KOSKINEN LOSES VITAL YEAR OF DEVELOPMENT
Also: NYI have off-ice workouts before NYR games
Chris Botta on Twitter
On Oct. 26, the Islanders announced that Mikko Koskinen, their 2009 second round pick, suffered a torn labrum after playing only two games in Bridgeport. The team said the goaltender, 21 years old and their top prospect with the Sound Tigers, would return in 8-10 weeks.
A few days later, Koskinen had successful hip surgery by Dr. Marc Philippon, the Vail-based surgeon who has operated on, among others, Rick DiPietro, Garth Snow, Mike Sillinger and Alex Rodriquez. The Islanders never announced an updated timeline for Koskinen’s return to AHL action.
On Nov. 8, Koskinen told Mike Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post that his surgery went well and he hopes to begin practicing in three months and playing in four. It was assumed the Finnish goalie was exaggerating his protocol schedule because 3-4 months is a lot more than 8-10 weeks. The Islanders had projected his return to be around Christmas.
Yesterday, on Dec. 14, Koskinen took the ice for the first time since his injury. He skated lightly for 20 minutes without equipment, mostly doing laps. Koskinen told teammates he still won’t return to game action for another 2-3 months. Maybe more.
So we have the DiPietro protocol, and now there’s the Koskinen protocol. When all is said and done, the important Islanders prospect might be lucky to get in 15 games this season. What we do know for sure is he won’t be back 8-10 weeks from Oct. 26. Major hip surgery and months of rehabilitation for a 6-foot-5 goaltender? A very tough break for Koskinen and the Islanders.
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Scott Gordon opted to have his Islanders participate in off-ice workouts only today in preparation for the home-and-home series against the Rangers. “We skated (Sunday) and it didn’t work,” he said. With last night’s 7-1 embarrassment at home to the Panthers, Gordon said, “It’s best to mentally get away from it.”
Gordon, who hosted a team meeting and a handful of one-on-one player meetings at Iceworks, reported that Florida scored on seven of its nine scoring chances last night. “The seven mistakes we made were the kind of ones you can’t give up,” he said, referring to the Panthers’ breakawayathon.
Asked by a reporter if he was thinking about lineup changes – specifically, benching the struggling Bruno Gervais – Gordon would not tip his hand. “I think about lineup changes every game,” he said. The coach has not decided on a goalie rotation for the home-and-home (not that he would share it anyway) and called the Rangers matchups on Wednesday and Thursday “a mini-playoff series.”
If both teams don’t straighten out, these may be the only playoffs they participate in this season.
Said Andy Sutton: “We have to get our game back on track. Hopefully, a little added emotion will help.”
47 Responses to KOSKINEN LOSES VITAL YEAR OF DEVELOPMENT
Also: NYI have off-ice workouts before NYR games
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Alex says:
y is it this team has the worst luck?
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Joe in Massapequa says:
Wow, two encouraging articles in a row! As if I wasn’t feeling bad enough after the disgusting loss last night, these past two reads don’t help. I know it’s reality but it isn’t easy to digest. I think a partial cure would be a good old fashion beat down tomorrow and Thursday.
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JimfromStjames says:
What we need now is for CB to come down with Carpel Tunnel, get it fixed by DR Philippon and we can have the CB Protocol.
Maybe 8 Weeks translates into 3-4 months in Finnish?
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JPinVA says:
15 games this year wouldn’t be so bad. Having another #1 goalie who is always just a bad decision away from a lost season is TERRIBLE. Luckily, we are neck and neck with Montreal in the goaltender development olympics.
Let’s hope this doesn’t lead to any more knee jerk [no pun intended] reaction and the organization starts to focus on large, strong players who can skate to keep the puck out of their net.
A goaltender is important, but the other 5 positions are vastly more important on this team right now. -
JD says:
A half empty arena, a horrible effort and a beatdown by the Panthers of all teams, more great news regarding DP, and now this. I hope Brashear is nowhere near JT tomorrow night.
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Ted says:
I think I’m going to stop checking IPB for the rest of the day.
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BD Hendo says:
Jeez, with all the great MD’s (orthopedists)in the NY area, this kid sees DP’s Doc, LOTZA LUCK!
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John says:
This franchise is a laughing stock
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SteveNYC says:
I had the same surgery he did in April. It is a 5 month recovery time. I feel great now 8 months later, but I was no where near ready to put skates on after 8-10 weeks. I have no doubt he will be fine, but I knew 8-10 weeks was not realistic.
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isles316 says:
Maybe we will be rewarded for all these years of being brutal and having no luck. Kinda like the Red Sox were when they came back from 3-0 to beat the Yankees.
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CrackheadTheo says:
Chris, what about Nilsson? Is he at least healthy, and has starting goalie potential? I figured only you would know this, aside from Isles scouts/management.
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Lorne says:
We all knew he will not play in the NHL this year if he got hurt or not, and probably will not till 2011-2012 season. However, it is a shame that he is going to lose a lot of development this season.
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Harold C says:
What ELSE can go wrong with these Isles goalies? Geez, this is getting ridiculous.
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Irish Isle says:
Please stop asking what else can go wrong, as I dont think we can handle it.
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Mlem says:
He should probably just retire, wasn’t going to amount to anything anyway, oh look…the sky is falling…everyone needs to take a Chill Pill and relaaaaax…athletes get injured no big deal
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B-RI says:
Could have had Ryan O’reilly….
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blue chip bonzo says:
It’ like the hockey gods are still punishing us for trading away Bobby Lou…first DP and now the Big Finn…thank god Garth signed and drafted more than one goalie- another example of how far Snow has come in a few short years…where’s the Petrov update???
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Mark P says:
Yup….To many picks given up for DeHaan…leading to the wrong 2nd round pick used for the Jumbo Goalie.
would have cost maybe a 4 to move up for Depres….Yes…Ryan OReilly….I am still waiting for something that shows that in 2 drafts with many many picks all Islanders have is the No-Brainer JT….and the UNSIGNED Hamonic.
When do we get the full analyis of Garths Drafts? At least we now know why he traded a #1 for Smyth and a #2 for Zednick-(waste)-its because Snow (and RJ) are terrible talent ameteur talent evaluaters. -
JKP on LI says:
This isn’t good news, but it’s not a huge deal either. It’s not worth going nuts over lack of goalie depth, since it’s basically always possible to get a decent one for cheap on the FA or trade market. That kind of goes to show that it’s unwise to draft goalies as highly as Snow did in the last draft, but it’s too late to do anything about that lately.
I remember when DiPietro got the monster contract, most of the laughing directed at the Isles was disingenuous, but there was some anonymous GM quoted as saying that it doesn’t make sense to commit to a goalie long term for that kind of money, since it’s always possible to get a good solid goalie for 4.5 million or less from outside the organization, and outside of a few elite talents, most NHL starters are basically interchangeable anyway.
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Cary says:
I see a 15 year deal in the works…
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Spartiarti-RVC says:
Hmm lets see, Of that list, looks like only AROD’s surgery was succesful. then again he plays baseball not hockey.
So fact he has hip surgery already is not a good sign. Sillinger, Snow, and Dunham no longer play hockey. DP retirement is immininent.
Maybe Sudsy is a jinx on goalies.
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Mike L says:
Yup Garth Snow is definitely at fault here. He should have known that the goalie prospect most teams wanted would have only lasted 2 games in his first year and would be out with injury. I think I’m going to blame his crystal ball here too. It’s been too cloudy.
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Strummer's Army says:
I need a hug! I’m glad to see them being more patient with his rehab. hopefully him and Rick will be 100% soon. With healthy Rick and Rolo, Koskinen will need to play in Bridge next year anyway, so not like they need to rush to have him NHL ready. He has looked good in N. American action. What is interesting is they have to sign Poulin this year. They have Lawson signed for next year, Koskinen, and Ridderwall seems to finally want to come over to N. America. Good luck finding ice time for everyone.
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Iron Islander77 says:
Rick DiPietro, Garth Snow, Mike Sillinger…. I hope this Dr doesn’t advertise these failures on his resume!!
He seems to be the NHL career ender.
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Tim F. says:
Does anyone have Peter Mannino’s phone number?
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the bomber says:
so this is how it feels to be a met fan. if the isles use the same docs, im thinking they should switch….
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StevieL says:
Concern I have is that a big goalie , at 6’5″, has a lot of human body to constantly pick up off the ice. Lots of wear on legs and hips. I don’t know if bigger is necessarily better when it comes to goaltending. Need a guy that is nimble and quick. Hopefully Koslie comes back strong.
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Maybe the guys who run physicals for the Isles’ goalies are holding their charts upside-down, and they only pass the guys who get hurt.
Elsewhere: “Welcome to the NHL, please sign your entry contract!”
Uniondale: “Welcome to the NHL, please sign your insurance forms/laibility waiver!” -
bergie20 says:
i still like the pick and the player. nothing you could have really done about the injury. it stinks but it’s nobodies fault. the good news is that poulin, ridderwall, and nilsson are having good years.
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TheNewIslesGM says:
I think its safe to say Dwayne Roloson is not part of the rebuild. He is a temporary fix in the crease until we find a true number one to build around. His trade value is extremely high right now and with so many teams looking for goaltending changes, we might have ourselves some luck here. I think we should use this asset to acquire a steady d-man, because we desperately need it. We still have Biron who has been a number one goalie,seen some playoff success and still plays very solid. I think we should focus this summer on keeping Biron and acquiring some picks to draft more defenseman. There is just so many holes to fix right now and I just wish I could see Garth’s list of priorities. I hope DP is at the top starting with a retirement. Just get it done and over with.
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Jason says:
I miss the stand-up goalie.
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AngryPete says:
I know what’ll make me feel better! FOUR POINTS vs the Rangers this week!
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Lane says:
The only thing worse than all of these news articles is if the team announced they were moving out of town… Or a sweep by the Rangers.
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Jason says:
He was a dumb draft pick and everyone here knew it and said it at the time. Let’s not be revisionist. There were good forwards and defensemen on the board at the start of the second day…and Garth went with what he knows best – which is what he’s done when searching for a coach, searching for free agents, ect.
Had a goalie been one of the top three prospects in the draft last year he probably would have went with that over Tavares.
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bgl says:
I miss the stand up goalie too. Sudsie teaches butterfly? Its not working for this team. Nathan Horton all over the nhl news today, Isles are a laughingstock once again.I can’t take it anymore.Last night was a joke. Everyone except Jesse Jonessou should hang their heads in shame.
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pete debenedetto says:
CB–
What is the order of “worth” that we have in the system…minors-college-junior-europe…as it pertains to the goalies. In other words, barring any free agent moves or trades….what would we have ready in three years? Assuming Rick does not come back.
They can have me….I was once ranked up there with Vinny Barone as we played for Alonge in Hicksville:) Stopped 30 in a row on Trezza Court!!! -
Davie says:
Reading this site lately has made me want to jump out a window.
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Jolanders says:
WOW Great Sign him for 15 years!
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Just want to make it clear that I’m not the one who said “he was a dumb draft pick”.
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jimb says:
I would really like to see Macdonald in the lineup instead bruno
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Staten Islander says:
Sign him for 15 years, he’ll fit right in
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Eastonhockey says:
2 or 3 more last place in the division finishes might be the nail in the coffin for this franchise with the shrinking fanbase.
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steve says:
i am very glad snow collected 2 goalies in this draft. nothing can be done about an injury AFTER the draft. but if DP is finished, hes unable to stay healthy, then we’d all be typing about needing to draft a goalie. 2 points out of the eight spot nealy half way through the season. this has been a very good season when you consider what was expected at preseason. i look foward to the games this week.
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ralph says:
Right on Steve…I’m actually very impressed with the record so far, the team is a lot better than expected. Lets Go Islanders!
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Tony says:
I think the Isles will be the NHL version of the Detroit Lions–who draft a WR every year. The Isles will draft a goalie every year.
This keeps getting better and better! Keep drafting goalies Garth!!! lol
CB…Do you think that Poulin can be a future #1 for us?