Monthly Archives: April 2011
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At SNY, we have presented many major NHL voices speaking positively of the Islanders’ future. Today we present the very talented, connected and candid play-by-play man Gord Miller of TSN. Agree or disagree, you have to respect his frankness in this age of oft-soft media. This bulletin-board material was recorded early this month. React in Comments.
You would think that after a pair of 30-goal seasons, Matt Moulson would be a lock to be courted to play at the World Championships – even for a national team as deep in talent as Moulson’s Canada.
It appears Moulson will have to continue to prove some hockey people wrong about him. Somehow, he didn’t make Team Canada’s final list of twelve forwards that will compete over the next few weeks in Europe. This, despite only one of the twelve chosen forwards (Rick Nash, 65) scoring more goals over the last two seasons than Moulson.
Point Blank reached out to a high-ranking Team Canada official, who graciously responded via email from Prague to our inquiry about Moulson’s candidacy. “Matt was definitely on our list and he was discussed, but he was not selected for our group of twelve forwards,” the official wrote.
Here are the twelve, as chosen by Canada GM Dave Nonis and assistants Rob Blake and Bob Murray: Nash, Andrew Ladd, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle, Evander Kane, Jeff Skinner, Jason Spezza, Chris Stewart, John Tavares, Antoine Vermette, Travis Zajac.
An impressive list, to be sure, although a few names jump out as players who have not accomplished at the NHL level the last two years what Moulson has with the Islanders. Team Canada is looking to add a forward this weekend from one of the teams eliminated from the first round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, one of the most accomplished out there doesn’t get the call. (A source close to Moulson told Point Blank, “Matt would have loved the opportunity.”)
In fairness to Team Canada, Nonis and his lieutenants are charged with fielding a complete roster that combines talent, grit and the ability to do “the little things.” In recent years, the organization has chosen to go young, which would explain the presence of super-skilled lads like Eberle and Kane. But Moulson is only 27 years old.
Moulson, from North York, Ontario, scored a combined 61 goals over the last two years. Among the chosen wings, the effectively-irritating Clutterbuck had 32, the well-respected Ladd had 46. The Canadian roster has seven centers, including Vermette (a combined 46 goals the last two seasons), the still-raw Kane (33) and the inconsistent Zajac (38). In exhibition games so far, Vermette and others are playing the wing.
“Like anything of this nature, the selection process can be a little political,” an NHL general manager told Point Blank. “I think it’s a decent roster and you can make a case for some of the iffy choices. (Head coach) Ken Hitchcock might be comfortable with Vermette, who he worked with in Columbus. But Moulson’s goal-scoring the last two years is pretty tough to ignore. He and Tavares could have stuck together at the Worlds and gone on a scoring spree. You know a kid like Moulson would have played his ass off to take advantage of the opportunity, while I’m not so sure about some of the veterans they picked.”
Moulson has come a long way, just apparently not far enough in the eyes of Team Canada. Is this a big deal? Not really. In the long run, it could be for the best. Moulson, who has not missed a game in his two years as an Islander, can retain his health instead of playing in a tournament of debatable importance. And he has been at his best when playing with a chip on his shoulder.
Also: Congratulations to Dwayne Roloson, Sean Bergenheim and Nate Thompson on their major contributions to Tampa Bay’s stirring seven-game victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
And there’s our annual one-and-only story on the World Championships. Stay healthy, my friends. Comments on Matt Moulson and the Tampa Trio are encouraged.
Thanks to the UND coach for his excellent insight on his two Islanders prospects and the college game. Thoughts on this interview are welcomed in the Comments thread.
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Martin Brodeur shook his head in disappointment over what might have been, or at least what he thought was going to be these last few years.
“I really thought me, Henrik Lundqvist and him were going to be part of an era in New York-New Jersey hockey,” Brodeur said last week.
“Him” is Rick DiPietro, the former NHL all-star and U. S. Olympic goaltender Brodeur has always viewed as a friendly rival. After averaging 63 games over three years from 2005-2008, DiPietro has played a combined 39 games for the Islanders over the last three seasons. He has been limited by a series of injuries, primarily to the hips and one – the devastating one – to his left knee.
Brodeur, who turns 39 in two weeks, is the ultimate competitor – with three Stanley Cups as proof. However, he wishes the Devils’ rival in Nassau County was complete with its No. 1 goaltender.
“I really feel for him,” Brodeur told Point Blank in a recent one-on-one interview. “He is one of the most talented goalies we have in the game. I can’t even imagine what he is going through. All of the rehab, all of the scrutiny that comes with being injured a lot…it’s had to be really rough. I have all the respect in the world for the guy.”
Brodeur, for two decades one of the most candid and thoughtful stars in the NHL, continued.
“Two of the last three seasons, I had injuries that cost me a lot of time (three months in 2008-09, 20 games this season). Still, they were nothing compared to what DiPietro has gone through. People have to understand: any time a goalie is out for a while, it’s going to take some time to find your game again. But my big injury two years ago was to my arm. With Ricky, you’re talking about a goalie who has had hip problems and a major knee injury. Do you understand how much of a challenge it is for a goalie to come back from stuff like that? That’s a guy who should get complete support and respect.”
Brodeur could not predict the future for DiPietro, who turns 30 in September, but he did share his hopes for the opponent who once graciously slid the puck down the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum ice to him in the final seconds of one of his NHL-record 116 shutouts.
“I want to see him back at his best,” said Brodeur. “He plays for one of our division rivals, but I like Rick. When he broke in, I admired how he played with so much enthusiasm, so much skill, so much flair. Beyond all that, he’s a good person. At the end of the day, we’re goalies. Nobody understands us better than each other. I guess that why I consider Henrik a friend, why I think of Rick as a friend.
“I hope all three of us can get our teams back in the playoffs.”
As far as the future first-ballot Hall of Famer is concerned, it’s not too late to still see that era.
Comments on this story are invited.
Your memories of the Easter Epic are invited in the Comments thread.
During the first week of July in 2006, Ward considered the Islanders one of four finalists bidding for his services as a free agent. The ex-defenseman provides some insight into his thinking that week and thoughts about the future of the Islanders. Comments on this subject are welcomed.
PB Archive: On Casey Cizikas – July 6, 2009
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The ex-Isles draft pick coached Cizikas with Team Canada and the Mississauga-St. Michael’s Majors, who are in the OHL’s East final. The Majors will be in the Memorial Cup as the host team. After the season, the Islanders will sign the third-line prospect by the June 1 deadline. Comments on Casey Cizikas are invited in this thread.
