- I thought I saw you sitting in front of Hilary but who was the Blonde next to her, and did you see those things they were wearing on their heads? Were they trying to go incognito? Back to the Team their was some jerk sitting behind me saturday night rooting for the Tigers, and KC and Tavares I thought one of my friends was going to punch him out until we realized it was a self hating Islander fan, there are enough Stranger and Devil etc fans at these games that self hating is counter productive and no way to teach your kids how to cheer for anything…
The effort was definitely there today they just are afraid to take a good shot Okposo and Bailey in particular and are consistently looking for the perfect play.
We need a win on Wednesday
I’m happy to see Okposo score, but other than that it is very difficult to watch this team play. The goal scoring is non-existant and we currently don’t have an NHL goalie on the roster that is healthy.
@JoeRVC (18): No doubt. Scoresheet showed Captain Guerin with *7 missed shots*. Can’t score if you don’t shoot, but … yeesh.
Gordon’s comments about Danis have become flat out weird.
” …their first point in January”
worst team of all time?
maybe so.
but imagine the lighthouse goes through and everything comes together from there and the whole thing takes off.
yikes.
Just my opinion, but as bad as their record is this season, I think it could be much worse. I still find the games entertaining. The team is competing and is not, for the most part, getting blown out. A lot of 1 or 2 goal losses that are close and competitve right to the end is really not that bad for a team as outmanned as they are right now. Danis has been fine, not great, a couple of weak goals against Boston, but he’s kept them in games and given the team a chance to win. That is more than a lot of people expected from him. Good for him.
Most importantly, it seems like a lot of this team’s loyal fans understand the situation and buy in to what the team is trying to do to set up its future. Unless I’m missing something, the crowds at games are not booing mercilessly, wearing paper bags over their heads and chanting for the GM’s head like they were in the old days. Here’s hoping that this time it will be different!
AL Arbour once said during the Isles early years that his team was going to be very successful one day because they had a bunch of young talented kids that battled every night. The kids continued to get better and stronger every year and he lost alot of games by one goal to very strong teams that were contenders for the cup. The NHL network did a one hour special on Al Arbour and the early years is what caught my attention the most, it sort of resembles this season, they battle against good teams but come up short.
“Bill Guerin winds up… and rockets one wide!” I heard too much of that today :/. I love the guy… but sometimes I think he really is drunk out there….
BOB- You must of been in section 329/328. The heavy-set guy with the Danis practice jersey. He always is so loud. Can get very annoying sometimes, but he fires up the crowd often. I sat near him a couple of times and had a head-ache.
Bob - I’m thinking you were in 313 in the row in front of me. I had to restrain myself during the 3rd period on Saturday
Speaking of Saturday, so much for my theory that Point Blank would not appear on an Islanders broadcast due to the “independence” factor. Kudos to Strummer for calling me on it.
I see getting shots on net and also the break out/clearing from the defensive zone as being huge problems for this team. As far as Saskatoon, whatever.
Bob #27 - Speaking of trying to make the perfect play … how about in the first pd where they made 3-4 short passes deep in the Washington zone, only to drop the puck at the top of the slot to our big-time shooter Witt
Start Maninno!
10 days is a short amount of time. How many “mere mortals” get to attend Islanders training camp anyway, even if it’s in the same time zone? I don’t see any point in bemoaning the choice.
Today’s game? Eh. It was watchable. I forgot to scan the crowd for Hilary. Oh well!
Make Okposo Captain!
my 2cents, streit has far and away the best offensive insticts on this team, if he played foward he’d be the best foward.being at today’s game it seems the idea of when to shoot and when to pass should be a prerequisite this summer,cause aside from guerin never passin and bailey never shootin the rest are all screwed up.please, please someone explain to me why hillen has been in ct. and pock has been suckin up a roster spot?
Is it just me or is every Islander fan rooting fot Ottawa and Toront to finish out of the bottom five - no matter what happens if one of those teams are in the Lottery is there any doubt that the NHL will make sure that Tavares stays in Canada - and in the leafs case - Ontario??
Ehhhhhh, ten days. Its not like they’re going to be respectable next season…..
I hate the Leafs.
Post 32 nailed it. The fans know better days are ahead if Snow sticks to the plan and doesn’t pull a you know who.
Do what you can to support the Lighthouse project!!!
the fans have been the best part of the season. We show up and cheer. This team has great support considering the record unless of course the isles are just giving tickets away..lol
2 more goals for JT today…save us!
I watched the rangers play the russians from ‘75 last night, it was amazing how every time the russian defenseman slapped a shot it was on net and usually went in. These Isles make millions a year and can’t hit the net, sad. Maybe they should go back to wood sticks.
Every game is a game closer to next year with a little more talent. Lets go Islanders!
keep weight and guerin. trade comrie. quickly.
Gordon really did rip Danis in postgame and I was very surprised. He HAS let in softies but he gave the team a chance to win each of the last 4 games. Yes, even the devils game if the Isles decided to show up.
Hi Chris, Don’t know if you consider me one of your regulars or not, but I will attempt to address your last paragraph.
The team does stink. But Snow had to find out what he had going into the rebuilding. Not many of these players will be around at this time next year. Snow has to know who he can rely upon and who can’t cut it. The only way to find out was to play the hand he was dealt and separate the wheat from the chaff. For that reason alone the organization gets a pass this year.Next year has to be better.
So far and (I stress so far) I think you have been a bit optimistic about the play of Bailey. He is a kid playing with men. From what I have seen of him he has great hockey sense. His body will grow, he’ll get stronger and he will become a top six forward. He’s 19 and he will grow with the franchise.
I am not a big Comeau fan and you once replied to my query that no one projects him as a star. I agree. He will probably end up as a 3 rd line player who may kill penalties. Comeaus problem is that he looked better than his skill level last year playing an awful team. Fans expected him to make the team this year and have a breakout year. Big fish in a very small pond theory.
I do not think that the Isles tanked the season. They just never got it going this year. Losing DP set the tone. However, I do think a lot of the talent here was misjudged and overestimated. But you can’t know how players will turn out until they actually play. More disappointments than Snow envisioned, I would think.
One thing Snow must to do is get BIGGER on the forward line. The Devils, the Caps and the Bruins forwards pushed the smaller Islander forwards off the puck or out of the play all day. They need some size out there.
The Neilsen-Tambs-Mc line looked like it had some chemistry out there. I would like to see more of them. They showed spark.
Okposo gets better every game. He and Bailey are building blocks.
And finally Chris, your last paragraph is the longest run on sentence I have seen in quite some time. Something tells me that the nuns would not be pleased….SW
Loudville people weren’t so bad today, not as much stupidity as usual, at least from my perspective.
What I did like is those anti-KC signs… keep ‘em comin’… I’m just saying
I completely agree with post 32. Despite their record, they are entertaining to watch and are competitive almost every night. I’ve sat through much worse in the 90s when they were actually still in the playoff race at the midway point of the season and players just floundered around on the ice night after night. At least these guys put forth an honest effort every night. The fans have been awesome and the team needs the continued support for the rest of the season. If everything falls into place, this could be one of the most successful “worst seasons” ever.
CB, I hate to disagree on the Saskatoon thing, but if Tavares (making a still fairly big assumption here) is doing well in Training Camp, the Canadian press will give lots of coverage and Newsday will cover it as well, so the fans, while not seeing Tavares in person, will get tons of info on him. If he is struggling, it will be somewhat buried. As long as once Tavares hits the Island the team gets him into the community and before the press in good exposure moments, all should go well. Hopefully the folks running PR at the Isles know what they are doing, or where to turn if they need a helping hand ;-)!
Well, as awesome as it is that the team is tanking the season to get the best player in the draft it couldn’t possibly have been the plan to do so. Everyone knew that the team wasn’t winning a cup this year, but DP likely would have been shut down after he had problems coming back the first time.
As for the marketing, maybe it would be best to leave Tavares (should we get him) and training camp/exhibition games out of New York. Not that any prospect should really be coddled, but what if he has a transition to the NHL like Stamkos has had in Tampa? He has thus far put up 17 points, a -9, and 13:00 minutes of ice time par game. These are respectable numbers for a prospect and are marginally better than, say, Kyle Okposo’s, but are not in keeping with what a future superstar’s numbers should be. Tavares is almost being described as the second coming of Crosby, and it would be a lot tougher for him in New York if he had a weak preseason. I don’t see it as a bad thing if this kid, or whoever we end up with, is hyped slowly, maybe with a huge media blitz after he scores his first goal or something of the sort. Even though we’re talking about the Islanders, the New York area has killed athletes before and the Islanders don’t necessarily need that.
Hey Rob, why would the NHL prefer Tavares stay in Canada? I don’t get that…you mean as opposed to New York. Granted, the Isles aren’t the Rangers, but if this guy develops into a star, the league would just as soon have him playing for the Isles than the Senators.
Look Justin i hope that i am wrong - I just dont trust the “ping pong ball lottery” that no one sees. Remember how many people cried foul when the Knicks “lucked out” for Patrick Ewing. Maybe the best thing we have going for us is that we are in need of a star to save our franchise. If Tavares comes to the Island and we leave - at least in the NHL’s eyes Kansas City will have a star to sell to their new market - hopefully He saves our franchise like Sid the Kid did in Pittsburgh.
Al Arbour once said during the Isles early years that his team was going to be very successful one day because they had a bunch of young talented kids that battled every night.
The key word is “talented.” How many of these kids can be top-six forwards? Okposo? yes. Bailey? Likely, as a second-line center. Aside from that — sorry.
As for missing out on media attention by training in Saskatoon: Chris, are you kidding? It’s pennant-race time in baseball, the NFL season is starting and NY-area papers are cutting back on everything? You could hold training camp in Central Park and no one would care. Hockey doesn’t have that kind of pull in this area. There will be a lot more attention to a Tavares-led Isles club in Saskatoon. NY-area MSM wouldn’t give it a second thought if Wayne Gretzky were making a comeback.
DonK
Those Islanders teams had a good mix of talent AND hard workers.
It was also built up overtime in the draft.
Drafting Tavares would certainly put them on the road. He’d give them depth at center with lines to roll.
And This kid also has the makings to be an absolute star on the NY sports scene. He’d be to the Isles what Mike Piazza, Mark Messier, Don Mattingly and Pat Lafontiane were to there teams. A guy sports writers would absolutely glow about.
He’d be a great addition to an eastern conference that already features Ovechkin, Parise, Crosby and Malkin. Him coming to Long Island would mean every team in this division has a bona fide star. That’s great for getting this game some backpages in the papers.
If the ping pong balls (or what ever contraption they use these days) goes our way … I think the Isles could be playing in Nome Alaska and they’d get better press than they have had the past decade and a half. As far as losing out on 10 days to sell tickets?? Well … I’d hope that by training camp Season Tix would be sold out over the two months prior after drafting Tavares … The Isles WILL get publicity regardless … and being so close to Madison Ave and 30 Rock … I’d hope that some Ad Execs in the region find a new love for the forgotten team 30 miles East of Manhattan. One can hope … right?
agree with post #60 i’m not a scout but where in this organization is the first line talent?okposo looks like a nice player,a good second line player same with bailey,comeau third line,second line upside,same for neilsen.tambellini stinks.i think players like thompson,jackman,hunter can be usefull third and fourth line players.so even if we get tavares who is gonna skate with him?
Its all about competing. Don’t know how mand third string goalies and a team with an insurmountable amount of injuries could only give up 2 goals to one of the top teams in the league. Sooner or later the puck will bounce their way.
Repeat, The Karma, The Mojo or whatever you call it, is so bad for the Islanders, that Isles are not going to get the 1st pick even if they have 99.9999% of the draft balls, because Bettmen is going to pull a Stern and Tavares is going to the Maple Laughs and Snow is going to trade the second pick for a sack of draft picks.
I’m not counting on seeing John Tavares in an Islanders uniform ever!
ps: Is Bad Karma earned? Or Just happens?
Most of you people in here must be Jets fans as well… Keep up the positive thinking!!
Hi Chris,
I know it’s not one of the franchise’s burning questions, but as an Austrian I’m interested in Thomas Pock. It’s hard to find any information on him, his homepage is down and the Austrian newspapers are focused on Vanek and Nodl – and I also don’t get a chance to see the Islanders too often.
What I’ve seen so far is that the bashing in the forum nearly stopped. Are the guys tired of pointing out that Pock doesn’t deserve to be an Islander or did he get better?
Seeing him playing in December I had the feeling he’s not very confident in his own abilities – did that change?
He started as a forward in my and his home town and was changed to D when coming to the US. So he obviously got some offensive potential, first of all a good shot (he showed that with the Rangers in his first NHL season). Does the staff recognise that – is there a chance that he will get a role sometimes that he fits in better?
It seems that he is in the system right now and for the rest of the season (or is it just a matter of injuries in the D-Corps?), playing not much but every game. But I presume he will be in on the hot seat again in the aft season?
Thanx in advance
lox
Bailey needs time in the A with Cappy’s team. He looks lost out there and makes a lot of mistakes.
Gordon praised the call-ups from Bridgie as being prepared. That is true, but for my money, those players who have spent time there are the most consistent on the ice. McLean’s line produced some of the best 5 on 5 opportunities because they played together and actually skated hard.
Witt and Gervais looked terrible out there. Their gaps were awful because neither can skate in today’s NHL with today’s star like AO. Maybe that last penalty was weak, but Witt was asking for it by swinging his stick wildly, and why, because his skating is terrible.
Time to clean house on a number of these guys who prove they can’t win and don’t appear to have the ability to compete in today’s NHL.
If anyone thinks that the league “fixes” the lottery then we are in good shape. Bettman wants the Islanders to stay and wants the Islanders to be respectable again. Remember when Pittsburgh won the lottery and got Crosby? It saved their team.
I really don’t think it’s fixed but if it is then we are in good shape. The ping pong ball will fall our way because Bettman and the league knows we need it more than Toronto.
bailey needs a summer in the weight room
JBranny - Bailey is underage and would have to either stay with NYI or go to Juniors. AHL is not an option this year - as far as I know.
BCarroll - agree - but he is only 18 years old. I don’t worry about Bailey. He has a great deal of hockey sense. Should have played in OHL + World Juniors this year - but I digress.
Pat
Yep, another loss due to unfair judgements of you know who. I was satisfied with boys effort. If the guys learn how to not to miss the net, this team will look scary. McClean looked like he played with his line for a long time.
There is no blame for Isles, they gave everything they got. Powerplay need some work. And Danis is trying his best, but it is almost impossible to be a great goalie when you going against best scorers in the league and not getting a lot of support from your Ds. Tamby is moving up in the world.
My take on this homestand is that it has been a complete success. We’ve played four, count ‘em, FOUR of the BEST teams in the Eastern Conference, closer and tighter than MANY other teams can say that they have throughout this season. 2-1 losses to Boston (the best team in the entire NHL on the night that we played them - I’m not 100% sure if they still have the most amount of points right now), the Rangers, and Washington (and Ovechkin scored both goals, so you tip your cap to the best player in the world)…and a 3-1 loss to the Devils, and to me that adds up to success for a VERY young and inexperienced team that is decimated with injuries and in a complete 100% rebuild. I don’t think the boys and Gordon are getting enough credit for what they’re doing right now. Everyone LOVES to focus on the negative, how about the positive for once? This season is clearly all about preparing for next season and beyond, and I think that it is going EXACTLY as it should be. Call me crazy. Lets Go Islanders!
MJS on Jan 20th, 2009 01:30:07 said:
“…what if he has a transition to the NHL like Stamkos has had in Tampa? He has thus far put up 17 points, a -9, and 13:00 minutes of ice time par game. These are respectable numbers for a prospect and are marginally better than, say, Kyle Okposo’s…”
I wouldnt say that Stamkos numbers are marginally better than those of Kyle Okposo, actually. Check it out: http://i41.tinypic.com/20qnxpc.jpg
I would say that the two of them are essentially equal… but, if you had to make a case that one of them has been marginally better than the other in the NHL so far, at this point in time it looks like it would actually be Kyle.
-Same number of career points (18) except Okposo (41) played 3 fewer games than Stamkos (44)
-Okposo has a marginally better +/-
-Okposo has a better SH%.
-Stamkos has double the PIM.
I still say equal, but there you go!
Hmph. I think Gordon isn’t satisfied with Danis because, like many have said, he gives up an awful lot of rebounds in dangerous areas - it’s one thing to kick shots to the corner, and quite another to send them into the slot. Even when the shot hits his chest, it bounces away… you’d expect that from a duffer but not from an NHL-quality guy.
As far as yesterday’s game, I think that the real reason Gordon was angry was that Danis had two horrible giveaways in the third period - first to Ovechkin, who thankfully hit the side of the net from a tight angle; second one while Danis was behind the net. They were lucky to escape with the point after that.
Witt deserved his two minutes. He was beaten on the play, and the slash that put him in the box was the THIRD - the first was a chop at AO’s skates and then the second caught him in the leg/midsection area. (I don’t know how “talky” NHL refs are, but in my league the refs will tell a guy if he’s right on the border - “watch the stick” or something - because they don’t want to put a guy in the box in OT. Would the ref have said anything to Witt?)
The effort is still there for these guys. That much is encouraging. I only worry that a full quarter-season with precious little results will hurt them mentally. Taveduch Watch or not, this club needs a win or two to show them that they’re heading in the right direction. At the end of the year I hope to see them at 20-22 wins. Whether they’re last by a little or a lot doesn’t change the odds at the first pick, right?
I wouldn’t worry about losing those 10 days .. Tavares will be out with a groin injury…
Uh, Gordon…wrt reasons why the Isles aren’t winning, I’d say “never scoring” > “Yann Danis”
Blaming a third-string goalie for letting in 1 goal in 60 minutes? That’s pretty lame.
If the Islanders get the first pick and get Tavares, fans would get to see him at the rookie camp after the draft. The Islanders need him to put excitement into the frachise and he would do it. In Canada the fans have heard the name Tavares since he was 13 years old.
Glad training camp is in Saskatoon. Been an Islanders fan since they drafted Clark Gillies from my home town Regina Pats.
Pre-season tickets go on sale this Saturday for the Sept 19, 20 games. It’s a 2.5 hour drive for me and hope to get tickets to both games … but who knows, they will sell out very fast.
Ties to Saskatchewan and the WHL run deep in the Islanders and this is a great move!
61 chickendirt on Jan 20th, 2009 02:35:55 said:
DonK
Those Islanders teams had a good mix of talent AND hard workers.
What made them REALLY special is that their talented guys also were the most hard working. totally driven.
Saskatoon is a very poor move PR wise for the Islanders. While the Rangers and Devils train at home [and get coverage for the cost of a train or car ride] and have their home preseason games on tv, the Islanders will be thousands of miles away, with minimal coverage, if at all. They had the same problem when in Nova Scotia.
Why not train at home in Syosset as is usual during the season, and open the Mausoleum early for preseason action?
bcarroll25 on Jan 20th, 2009 08:24:39 said: “bailey needs a summer in the weight room”
Id spend my summer there if he wasnt married.
I for one was happy to hear that the Islanders were coming to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for training camp and to play exhibition games against Calgary and Edmonton. Being from Manitoba, will give me and my son the opportunity to go for a road trip and catch the Islanders live.
good points on most things.K.O. still needs to be more selfish. I feel like he might be buying into the “don’t try to do to much” mentality a little too much. Kyle needs to try to make some plays on his own once and a while instead of defering. I thought the same thing about the anthem.