Monthly Archives: March 2009
Over the last week, Point Blank polled 12 scouts from across the National Hockey League. We tracked down two scouts to represent each of the NHL’s six divisions. We did not seek the opinions of scouts from the league’s bottom 3 teams: the Islanders, Colorado and Tampa Bay.
Point Blank asked the scouts two questions:
1. Who would you draft first overall in June – John Tavares or Victor Hedman?
2. Of the 30 NHL teams, how many would you estimate have John Tavares No. 1 on their draft lists?
The results of this admittedly unscientific poll:
1. Of the 12 scouts, 7 said they would take Tavares and 5 selected Hedman. In each case, there was no deliberation. None of the scouts said they needed more time to watch them play.
2. The 12 scouts polled all predicted Tavares would be tops on 15-20 team lists. One scout told us “No more than 15.” Another replied, “No more than 20.”
Everyone we spoke to said Tavares and Hedman are 1-2 in no particular order, but also that Brampton center Matt Duchene has nudged himself into the conversation. Duchene is right behind them at 3, in his own level.
After Duchene, the next grouping of top prospects includes Jared Cowen, Evander Kane and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson.
One scout – well aware of our team-sponsored blog – said, “If the Islanders finish last, they cannot go wrong. That’s even if they lose the lottery.” Referring to the Islanders’ lottery odds if they finish 30th, the scout said, “No one is going to feel sorry for them if their 48% doesn’t come in. Tavares and Hedman are that good, and you could also make the case that Duchene at 3 would be a perfect fit for their program.”
ETC: Joel Rechlicz has been sent to Bridgeport. Islanders don’t play again until Wednesday in Washington, Thursday home to Montreal. He will probably be back.
Tavares/Hedman graphic borrowed from TSN. Comment Guidelines.
Let’s get this out of the way first: why Brendan Witt in the shootout? Scott Gordon told reporters – with the straightest of straight faces – his defensemen had done real well in shootouts at recent practices. He told the most defensive of defensemen that he would get him in a real shootout. So he did.
In completely unrelated news, the Islanders pulled to just 4 5 points behind 29th place Colorado in the battle for the top seed in the Tavares-Hedman lottery. The Avalanche play in Anaheim tomorrow. Tampa Bay hosts Ottawa. I was starting to think the Islanders might be rewarded in the lottery no matter how the standings end up for not tanking the season or quitting on themselves. One hopes inserting Witt in the shootout lineup didn’t mess with the karma.
In related news, we stand by our season-long proclamation that Matt Duchene is the third-best player available in this draft. More on the subject of lottery prizes tomorrow.
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Breaking news: the first two AHL playoff games of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers will be played at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the weekend of April 17th. Ticket information has not been released yet.
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When Chris Campoli was traded to Ottawa, Jack Hillen was the young defenseman most likely to benefit. A month later, Hillen has surpassed expectations. He has made a case to join the nucleus of young players the Islanders are moving forward with.
About a week ago, Hillen approached Islanders head coach Scott Gordon with a personal request. When Hillen was a regular on the Bridgeport-to-Uniondale shuttle, Gordon would host a pre-game video session with the first-year pro. Coach and player haven’t had many of them recently.
“Jack asked if I’d go through clips with him like we used to do earlier in the season,” Gordon said tonight. “I said to him, ‘To be honest with you, Jack, I don’t have as much to show you anymore. You’re doing just fine.”
Since the Campoli trade, Hillen has learned quickly, identifying when to join the rush, when to sit back. Playing the last two weeks on the third D pair with Thomas Pock, Hillen has managed to stay a plus as his icetime increases. Tonight he played 17:54 and had a pair of standout shifts in the overtime.
“I feel comfortable out there,” said Hillen. “I’m having fun.”
Said Gordon, “He’s been more reliable in his own end than we could ever expect of him this early in his career. The difference in his play and his confidence since the (Ottawa) trade has been evident. He’s been great.”
Asked if the 23-year old Hillen’s intelligence and skating ability compensate for his size – Hillen is listed as 5-11, 200 pounds – Gordon said matter-of-factly, “I just don’t see it as an issue. He’s a very good young defenseman.”
Hillen is a restricted free agent this summer. He has made the Islanders’ decision an easy one.
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FLYERS 4, ISLANDERS 3 (SO)
Game Notes
Continuing our Department of Redundancy Department: I’m not even a big uniform guy, but after watching the Islanders play a few games this week in their busy Reebok uniform systems, it’s amazing how far superior their vintage royal blue third jerseys are. Will teams ever learn that nothing beats classic style?
Saturday Night’s Alright…: A big topic of discussion in the post-game was the Islanders’ desire to stick up for each other. Gordon said the team toughness has improved throughout the second half of the season. “For that to happen, you have to like each other,” he said. Also notable in Gordon’s presser was his obvious respect for what Joel Rechlicz has shown thus far.
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Standing up for his younger teammates early in the game, Doug Weight emphatically threw off his gloves and scrapped with Darrell Powe. No matter anyone’s perception of the Islanders’ depth chart for next season, Weight has earned another one-year contract. Mr. Snow?
As for Weight’s fight, what a dopey interpretation of the intigator penalty by the refs. That’s a real hockey fight, borne out of aggression. Those fights should be encouraged, not penalized. Maybe someday the NHL will get that right. There should be a distinct difference between instigation and invitation.
Naturally, there is an obvious downside to an out-of-state team having so many of their fans at a game. Although not to the level of Canadiens fans early this season, the Flyers fans showed up loud and proud. But I have to say, it’s a blast to watch these games from the press box. With the fans from both teams screaming, the event has a English Premier League soccer feel.
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And finally, when a last place team in any major pro sports league other than the NHL finishes out the string, do you ever see games like this?
Coming soon: A Q & A with Hillen on the transition college free agents like Matt Gilroy and Tyler Bozak can expect. Comments.
Here’s what Islanders GM Garth Snow told Dan Martin of the Post for a story in today’s editions: “The team we have next year will be very similar to the one we have now. I expect a lot of players to develop.”
That’s fairly consistent with what we’ve written the last six months. The one big difference, of course, is the 2009-10 Islanders will have John Tavares or Victor Hedman or Matt Duchene. But if you were looking for a big splash in free agency come July, you cannot say Snow didn’t warn you.
The Islanders are still rebuilding.
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For one night, all talk about the true meaning of late-season wins and losses was put aside. The Islanders’ 2-0 victory last night against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings is undoubtedly something they can take with them during Rebuild Year 2.
Perhaps an even tougher test arrives tonight, when the Islanders host the Flyers after getting home late last night. The Red Wings did not need the two points last night. Philadelphia does tonight.
It appears Doug Weight may go back-to-back and be in the lineup tonight. No word on the goaltender, although it’s reasonable to assume the original plan was to start Yann Danis against the Flyers.
With 8 games remaining, the Islanders are 6 points “up” on Colorado for the No. 1 seed heading into the draft lottery. The Avalanche have 7 games left. Tampa Bay “trails” the Islanders by 7 points.
Talk about tonight’s game in Comments. I’ll have coverage from the Coliseum.
If you believe the buzz around the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to make the biggest push for Long Islander and Boston University defenseman Matt Gilroy.
This doesn’t necessarily mean the Leafs will sign the North Bellmore product, but they may be the most determined. Toronto President and general manager Brian Burke has inherited a shallow depth chart he needs to replenish. Gilroy, 25 when he will report to some NHL team’s training camp in September, is an unrestricted free agent unbound by the league entry level salary cap. He can make as much as the highest bidder wants to offer.
One league source told Point Blank that Gilroy could command a 4-year contract for more than $1 million a year – maybe a lot more. As the source said, “At that number for a 25-year old defenseman out of college and without a day in the pros, your scouts better be right about him.”
The Islanders have kept their interest close to the vest over the last few months, but it is not a leap to include them among the more than ten teams interested in Gilroy. Team scouts have spent a lot of time this season monitoring the development of Corey Trivino, a 2008 second round pick who is a freshman center at BU. There’s no question they’ve kept an eye on the 6-2, 200-pound Gilroy in his senior season.
But it is Toronto that many league observers believe will blow Gilroy away with an offer. Trivino, Gilroy and the Terriers play their first round matchup in the NCAA Tournament against Ohio State today. The game is on ESPN2 at 5:30 pm.
After seeing two big tourney upsets Friday, BU will not take any teams lightly. Air Force defeated Michigan at the Arena at Harbor Yard, home of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Denver lost to Miami (Ohio), which is especially notable because Denver forward Tyler Bozak – a college free agent possibly in even more demand then Gilroy – is now free to sign with an NHL team.
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Bozak, who returned to game action Friday after missing three months with a knee injury, could be signed in the next few days. With Josh Bailey, Frans Nielsen and possibly John Tavares or Matt Duchene as kids down the middle, do not count on the Islanders as major players for Bozak.
Comments.
Joey MacDonald with the shutout. Very good for him.
1:00 pm - Phew! Finally, back to hockey. Or as Benoit Hogue called it, ockey.
Welcome back, Doug Weight. The Detroit native has been taken off the injured list in time to gear up for tonight’s tilt against the Red Wings. Weight has been determined to finish the season on a healthy and positive note. Seems to me if everything goes according to plan, the Islanders will work on another incentive-laden one-year deal for the veteran center.
The 12th forward tonight - but first in some of your hearts – is Joel Rechlicz. The Red Wings don’t fight a lot, so this is an opportunity for Rechlicz to prove he can skate and become a Steve Webb-like freight train.
Mike Iggulden is back with the Sound Tigers, who play in Hershey on Saturday and in Lowell on Sunday.
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The International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships, which begin on April 24, take place this year in Switzerland. Krokus has even written a song, “Live for the Action,” and will perform it on opening night. As you’d expect, the Swiss would really want NHL all-star Mark Streit to play for them. Streit is flattered, but is taking a wait-and-see approach.
“I want to get to the end of the our season and see how I feel,” Streit recently told Point Blank. “Of course, it is always an honor and I want to see if we can make it work. I’ll sit down with Garth (Snow) and Scott (Gordon) and we’ll talk about it together. In any case like this, you have to think of the team that you play for all year.”
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The World Championships don’t mean the world to some NHLers, but to many they are a huge deal. A long, long time ago, my friend and former Islander Niklas Andersson was angry with me over a WC issue.
Representatives from Team Sweden requested press box seats so they could watch Nik in a game. No problem there. But they also wanted locker room access after the game, which Islanders hockey ops denied. I understood the reasoning. The Islanders may have been all but mathmatically eliminated from postseason contention, but there were still 20 games left in the season.
For a player like Nik, having coach Kent Forsberg (Peter’s dad) and Team Sweden come to watch him play was understandably an honor. He was ticked they weren’t allowed in the locker room. On the other hand, Andersson’s coaches and most of his teammates did not want to see him in the middle of their locker room making Spring plans with a quarter of the season left. After everyone calmed down, I made arrangements for them to meet in private somewhere else in the Coliseum.
No word yet on Sean Bergenheim playing for Finland at the Worlds. No doubt Sean’s priority is to get healthy.
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My sincere thanks to the readers who stopped by the press table and at the bar at the Marriott last night. It was nice meeting all of you.
Comments. Live Game Chat tonight. Coliseum talk continues below.
On one side there’s Charles Wang, insisting on thumbs up or down on the Lighthouse Project by the start of the next hockey season. On the other, there’s Kate Murray and the Town of Hempstead, insisting they are actually ahead of schedule in their process and they will take their time to get it right.
A cleverly-timed editorial by David Levy, Murray’s lead counsel, was featured in Newsday today. Levy essentially says that everyone is wrong – including Islanders fans – and the Town is right. Beyond the merits of Levy’s argument (or lack thereof), it says it all that Kate Murray chose not to put her name and image on the article. Say whatever you want about Wang and his development partner Scott Rechler, but they do not hide. Neither does Tom Suozzi.
The Nassau County Executive was the only person I needed to speak with when last night’s outreach at the Marriott was over. Although he is every bit behind the Lighthouse as Wang and Rechler – except for the paying for it part – Suozzi is the only person with any kind of authority to end the stalemate.
So I asked Suozzi: “Charles and Scott are demanding an answer by October. Kate says she’s doing this the right way and won’t be rushed. There’s no way she has any intention of finalizing approvals by the start of the next hockey season. Please explain to my readers where’s the solution, where’s the endgame.”
“I have a timeline,” Suozzi said.
A-ha. Okay. Explain.
“My staff and I have created a timeline where we take every step that needs be accomplished over the next six months,” said Suozzi. “We believe it is a very fair timeline and could lead to approvals by the start of the hockey season. My job is to make sure the developers, the County and the Town work together to get this done.”
Okay, sounds good. But has Kate Murray seen the timeline? What if she doesn’t even approve of that?
“The Town has it for review,” said Suozzi. “I need to know if they’re okay with it. If we need to make a few modifications, fine. Just let us know so we can proceed.”
What’s the, uh, timeline for a response to your timeline?
“We should know in a few weeks.”
I know what you’re thinking: when the puck can we get back to Islanders hockey and Tavares-Hedman? Believe me, I’m with you. My timeline is to have a hockey story this afternoon and game chat during Islanders-Red Wings tonight beginning at 7:30.
As for the Lighthouse Project, it’s time Suozzi found a way to bring everyone together instead of Town Supervisors hiding behind guest editorials from attorneys. Last night could have been historical, could have been one of those “I-was-there-when…” events. But nobody has any guts anymore.
Perhaps Kate Murray can offer a rematch, on her turf, with her supporters. Don’t know how it would turn out, but you can bet Wang and Rechler would show up. Put it in the timeline.
Comments.
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