Monthly Archives: January 2010
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The Islanders’ improvement in year two of their rebuild, the arrival of a future star in John Tavares and some successful marketing and community initiatives have led to a business boom for the franchise.
According to league records obtained by Point Blank, ticket sales revenue is already up by 11% for the Islanders this season. With business expected to surge with the hockey team in the playoff hunt, the Islanders project an increase of more than 15% by the end of the season.
The franchise is seeing strong growth in three areas:
Individual game ticket sales are up by more than 20% over last season, when the team stopped being a factor in the Eastern Conference standings before New Year’s Day. While the cost of some seats were raised and the Islanders instituted a “tiered” pricing system this season, the uptick can also be attributed to a team defying last-place predictions and emergence of young stars like Tavares and Kyle Okposo.
Although the Islanders may have more available inventory for group purchases than many other NHL teams, the team now leads the league in group tickets sold. The organization fnished fourth last season. As evidenced by the 1,500 tickets purchased by a local youth hockey program for Saturday’s game, the Islanders are successfully connecting with community groups through their charity, school and youth hockey-based programs.
According to a team source, partial plan sales have already exceeded revenue targets established last summer. The “flex” plans – buy 20 or 40 “vouchers” at a discount and go to the games you want – have been the most popular this year.
In addition, corporate sponsorship revenue is up 12% from last season, impressive considering the economic climate.
The Islanders have had only three sellouts this season, but two were last week for the games against the rival Devils. With 16 regular season home games remaining and an exciting team fighting for a playoff spot, the Islanders should be able to capitalize at the box office.
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On Sunday night, Dustin Kohn was no longer listed on the Islanders’ roster. With Andy Sutton returning from his two-game suspension to face Washington on Tuesday, Kohn will be back in Bridgeport.
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9:28 pm, NVMC – Interactive Plus/Minus and the Point Blank Rock Challenge after the Devils’ 4-2 victory over the Islanders…
Plus: Islanders fans responding to the positive developments in the Country with the second sellout of the week, third of the season (the home opener).
Minus: The Islanders often point out after games how they often got the better of play 5-on-5. They hit three posts and missed a few other big chances, but you couldn’t say that tonight.
Plus: First big Islanders save of the night made by – who else? – Kyle Okposo three minutes into the game.
Minus: Islanders look disjointed early in the first, leave the captain of the U.S. Olympic Team wide open for the opening goal of the game.
Plus: John Tavares shanks a pass right on the stick to Okposo to tie the game at 1-1 early into Colin White’s five-minute penalty (and game misconduct) for boarding Sean Bergenheim.
Plus: Jamie Langenbrunner saying to Zach Parise on the Devils’ bench, “That guy Okposo did make the Olympic Team, right”? (Okay, I made that up, but he may have).
Minus: Jacques Lemaire’s comedic pre-game monologue about the Coliseum. “I don’t like the locker room. I don’t like my office. The rink is okay. My office is like a washroom and we are six in it. So we can’t turn around if one guy wants to get out.” No doubt Jacques didn’t mind the place when his first Devils team won regularly here.
Minus: Not learning from Dave Tippett’s blunder in Phoenix, Lemaire doesn’t put a Devil in the penalty box during White’s five-minute penalty. The Islanders get an extra 32 seconds on the power play. Twice in one season? Astounding. And Lemaire had breaks after two Islanders power play goals to correct his mistake. Brain cramp caused by cramped office, I guess.
Plus: Islanders out-shoot the Devils 14-1 in the second period.
Minus: New Jersey, who played last night, was the far better team in the third.
Minus: New Jersey’s only shot was Zach Parise’s pass off Freddy Meyer’s skate and behind Rick DiPietro to tie the game at 2-2 with 32 seconds left in the period.
Minus: It’s an embarrassment to a great sport and league that teams are going on power plays because the lame composite sticks break in half, drawing slashing penalties. Example: Travis Zajac’s phantom “slash” in the first period.
Minus: Rick DiPietro seemed to have a lot of trouble getting the puck to stick in his glove.
Minus: The headline in the business section of Newsday this week, “Fighting for $186M for Point Blank.” Turns out the story was about a lawsuit involving a body armor company called Point Blank Solutions. Darn.
Even: Lots of Devils fans in the expensive seats tonight, right at center ice.
Plus: Assuming he doesn’t return from his two-game suspension kinder and gentler, Andy Sutton and Alexander Ovechkin will be fun to watch on Tuesday.
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The Point Blank Rock Challenge
In honor of Sunday’s big game, K-ROCK is playing rock blocks all weekend in which each song starts with a J, then an E, then a T and S. Got me thinking of the day, any year now, when the Islanders are in the Stanley Cup Final. Maybe K-Rock wouldn’t do it, but Roger Luce and the folks at WBAB would.
(There’s always time in a Devils game for side projects like this or another Australian Open forecast for FanHouse. I’m 3-0 heading into Sunday’s big Justine Henin match).
So here’s mine. Some of these are not necessarily my all-time favorite tunes, just some standards of classic rock radio to get the challenge started.
I: “I Am the Walrus” by the Beatles
S: “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
L: “Layla” by Derek and the Dominoes
A: “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
N: “Night Moves” by Bob Seger
D: “Down by the River” by Neil Young
E: “Every Breath You Take” by The Police
R: “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin
S: “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones
Here’s the Point Blank Rock Challenge: Submit your I-S-L-A-N-D-E-R-S list, BUT no duplicate songs. Once a poster lists a song, you cannot use it.
They do not have to be classic rock. Just good. Take your time. There’s no Islanders practice tomorrow.
Your Plus/Minus is also welcomed.
6:30 pm – Yann Danis is out sick, so Martin Brodeur gets the start. As I just tweeted, Yann will probably get his next chance to start in March.
11:05 am, NVMC: Rick DiPietro starts tonight against the Devils, 3-1 losers last night at home to the Canadiens. DiPietro shut out New Jersey on Monday after beating Buffalo in a shootout less than 48 hours earlier. Isn’t it nice that the news of DiPietro getting a start is not really news?
Although a few tickets were available this morning, tonight’s crowd will be a sellout – the latest indication that the fan base is recognizing what the Islanders have built this season. Key for the home team will be establishing their style of play and not letting the Devils drain the flow out of the game and the passion out of the stands.
The Devils are struggling badly of late. They have lost four of five and they do not have a power play goal in their last eight games. Niclas Bergfors, at one point pushing Tyler Myers, Matt Duchene, John Tavares, the kid goalies and all the rest as a Calder candidate, does not have a goal in his last eleven. With Rod Pelley out, former Islanders farmhand Ben Walter is up with the Devils.
Scott Gordon said this morning the Devils “are going to want to be able to respond” after the Islanders shut them out on Monday afternoon. “We caught them after their road trip and they weren’t as sharp. I’m sure they’ll be better tonight.”
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Coinciding with the Islanders’ recent roll is the improved play of Bruno Gervais, who had a subpar first half after playing so well for long stretches last season with Mark Streit.
“The confidence is back,” Gervais said this morning. “The message from the coaches was that I was trying to do too much. You can’t make chicken salad out of … ”
Asked for the reasons for the defenseman’s improved play, Gordon said that Gervais and Freddy Meyer complement each other well. Gervais, who partnered with Dustin Kohn last game, agreed. “Now that we’ve both been here a while, Freddy and I know how to help each other on the ice,” he said. “We have good instincts about when he should join the play and I should join the play. We back each other up.”
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Nathan Horton is out 4-6 weeks with a broken tibia after absorbing that slap shot dump-in from teammate Dennis Seidenberg in the third period on Thursday at the Coliseum. After the game, coach Peter DeBoer’s preliminary report from Panthers trainer led him to believe, “It’s nothing to be worried about.” Now Florida, an Islanders rival for a playoff berth, loses a key component on their top line for a month.
Comments on tonight’s game and this post.
9:45 pm - Join the interactive post-game Plus/Minus after the Islanders’ 2-1 shootout win over the Florida Panthers.
Plus: The Islanders win their sixth in a row at home. Big crowds, average crowds, small crowds…doesn’t matter when a team is executing its system and playing for each other.
Plus: Okay, so the Islanders weren’t at their best. Still getting the two points is the hallmark of a team that will be in the playoff race, if not the playoffs.
Plus: Does Dwayne (The Rock) Roloson have a goalie stick inscribed “Wonderboy”? In the first period, the 40-year-old stopped a wraparound at one post and wrister at the other a split-second later. I can’t play a game of one-on-one hoops for 15 minutes without needing some kind of surgery.
Even: The Panthers had a vintage October ’09 Islanders first period: skate the opponent into the ground, take a lot of shots, miss a lot of shots, not score.
Minus: As we’ve written a lot in this space, a call like that is always going to go against Jon Sim — even if he was pushed into the goalie by a Panther.
Minus: Worse was the non-call right after the Islanders killed the Sim penalty in the third when Kyle Okposo was crosschecked right in front of Kerry Fraser.
Minus: It’s one thing to take enforcers out of the game. Now love taps are called in overtime. This is not even your young uncle’s NHL. I hope Al Arbour was asleep by then.
Plus: The 4-on-3 penalty kill was so inspired, even Scott Gordon applauded behind the bench. Take a bow, Roloson, Frans Nielsen, Jack Hillen and Bruno Gervais.
Plus: Take another one, Jack Hillen.
Plus: The old barn rocked after the overtime penalty kill.
Plus: Andrew MacDonald.
Minus: One of the sillier scenes in sports in when a player is innocently high-sticked and everyone looks to see if he has the equivalent of a shaving cut so a two-minute penalty becomes a double-minor.
Plus: Awesome to see Okposo, the future captain, letting Fraser have it all the way back to the bench.
Plus: Happy 39th birthday to kid-at-heart captain Doug Weight.
Plus: Josh Bailey displaying the razzle-dazzle of a lefty Tim Connolly.
Plus: Not only is Rob Schremp money in the shootout, he makes very good goalies look really awkward.
Plus: Speaking of money…thy name is Moulson.
Plus: First NHL game, first NHL assist for Dustin Kohn.
Plus: To Jack Capuano, Pat Bingham and Matt Bertani, who have their youngsters ready to contribute when they’re called up by the Islanders.
Plus: If bleeding orange, black and blue couldn’t win him a roster spot over a teammate who has played twice in the last seven weeks, here’s hoping Nate Thompson finds ten minutes a game in Tampa Bay.
Plus: Holy Schneikies, I’m sure as heck not going to miss the Thompson debate. After tonight.
Hoping to host a live chat on Friday at 1:30 pm. Stay tuned tomorrow for details.
CB on FanHouse: On the George Laraque news
CB on FanHouse: The Canucks’ 14-game road trip
UPDATED at 12:15 pm – Nate Thompson was picked up on waivers by Tampa Bay. He will play for the Lightning tonight. Good for him.
The only explanation for Thompson being waived over everyday-scratch Jeff Tambellini is that Garth Snow must think Tambellini has solid trade value. Scott Gordon has played Jeff in two games since Dec. 9. Remember the Islanders’ win in the Garden the day after Christmas? Gordon gave Thompson more than 16 minutes.
I asked Gordon if it was difficult to place Thompson on waivers, considering how much the coach played Thompson in critical situations this season. In a very nice way, Gordon said that when it came to “the administrative stuff,” I should speak with Garth Snow. “A move had to be made,” said Gordon.
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11:50 am - Dwayne Roloson starts tonight for the Islanders against the Panthers. Phew…for a moment there, looked like the Islanders were going to hand Rick DiPietro the No. 1 job on a platter. Roloson has been the biggest reason why the Islanders are in the playoff hunt today and deserves starts while he and the comebacking DiPietro battle it out.
Scott Gordon said after the morning skate that he has spoken with Roloson and DiPietro about what they can expect from the rotation between now and the Olympic break. The coach pretty much intimated that DiPietro will start Saturday against New Jersey.
The Islanders skated this morning with the usual line combinations.
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Dustin Kohn arrived at the old barn on Hempstead Turnpike at 11:30 am and will take his place on the blue line tonight for the suspended Andy Sutton. Kohn said he was told of his recall yesterday, so “hopefully I’ve had some time to get the butterflies out.”
Gordon on Kohn: “I saw him play in Bridgeport last week. He’s made some strides. He’s at his best when he keeps it simple.” The coach praised Kohn’s skating ability.
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DeBoer Knew Tavares When: Florida head coach Peter DeBoer coached John Tavares with the Canadian national team at the Super Series all the way back in September of 2007. Speaking with Point Blank, DeBoer had a lot of praise for the youngest member of the gold medal-winning team – John Tavares.
“He’s a special kid,” said DeBoer, whose Panthers face the Islanders at the Coliseum tonight. “John was our youngest player, just 17, but you knew he was the real deal. And he’s humble, respectful. No boasting and no ego. Sometimes with kids that young and talented, they can be a handful. Not John.
“Because he’s so gifted, I think people on the outside understand how much character he has, how much passion for the game he has. There’s no question in my mind that John was over-analyzed to death because he played four full years of junior hockey.
“He’s had some spurts and slumps, like you’d expect from any teenager at this level. But I’ve already seen enough to know what he’s going to be, as I’m sure everyone in the NHL has. In a matter of time, John will be a consistent 40-50 goal scorer. The Islanders are really fortunate to have him because he’s going to be the kind of star player that always wants to be on the ice in critical situations. Not everyone does.”
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Jiggs is Back…Kind of: With Randy Moller under the weather, Jiggs McDonald is back in the Coliseum press box tonight as the radio voice of the Florida Panthers.
Coach’s Handbook, Rule 37: If one of your players throws a hit that could lead to a suspension, always tell the media after the game, “I haven’t seen the video.” (By the way, how honest and classy for Andy Sutton to say, “Obviously, it wasn’t clean.”)
Live Chat: Stay tuned for details for a live mid-day chat in the near future on Point Blank. I’m open to suggestions on the best time for the biggest audience, which I believe would be around 1:00 pm EST, right? Maybe Friday.
Comments. Comment Guidelines.
3:30 pm – Andy Sutton has been suspended two games by the NHL for his hit last night on Pittsburgh’s Pascal Dupuis. Expect Dustin Kohn to be recalled from Bridgeport.
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1:00 pm - Looks like the Islanders expect Andy Sutton to be suspended. This is the reason they have given Katie Strang of Newsday for placing Nate Thompson on waivers. If the fourth-line forward clears in 24 hours – and he almost certainly will – he will join Bridgeport. The Sound Tigers defenseman most ready for recall if Sutton is suspended is Dustin Kohn. Sutton has a hearing today.
Before being a healthy scratch the last week, Thompson averaged 13 minutes a game and was an everyday presence in the Islanders’ lineup. He often started games because Scott Gordon said Thompson’s line gave his team the best chance to establish its forecheck. Thompson – who played for Gordon in Providence – also played in the final minutes of tight games and was frequently used in overtime.
How Thompson went from Gordon favorite to the minors is easily answered: he is on a two-way contract. The Islanders still are in fear of losing one-way contract player Jeff Tambellini, which is odd because he has been a healthy scratch since Jan. 2 and benched by Gordon for 26 of the team’s 50 games this season. Too bad. Tambellini could use the icetime. The Sound Tigers could really use Tambellini’s scoring touch.
Here we go! Comments.
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