Monthly Archives: July 2009
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12:15 pm - Live from just in front of the visiting team bench at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, it’s Point Blank at the John Tavares press conference.
The fans have started to enter the arena. The event is being held on the Coliseum floor, with the scoreboard serving as backdrop. The board and the digitial signage around the rink read “JOHN TAVARES #91.” The Lighthouse folks are here, as are – natch – the ticket sales force. Howie Rose will be your MC for the afternoon.
12:24 pm - Approximately 200 fans have filled most of the seats on the arena floor, with some lined up along the sides.
Word has it that Pat Brisson, the agent for John Tavares, is running behind schedule and will not make the press conference. Still, he’ll be here for his true purpose: to begin discussions on John’s first NHL contract.
12:35 - Howie Rose begins event. Charles Wang enters with John’s family and Josh Bailey. Tavares takes seats on dais with Garth Snow and Scott Gordon.
12:37 - Howie’s speech references Islanders fans who filled out questionnaires last summer saying they wanted the team to practice “patience.” Introduces Snow, who pokes fun at Howie for not wearing a suit.
12:40 - Snow intros video on the drafting of Tavares. Crowd of approximately 350 roars with approval. Snow brings on Tavares, who receives 91 jersey, poses for photo op with Garth and Scott and then walks on water on his way to the podium.
12:41 - “A dream for me since I was 14. I couldn’t be more excited, more thrilled, more humbled than to be with the New York Islanders and in this community.” He thanks the fans for welcoming him and for their support.
12:42 - Tavares: “It’s a young group. It’s going to take some time. I’m excited about camp this week and, of course, training camp. I can’t wait, like I said, to get started. It’s going to be a lot of fun bringing that success back.”
12:46 - Billy Jaffe interviewing Snow, Gordon and Tavares. He asks John about fellow 91 Butch Goring. Tavares says he knows what Butch meant to the dynasty.
12:48 - Scott Gordon: “There’s no question goal scoring is something we lacked last season. There’s no question from the top of the circles down, John’s ability to score goals is something we’re going to welcome. He’s a lot more complete player than I knew. Gordon cites Tavares’ ability in his own end and in the faceoff circle.
12:51 - At a press conference for John Tavares, incredibly the first question from the media is about who’s going to be captain this season. Understandably, Gordon politely blows it off.
12:53 - Snow reiterates that Tavares was always the pick. “He’s a great hockey talent and an even better person,” says the general manager.
12:55 - Tavares: “Obviously, we’re in a rebuilding phase. You have to take a few years where there’s some growing pains, some tough seasons.” He says the team will come together over the years and “bring that success back.” He cites Pittsburgh and Chicago as models.
12:57 - Formal press conference ends. Photo ops begin with family and Josh Bailey.
Looks like Greg Logan, Dan Martin of the Post, PB and the other media in attendance are now being escorted to a space where we can have some time with Tavares and company. If anything comes of it, I’ll pass it along.
Season ticketholders with team-approved wristbands are lined up to get autographs from Tavares.
1:45 pm - Nah, you didn’t miss much behind the curtain. Scott Gordon told reporters Prospect Camp is not about linemates (Josh Bailey, for example) but about “getting to know the terminology, how we practice, how we train off the ice.” A team PR official ended Gordon’s media scrum as one fellow asked about the status of Rick DiPietro. This will be the team’s latest suspense thriller, with the goal of Rick hitting the ice the first day of camp in Saskatoon and doing an Ozzie Smith flip to show he’s 100%.
I spoke with Tavares one-on-one for about 3 minutes for a story I have planned on a big piece of adversity he hit amidst all the Team Canada championships and personal awards. That story should be up by tomorrow.
Point Blank coverage of Tavares, along with the Prospect Camp continues even during the quiet time of July, will continue.
Comments on Tavares and today’s event in this thread, please.
9:00 pm - In a response to my text tonight whether a John Tavares contract would be done for tomorrow’s press conference, agent Pat Brisson wrote: “No, but we should start discussing in the next few days.” Then I checked Greg Logan’s blog to see if he had anything different. Greg did. Brisson said to Newsday, “We’re probably going to be exploring things with the contract.” Exploring. No, really. It’s okay. Three years, standard Entry Level. Just like Stamkos – $875 K, plus $2.850 mill a year in potential bonuses. Max cap. Brisson told me a few days before the draft No. 1 pick contracts take “10, 15 minutes. These deals are basically no-brainers. You can’t ask for any more money than the CBA permits.” No reason to explore, Pat. You too, you Islanders people. Comments. Prospect camp and Lighthouse talk continues below.
5:35 pm - The roster has been released for Islanders Prospect Camp, held from Friday through next Wednesday at Iceworks in Syosset. (Although we have heard from NYI season ticketholders that they have been able to schedule a visit by appointment on other days, officially camp is only open to the general public on Sunday. Check the team website for details).
A few notes on the roster. College players, such as Corey Trivino, Aaron Ness, Rhett Rakhshani and Matt Donovan, are allowed by the NCAA to attend as long as they pay their own way. Casey Cizikas is confirmed to make it on time. Shuhei Kuji from the Japanese National team will be there. No Kirill Petrov (oh well), Jared Spurgeon (minor shoulder injury) or Jyri Niemi (undisclosed injury). John Tavares has been designated uniform number 91.
If you haven’t heard of a player on this list, he is most likely an undrafted, unsigned invitee. This means he’s a longshot. While I wish all of them the best, it’s going to take a lot for them to make an impact. Steve Webb did, so there is a precedent. If you’re looking for background on the invitees, try www.hockeydb.com.
TEAM NYSTROM – GROUP 1
Forwards Defensemen Goalies
13 Vlad Nikiforov 3 Calvin de Haan 52 Nathan Lawson
14 Tony Romano 43 A. MacDonald 60 Kevin Poulin
26 Anders Lee 47 Blake Kessel
27 Casey Cizikas 49 Victor Bartley
36 Corey Trivino 56 Dustin Kohn
40 Joel Rechlicz 77 Nate Prosser
46 Matt Martin
50 Tomas Marcinko
53 Calle Ridderwall
61 Doug Rogers
65 Rhett Rakhshani
81 Justin DiBenedetto
91 John Tavares
TEAM MORROW – GROUP 2
Forwards Defensemen Goalies
12 Josh Bailey 4 Anton Klementiev 34 Mikko Koskinen
17 Mike Radja 6 Patrick Cullity 35 Anders Nilsson
29 Evgeny Lapenkov 62 Travis Hamonic
41 Robin Figren 70 Matt Donovan
42 David Ullstrom 71 Mark Katic
48 Jason Gregoire 72 Aaron Ness
54 Shuhei Kuji
55 David Toews
58 Jesse Joensuu
59 Carter Camper
63 Jason Dale
64 Michael Findorff
67 Kevin Deeth
68 Billy Maday
Reminder: Tavares introductory press conference, open to the public, is Wednesday at 12:30 pm at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Comments. Lighthouse discussion continues below.
2:15 pm: The Town board approves and Kate Murray declares the DGEIS “ready for public review.” She also confirms public hearing, as reported here, for August 4 at the Adams theatre on the Hofstra complex.
1:45 pm: Cellular issue finally closed. Now it’s on to a property thing, not the Lighthouse. Union official tells me it’s a deep disappointment that the Town did not have a separate DGEIS hearing and instead placed it at the end of a long agenda. Hempstead lead attorney Joe Ra just assured me Lighthouse item will be raised within the hour. He did not say if he’d get me out of the parking ticket.
12:45 pm: They just took a 20-minute recess and are back at it on a cellular carrier issue. Even some Lighthouse staffers have bolted, which makes me wonder what the heck I’m doing here.
11:00 am: The DGEIS is last on the ToH meeting agenda, so this is going to take a while. On a non-Lighthouse matter, Tom Suozzi bulldog/Nassau legislator Dave Denenberg is fighting bitterly with the Town board – proving again the County and the Town have some difficulty working together. On the bright side, I met Trent Kowalik, who won a Tony Award and a Hempstead citation for playing Billy Eliot on Broadway. On the down side, I’m probably going to get a parking ticket.
8:55 am: The latest on the major public hearing on the Lighthouse Project is that it will be on the grounds of Hofstra University – probably at the Adams Playhouse – and not at the home-court advantage of Hempstead Town Hall. We speculated Hofstra initially, but were then thrown off by a Newsday report yesterday that said Town Hall. Silly us. We should have stuck to our guns, a la Tavares.
Either way, two big dates: today at 10:30 am (after they wade through all other town business), the Town of Hempstead will approve the DGEIS. And then the all-day event on August 4 – the official date is expected to be confirmed this morning – will be the public hearing to end all public hearings. If you care about the Islanders and/or this project, this is the place to be. The Adams Playhouse seats a little over 1,000. That should not be difficult to fill. They should consider the basketball arena.
Comments on the Lighthouse Project and future of the Islanders on Long Island.
7:55 pm - Beauchemin went to TO, but two more from the AHL for the NYI. There’s Greg Moore, a checking center who played 6 games last season for the Rangers and spent most of the last four in Hartford. And left wing Matt Moulson, who played 29 NHL games (6-4-10) over the last three seasons while in the Kings system. For those of you still salivating over the thought of your team going after Kris Versteeg and/or Cam Barker, remember one thing: the Islanders have signed only one NHL free agent. They needed a goaltender.
1:20 pm – Casey Cizikas, a 2009 Islanders draft pick charged with manslaughter for a rugby game incident that led to the accidental death of an opponent, was given a sentence of one year probation and 100 hours of community service this morning in court in Brampton, Ontario.
The 18-year old Cizikas, a 2009 Islanders fourth round pick and center for the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, was indicted on manslaughter charges for his role in the death of 15-year old Manny Castillo. The facts of the case have been muddled through two years of incorrect media reports and by conflicting testimony in the court case.
In a rugby game in Mississauga in 2007, Cizikas tackled Castillo. Some testimony described the tackle as “part of the play,” some as a rough tackle that was not part of the play. Cizikas said he was in a headlock and used self-defense. Some witnesses said Cizikas used a pile-driver move to drive Castillo into the ground.
Castillo died two days later. Contrary to many news accounts, Castillo’s death was not a result of a spinal cord injury but rather a head injury. It was also noted by physicians that two weeks prior to the battle with Cizikas, Castillo suffered a major concussion. One doctor testified that Castillo’s concussion was so severe, he should have been held out of competition with physical contact for a full year.
Standing above all the conflicting testimony was an overwhelmingly compassionate gesture by the Castillo family. Since they believed Manny’s death was an accident, the family asked that Cizikas be spared punishment. However, because the tackle led to a death, their request could not be met. Cizikas was found by Judge Bruce Duncan to have used “unnecessary force” and charged with manslaughter. At today’s hearing, Manuel Castillo – Manny’s father – gave an emotional impact statement that called for fighting in youth hockey to be abolished, but again did not blame Cizikas for his son’s death.
With today’s sentencing, Cizikas can continue his pursuit of his NHL dream, beginning with his participation in the Islanders’ Prospect Camp later this week at Iceworks in Syosset and training camp in September in Saskatoon.
One scout we contacted after the draft said Cizikas is a player of “early second-round” skill and tenacity levels who ended up the first pick of the fourth round because of “an obvious, understandable lack of focus at times.” He played well head-to-head against Matt Duchene in the OHL playoffs this season and has been a member of U-17 and U-18 Canadian national teams, anchoring lines with players such as Zach Kassian and Ryan O’Reilly.
NHL Central Scouting chief E.J. McGuire discussed Casey’s abilities with Mike Brophy of Sportsnet. “There are nights when he controls the game and then there are other nights you watch him and you say to yourself, ‘Come on kid, grab the puck and go with it.’ He has (Patrick) Kane-like skill and size isn’t an issue, but he needs to work on his consistency. Maybe that will come with time and maturity. You worry about what happened hanging over his head and wonder how big that dark cloud is. On the other hand, with what he has had to deal with, maybe it will make him more resilient.”
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A Note to our Readers: Under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act, for two years Cizikas has gone unidentified in media reports north of the border. Nevertheless, everyone in Ontario knew his story. Every scout in the NHL was aware of his situation. His story was debated on hockey message boards, including several Islanders sites.
An excited but humbled Cizikas gave Point Blank an interview the day after he was drafted by the Islanders. Although this blog is not bound by Canada’s youth law, we decided to honor it in respect to Cizikas and his family until the sentencing. Eight days later, and with Cizikas now receiving probation and community service, here is a transcript of our call.
Casey, what was your reaction when you were heard you were taken in the fourth round by the Islanders?
Lots of emotions. Ecstatic. It was like the sun came out. A weight off my shoulder. All of those cliches. So much gratitude for the Islanders for showing faith in me. Incredible emotion seeing how much it meant to my mom and dad, who have been there for me through everything. My father was so happy. Mom was crying. It’s impossible to really sum it up.
I know you didn’t attend the draft. Where were you when you got the news?
I was at driving school.
You didn’t skip it for draft day?
No. Since I wasn’t going to be at the draft, I wanted to keep my regular routine. I told my driving teacher before class that I might get a very important phone call, and if I did I would have to leave for the rest of the day. He was very understanding.
The call came about mid-way through class. It was my agent. He told me the news and then I spoke to (assistant GM) Ryan Jankowski. I have no idea what he said to me because I was so emotional. I hope he calls again so I don’t miss anything about development camp.
Because of the indictment, did you think you would be drafted?
I thought I would go at some point on Saturday. I just had no idea when and to who.
Had the Islanders spent much time talking to you?
Not much more than anyone else. I wasn’t invited by the NHL to the Draft Combine, so I didn’t get to meet with them there. I remember an Islanders scout meeting with a lot of guys on our team and handing out a questionnaire early in the season.
That was probably the psych test. You must have done well.
I guess so. I take those seriously. I hope it helped. The first time I thought it could be the Islanders was the week of the draft. My agent said they were asking a lot of questions about me.
Did the court proceedings over the last year affect your play?
In a way, I have to say so, although I hate using it as an excuse. I had a good rookie year at St. Mike’s. Last season, I got hit from behind in a preseason game against Owen Sound and missed the next five and a half weeks. It took me a while to get going. It was a rough year. But I say all that, and you have to understand that I know the situation I’m in and I’m fortunate to have hockey in my life.
Is the hockey rink where you’re happiest these days?
Coming to the rink every day means everything to me. Being with my friends, my coaches. It releases my stress, at least for a few hours.
When you’re focused and at your best, what kind of player are you?
I think I can play like Mike Richards of the Flyers. I model my play after him. I believe I can be that kind of player someday.
What has the support of (St. Mike’s coach) Dave Cameron been like?
Outstanding. He’s a special person. In the time since the incident happened, he has always been at my side. His family is in PEI (Prince Edward Island) and I know he has lost time with them because he has been looking out for me. I will never forget what he has done. My agent has also been a big part of my hockey family. I owe them so much.
What did it mean to have the support of the Castillo family?
Oh…that’s…they are special people. I don’t even know what to say about them. It was a terrible, terrible accident. They have never, not once, pointed fingers. It’s hard for me to talk about them…(Cizikas gets choked up and we take a brief break). They know how I feel.
So how does being drafted by the Islanders change life for you?
It’s a big step. It means a team has gone out of their way to show they have faith in me. Now I have a goal with an NHL team, a team I feel I can trust. The New York Islanders are behind me, they have made that clear. I have an NHL team that believes in me. You know what that means after everything has happened?
I’m going to do everything I can to show their faith in me was not wasted. I think I work pretty hard, but now I’m going to work twice as hard to become an Islander and pay them back for their loyalty.
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Starts at 9:30 am. Surprised they’re not having it in a bigger space. Maybe the ToH wanted home-court advantage. As we wrote on Friday, if you attend one Islanders Project hearing in your lifetime, this is the one. BTW, contrary to a report in today’s Newsday, the Town’s approval of the DGEIS is expected tomorrow, not today. Comments.
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