Monthly Archives: May 2010
FanHouse TV: CB runs into Roman Hamrlik
Please read and react at FanHouse.
Kevin Poulin and the Islanders finalized his three-year Entry Level deal, so all the important prospects will be in the fold. Poulin was the tougher sign, since he so out-played his fifth round status. Travis Hamonic’s contract is a layup that will be done by the end of the month as he plays for Brandon at the Memorial Cup. Poulin’s development will be fun and intriguing to watch. Here’s our recent story on the goalie prospect.
FanHouse Wire: Wang Looking at Citi Field
In eleven minutes of radio, I was able to get across what would have taken me a long time to write about. This was my reaction to Wednesday’s report about the Mets and the Islanders talking.
Believe me, none of this is Pulitzer material. At least I got a shot in at certain reporters recklessly talking about the Islanders availability to be sold and move to Canada in a New York minute.
The interview with Bob McCown and John Shannon of “Prime Time Sports” in Canada can be heard here. Take care.
On June 1, Stefan Ridderwall will no longer be property of the Islanders. The Islanders announced that the strong goaltending prospect has turned down their offer in order to stay with Djurgardens of the Swedish Elite League. The 6-2 Ridderwall is coming off the best season of his young career.
If the 2006 draft pick ever decides to play in North America – he has the skills – the 22-year-old Ridderwall can sign with any NHL franchise. Comments.
UPDATED at 5:00 pm: Three hours after the following story was posted, Newsday received reaction from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly about those reports from Canada of the Islanders’ financial turmoil. Emailed Daly: “Totally and categorially untrue.” Larry Brooks of the Post also followed up.
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1:00 pm: Yesterday it was a national magazine. Today it was a veteran hockey writer, someone super-connected at league levels. This has been going on since the start of the playoffs.
On the phone, in Washington, Detroit and Montreal, on radio shows, on the plane to Pittsburgh…the questions are coming from everywhere.
“What can you tell us about the whispers Charles Wang is fed up with carrying the Islanders”?
“What do you know about the NHL supposedly taking over the franchise, like it did in Phoenix”?
“What do you hear about the Islanders moving”?
Dave Shoalts of the Globe and Mail had a story two weeks implying financial ruin and possible re-location for the Islanders. The reverberations from that one have not ceased. Stephen Brunt, a bit recklessly in my opinion, wrote yesterday that the Islanders are immediately available to move to Canada.
The most ominous words from my inquisitors – just about all of them legit media players in this sport – are this:
“I can’t get anyone in the league to deny it.”
The concern in Islanders Country can be illustrated by an email I received yesterday from reader Marc Leger. Marc is a good man from Quebec who works in the sports business and worships the New York Islanders. Here’s what he wrote when he heard I would be in Montreal this week:
I have a question for you, as you are in Canada for Game 6. You may start hearing these rumours as well. Over the past two weeks, I keep hearing from certain sport shows out of Toronto that are very respected in North America (Prime Time Sports with Bob McCowan) that there is serious trouble out of Long Island in regards to Wang owning the team.
The show (made up of reporters such as Stephen Brunt and Jim Kelley and others) is stating that there is a very distinct possibility that the NHL is now in control of the Isles and that Wang has washed his hands of the team. They keep stating that they cannot get anyone to deny this from an NHL office perspective.
Have you heard similar rumours? I know that rumours are rumours, but sadly more often than not, where there is smoke, there is a little fire brewing…
So here is my reaction:
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Charles Wang is undoubtedly fed up with his investment in the Islanders, the National Hockey League and Nassau County. However, I have not heard even the slightest bit of real information that he has told the NHL that he’s through with the franchise or has asked the league to take over.
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If you’re Wang, you have to love every time a story this severe gets out. I’ve believed for a long time that the Islanders will only get saved when the situation is at its most dire. Like the Islanders having one foot out of Nassau County.
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From everything I’ve heard, Wang and his business partner Scott Rechler will wait to see what Kate Murray and the Town of Hempstead consultants bring back on the Lighthouse Project. They will also sit back while Ed Mangano and Nassau County consider alternatives for the Coliseum property, like the Shinnecock casino.
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As the lease states, the Islanders will be playing in their current building until at least 2015.
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The Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that NHL teams must spend to the salary cap floor. Despite the financial pains, the Islanders will sign their top prospects and nothing should get in the way of fielding a postseason-competitive team next season and beyond. Garth Snow and Ryan Jankowski have proceeded with business as usual.
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Gary Bettman has no interest whatsoever in seeing the Islanders, coincidentally the team he rooted for, going to Winnipeg or Quebec City or Kansas City or anywhere outside of New York.
As for Wang and the Islanders working with the Wilpons and the Mets to present a two-headed, New York sports power (with public transportation and increased press coverage!)…well, golly gee – that’s always made too much sense.
I love my media brethren in Canada. They write with an unmatched passion for the sport and break countless stories. It should be noted that they have been consistently accurate in their reportage on the plight of the Phoenix Coyotes.
In the end, I will continue to believe that Charles Wang is too emotionally invested in the hockey team to sell it off to the highest bidder and a place far, far away from here. If you don’t know want I mean, look at the picture at the end this story. Wang sits at the head of the draft table in the first round, for heaven’s sake. It’s rare when you find any of the other 29 team’s owners anywhere in the building. This little hockey acquisition has become a huge part of his life, whether he admits it or not.
My advice would be to enjoy the summer, the draft, the UFA period, your families and friends and stay cool. Until the day Bettman or Wang go public with a meaningful public comment declaring otherwise, the New York Islanders should still be around for a while.
Comments.
Chris Botta on Twitter
The Islanders’ inability to finalize Entry Level contracts with impressive prospects Travis Hamonic and Kevin Poulin as of this late date is really more a testimony to strong picks by the scouting department than serious cause for alarm. At least as of May 10.
Hamonic, playing for host Brandon at the upcoming Memorial Cup, is the standout defenseman chosen by the Islanders 53rd overall in the 2008 draft. Proving what an inexact science this is, Hamonic is the third and easily the most promising of the team’s three second round picks from that draft (Corey Trivino – 36th, and Aaron Ness – 40th being the others).
Of importance to Hamonic and his agent is that he performed like a late-first round draft pick. They have every right to ask to be compensated on that level. This is what happens when Pierre McGuire is raving about you daily at the World Junior Championships. For the Islanders, Hamonic’s surge is a good problem to have.
Although he has yet to match Hamonic’s press clippings, the same can be said for Poulin. He is the Islanders’ 2008 fifth round pick who dominated in goal this season, taking a below-average Victoriaville team to the Quebec League final. Poulin performed like an early-second round pick.
If you ever wondered why the Islanders’ official team website hardly touched on the tremendous accomplishments this season of Hamonic and Poulin, you may have your answer.
You better believe Hamonic’s agent is asking for a contract in line with a mid-first round draft choice. You better believe Poulin’s agent is asking for late-first round money. It’s all part of the negotiation game. If the players are not signed by June 1, the Islanders lose their rights and the players go back into the draft.
So the agents push and push to squeeze every last penny. The team resists blinking, knowing the strategy of re-entering the draft has almost never worked out well for the players and their agents.
It is useful to keep in mind that, since Charles Wang purchased the team, the Islanders have never failed to sign a draft pick they really wanted. In the next three weeks, Hamonic will be signed and Poulin…probably.
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Toews to Junior: As first reported by the Grand Forks Herald, Islanders 2008 third round draft pick David Toews is leaving the University of North Dakota to play in the Western Hockey League. As a 20-year-old, Toews will be expected to put up a lot of points – something he failed to do with the team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux.
Toews, who at this point in his development cannot be considered an NHL prospect, did not score a goal in his final 24 college games. The brother of Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, he was also scratched in ten of UND’s last 14 games.
Munroe to Russia: Scott Munroe, the AHL lifer (so far) who was solid in Bridgeport this season, has signed in Russia. The Islanders had no plans to bring him back because their goaltending roster is already crowded. Mikko Koskinen is a lock for one AHL spot. Kevin Poulin could play for the Sound Tigers, although he could also get some starts in the ECHL with Utah. Stefan Ridderwall is a possibility to be signed out of Sweden. Rick DiPietro will almost certainly need to get in some work in the minor leagues.
(h/t to Lisa of Islandermania for her press clip links)
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One Down, One Up: Another Islanders 2008 draft pick who has to be signed by June 1 for the team to retain his rights is defenseman Jyri Niemi. Based on information from NHL scouts, this blog has never ranked the Saskatoon defenseman as one of the team’s top prospects. There is a good chance the Islanders will pass on signing the 2008 third round pick.
On the other hand, there is a prospect Point Blank has yet to rank but is on the rise. We have heard encouraging words about 2006 fifth round draft pick Shane Sims. He has grown as a person ( a few inches and pounds to 6-1, 200) and player as the defenseman enters his senior year at Ohio State. The 22-year-old from East Amherst, NY is said to be under consideration for a pro contract in the spring of 2011.
Any time we’re talking about young hockey players working hard to develop, we’re always happy to be proven wrong. Best of luck to Shane in his path.
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A Note to Point Blank Readers: My apologies for the lack of daily content on the site. Three factors have conspired to make it a challenge: 1. little news of importance coming out of the Islanders’ camp; 2. no Tavares-Hedman-Duchene mania; 3. my FanHouse travel schedule.
I’m in Montreal for Game 6 on Monday and then on the road for most of the days until the Stanley Cup is won. The good news is, there’s plenty of opportunity to pick up the buzz heading into the draft and free agency.
Thank you for continuing to check in. I’ll do what I can to make it worth the click…CB
Comments on this post.
FanHouse: Arbour’s advice for the Wings
DETROIT - Funny what life brings you. All those years I was with the Islanders, every time a team would fall behind 3-0 in a playoff series, I would get calls from writers wanting to speak with Radar and 18 and Howie and Ny and the gang from 1975.
I’m on my third day in Detroit. The Wings are down 3-0 and you can only write so many one-game-at-a-time stories. This morning, I was dry on storylines. Then I realized it’s a privilege to have the phone number of the last coach to lead his team down 3-0. As always, Al Arbour delivered.
The Coach is 78 now. He sounded great, but his health still is not. However, his focus is on his beloved wife Claire, who just had hip replacement surgery. Claire has watched after Al all these retirement years in Florida through a variety of surgeries. Before there were assistant coaches, Mrs. Arbour essentially served as his assistant – even taping games for him.
So say a prayer for the King and Queen of Islanders Country.
Please check out the article and comment on FanHouse. Thanks…CB
