Monthly Archives: May 2011
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Craig and I debate our way through the first five selections in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. His suggestion for the NYI is a tad interesting. Fun stuff.
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(Editor’s note: As most of you know, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano recently went public (again) with his idea to solve the arena issue by combining a new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a casino owned by the Shinnecock tribe. Mangano’s plan was first written about on Point Blank last July 12.
By working with the Shinnecocks, Mangano would not need zoning approvals from the Town of Hempstead. As you would expect, however, the casino plan has already been met with resistance from some community groups.
With no new news to advance the subject of the arena issue – hard to believe, but Charles Wang has now owned the Islanders for eleven years – I have chosen to publish this editorial by Long Island Press publisher Jed Morey. The piece, first published in the Press, supports the Mangano/Shinnecock initiative. You have your opportunity to express your views in the Comments thread.
I’ve known Jed for close to 15 years, back when Jim Cerny, Chris King and I called Islanders games for the dearly departed, legendary new wave/progressive rock radio station WLIR, which was owned by the Morey family. Jed is also a founding member of Keep It On Long Island, an online community – www.kioli.org – dedicated to preserving the Long Island economy while providing environmental stewardship in the region. The KIOLI founding members set aside 5% of membership investments to purchase shares of a local, organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project, which then donates the equivalent shares to Island Harvest.
I thank him for the column and for starting the conversation. The opinions expressed are his. For now, let me just repeat what I have been saying for almost three years in this space: it is vital for all of Islanders Country to support the efforts to keep the team in Nassau County, Long Island, New York…CB)
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COLISEUM CASINO: LET IT RIDE
by Jed Morey – Publisher, Long Island Press
There is a renewed hullaballoo surrounding the proposed Shinnecock casino at the current site of the Nassau Coliseum. A deserved hullaballoo, I might add. The very thought of a casino in the middle of our bustling, albeit struggling, suburban landscape inspires clamorous debate among the many stakeholders that exist in relatively tight quarters. Even lame duck Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy is quacking about building a casino at his beloved Yaphank facility claiming that it’s better suited further away from Nassau County residents.
Unfortunately, it will be a cold day in hell before Long Islanders in either county have a say in the matter. People you have never heard of in positions you didn’t know existed will never allow a casino to be built this close to New York City because it would potentially devastate the interests of the people they represent from upstate New York, Connecticut, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. I offer this, not to quell your enthusiasm but to issue a gauntlet of solidarity and self-determination: either we all get behind this, or we drop it from the start.
So let’s have a debate among ourselves. Long Islander to Long Islander. But allow me to establish some ground rules. First, take the emotion out of the ensuing discourse by recognizing that while there is no magic elixir to cure our financial illness on Long Island, Nassau County in particular, we must not allow ourselves to be constrained by classic NIMBYism. There’s nothing wrong with thinking big. Conversely, big thinking doesn’t always ensure positive outcomes. But the only journey that guarantees failure is one that never begins. Taxpayers can no longer afford pusillanimous behavior from elected officials who acquiesce to a vocal minority. (Yeah, I’m talking to you, Huntington! Oops. Getting emotional. My bad.)
Further, in order to have a proper discussion we must move past the question of legitimacy; that is, whether the tribe has the right to construct a casino on this parcel. For the purposes of examining the potential impact of this type of development, let us assume that it is within their right to strike an agreement with the government to build on this property. Lastly, the only other stipulation I entreat you to heed is to refrain from casting racially motivated aspersions toward members of the Shinnecock Nation. It detracts from the merit of the debate.
Here are my assertions. Let the debate begin.
If you build it they will come. A casino nestled within such a populous community has the potential of being the largest-grossing casino in the nation. Factor in the public transportation access to this area from New York City residents and this is an irrefutable fact. The impact upon the local economy would be seismic. According to a 2008 study published by the Taylor Policy Group of Sarasota, Fla., the estimated impact of the gaming and related industries of the Seneca Nation in western New York is $820 million annually. The study places this figure in context by stating that “the impact of the Nation exceeds that of the [Buffalo] Bills and the [Buffalo] Sabres combined and approaches that of the SUNY Buffalo campus.” This project would create thousands of sustained jobs and provide badly needed work for the local trades, generate healthy revenues to the Long Island Power Authority and local municipalities, and have an incredible halo effect on the travel, tourism and hospitality industry.
A casino would not create a seedy culture. This particular assertion is hotly debated. Casinos conjure up images of mafia hoods and prostitutes. Never mind that you can already gamble in dozens of OTBs, buy lottery tickets on every corner, find a hooker making the rounds in industrial parks, or get a happy ending at any number of corner massage parlors. The moment a high-priced call girl takes up residence on a casino barstool looking for an out-of-town businessman in a leisure suit with a name badge, our puritan alarm sounds and the torches and pitchforks come out. I’m not condoning the use of escort services, but merely pointing out our collective hypocrisy with respect to our view on what’s acceptable and where. Prohibiting this illegal indulgence is far more manageable than scouring Craigslist and cracking down on neighborhood massage parlors.
This actually is the best location for a casino. The modern casino is part of an extensive array of business and cultural services. They tend to be aesthetically pleasing (think Wynn, not Trump) and boost the viability of a convention center, sports complex and entertainment arena. If a gaming operation was paired with a family destination nearby (think Great Wolf Lodge), imagine the combined economic possibilities of family and business travel. I might also remind everyone that Roosevelt Raceway was a gigantic gambling facility. It amuses me to no end that we can build a refuse-burning facility with a Garden City address down the road, but a casino with a hotel, sports arena and convention center threaded by a coordinated transit hub that connects local retail and commerce is a non-starter.
This development would ease traffic. Yup. I said it. The amount of money generated by a full-fledged hotel, casino and convention operation with a family amusement center would fund the long-desired transportation hub between the railroad, Museum Row, and the local shopping destinations. It’s all right there; you just can’t get there from here at the moment.
The Islanders are worth fighting for. This team stood by Long Island for decades. Hell, they even looked pretty good at the end of this season and their prospects for next year are even better. This is our only professional sports franchise. Like I said, the Islanders are worth fighting for.
Hofstra would benefit greatly from this development. Hofstra University is emerging as the largest and most vocal detractor of this project. This is completely understandable given the fears gambling inspires. The two most salient points the University is making are that college kids shouldn’t have this type of access to a gambling establishment and that its proximity will have a deleterious effect on the school’s image from the perspective of parents considering sending their children to the school.
First of all, kids are gambling online and addicted to video games. This will be the addiction cross to bear for this generation. As for the perceptual aesthetic and moral issues of a peripheral gaming establishment, it’s hard to imagine the current “approach” to the University being any worse. I love the Hofstra campus but the immediate surroundings, including the dilapidated coliseum, leave much to be desired.
Hofstra is a serious stakeholder that would and should be able to ask for the sun, moon and stars when the infrastructure is fully developed here. President Stuart Rabinowitz has done more to enhance the reputation of this institution, from which I proudly hold a degree, by hosting the Presidential debate, building a medical school and improving the overall academic standing of the school. Hofstra is already bigger than its environs and will continue to be so for decades to come, casino or no casino. Besides, you tell me which option sounds worse to a parent in Nebraska with a child considering a top-notch school in New York:
(A) Columbia University in Harlem,
(B) Fordham University in the Bronx, or
(C) Hofstra University on Long Island.
By now, I’m confident several of you vehemently disagree with these assertions. With that, let the games (of chance) begin.
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Your opinions on Jed Morey’s column and on the Coliseum/casino plan are encouraged in Comments. Local leaders interested in writing an op-ed on the arena issue are encouraged to email me at cb@islanderspointblank.com. Thank you.
With less than eight weeks to go before the draft – and with a pair of key kids still playing in the Canadian junior playoffs – the Point Blank 2010-11 Final Prospect Rankings have been completed.
The process was the same as our end-of-2010 rankings.
Polled: Eight NHL scouts not affiliated with the Islanders.
Criteria: All levels of hockey, limited to 20 games or fewer played in the NHL.
Upside: Included after each ranking is the player’s maximum upside should he reach the NHL. Repeat: maximum upside in the NHL.
Since our last rankings, Travis Hamonic and Jesse Joensuu have graduated and low-ranked Robin Figren appears to be heading back home to Sweden for at least one season. Ty Wishart, acquired for Dwayne Roloson, has now played 25 NHL games and is ineligible for this list. Without further adieu…
1. Nino Niederreiter, Portland (WHL) - first line wing. After scoring 41 goals in 55 regular season games, El Nino has been superb in the playoffs. Thanks in large part to Nino’s heroics, Portland will play Kootenay in the WHL Final. Since his only options next season are junior hockey or the NHL, Niederreiter will be an Islander in 2011-12.
SNY video: Portland assistant coach Travis Green
2. Kevin Poulin, Bridgeport (AHL) – No. 1 goaltender. He was outstanding in his one game a week in Bridgeport, and even better in the bulk of his ten games with the Islanders. Will likely start the season in the AHL, perfectly fine considering he is coming back from the second kneecap injury of his career.
3. Calvin de Haan, Oshawa (OHL) – top-pair defenseman. Even his junior coach knows de Haan will be a pro next season. The talented puck-mover belongs in Bridgeport for at least the first half of next season, but will almost certainly see some action with the Islanders depending on the health of the team.
SNY video: Oshawa head coach Chris DePiero
4. Kirill Kabanov, Lewiston (QMJHL) – second line wing. After a very inconsistent regular season, Kabanov lit it up in the QMJHL playoffs (12-8-20 in 15 games). With the Maineiacs, Kabanov is becoming a man. Both the kid and his coaches deserve a lot of credit. This is an extremely positive development for the Islanders.
PB video: Kabanov
5. Matt Donovan, Denver (NCAA) – second pair defenseman. He left Denver feeling like he had nothing else to prove at the collegiate level, but the flashy Donovan needs to upgrade his play in his own end and his strength. Proper development in Bridgeport is crucial for Donovan to become an impact NHLer in a few years.
SNY video: Denver coach George Gwozdecky
6. Brock Nelson, North Dakota (NCAA) - second line center. Needs another two years with the Fighting Sioux, for whom he’ll play big minutes after a solid freshman season. Despite suffering a serious, um, lower-body injury in the NCAA tournament, the Islanders’ 2010 first round pick is doing well and is on schedule.
SNY video: North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol
7. Casey Cizikas, Mississaugua-St. Michael’s (OHL) - third line center. While Niederreiter and Kabanov have deservedly received some Islanders-connected press for their strong playoffs, Cizikas – curiously – has gotten little while leading St. Mike’s in the OHL playoffs. Could it be because he has yet to be signed? Naaaah. More curiously, Team Canada’s versatile center at the WJC didn’t even rate a top-ten mention in The Hockey News’ list of Islanders prospects. (It’s a conspiracy!) Cizikas, who will play in the Memorial Cup with host St. Mike’s, may not have Nelson’s upside, but he’s more of a sure bet to play in the NHL. He’ll be signed after the Memorial Cup.
SNY video: St. Mike’s coach Dave Cameron
8. Kirill Petrov, Yugra (KHL) – second line wing. If just one of the third-round Kirills hits his potential someday down the road in the NHL, consider it a bonus for the slow and steady rebuild. If both do, it’s a friggin’ bonanza. The 6-3 Petrov was a bleh 8-11-19 in 47 games this season after his trade to Yugra. A source told Point Blank that if Petrov plays the fourth and final year of his contract in the KHL, it could be back with Kazan. He should be at Islanders Prospect Camp again this summer.
PB video: Petrov
9. Mikko Koskinen, Bridgeport (AHL) – No. 1 goaltender. As Al Montoya has demonstrated, goaltenders – in this case, a European facing a whole different game in North America – can often take time to develop. The 6-6 Koskinen played impressively in the final month of the season in Bridgeport.
10. Rhett Rakhshani, Bridgeport (AHL) - third line forward. Enjoyed a terrific first season of pro with 24-38-62 in 68 games in Bridgeport. Size (5-10 190) could be a hurdle. Speed and smarts are his assets.
Also receiving consideration:
Anders Nilsson, Lulea (Sweden) – No. 2 goaltender (still unsigned, still untested in North America).
David Ullstrom, Bridgeport (AHL), Anders Lee, Notre Dame (NCAA), Jason Gregoire, North Dakota (NCAA) - third line forwards.
Mark Katic, Bridgeport (AHL), Blake Kessel, New Hampshire (NCAA), Aaron Ness, Minnesota (NCAA) – third pair defensemen.
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By this point, it should probably go without saying that several key current Islanders roster members (Tavares, Hamonic, etc.) were drafted in 2006 or much more recently, so the Islanders possess an exciting combination of prospects and young NHLers. But we said it anyway. Garth Snow has also unearthed a pair of gems – Matt Moulson and Michael Grabner – that have not even reached NHL middle age.
Perhaps best of all for the Country, the Islanders’ fifth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft in June is not on this list. You could probably slot him right now in the No. 2 spot and move everyone else back down a notch. With the new 18-year-old, the Islanders’ prospect depth chart will rank safely among the top-third in the 30-team NHL.
Now it’s on the Islanders organization to develop its talented youngsters and surround them with the right teammates. The odds remain the same: there’s a good chance at least half of the Point Blank Top 10 will not have standout NHL careers. Over the last four seasons, the Islanders have not come close to making the playoffs. A consistent contender is not built on draft picks and prayers.
Comments on Islanders prospects and this list are invited.
On the KHL, Kirill Petrov, his time with the NYI, friendship with Charles Wang and his Nabokov advice to Garth Snow. Comments on this segment are welcomed.
As Radek Martinek absorbed the pointless jump-and-hit of Latvia’s Arturs Kulda on Saturday, his head smashed into the glass. Martinek crumbled to the ice and then did what Radek Martinek always does. He got back up. The more you watch the video, the more you understand about the potential for damage of Kulda’s illegal hit (he was suspended three games by the IIHF), the more remarkable it is that Martinek actually, momentarily got back up.
The defenseman, playing for the Czech Republic at this year’s World Championships, suffered a concussion on the play. He was carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to a hospital in Bratislava, Slovakia. Contrary to some reports, he did not suffer a spinal injury on the play. A Czech Republic official described the small hematoma suffered by Martinek as a “non-issue, not much more than a minor bruise” in a text to Point Blank. The loyal Islander of a decade suffered no debilitating damage. In fact, he was said to already be feeling like himself today.
Radek Martinek, again, is going to be okay.
Of course, the 34-year-old Martinek should not have played in the World Championships this year. He will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and it’s doubtful the Islanders – with the rehabbing Mark Eaton and Mike Mottau already under contract and Milan Jurcina coming off a 46-game season – are in a rush to give Martinek a new contract. There’s an excellent chance he has played his last game in an Islanders uniform. He could play for another NHL team – I’m told his first choice is to stay with the Islanders, his second is to stay in the NHL – or he could get a lucrative payday in Europe.
But this is typical Martinek, the lowest-maintenance athlete I have ever been around. He insisted on playing for the Czech Republic. He is a hockey player. For Martinek, there likely wasn’t any prolonged debate. Uncertainty be damned, he was going to represent his country. His wife, parents, agents and friends knew there was little point in arguing with him.
He’s also one of the unluckiest athletes any of us have ever seen, so when the clip of Kulda’s head-hunt went viral yesterday, prayers went up for Martinek from his friends and fans along with plenty of, “Why yeah, of course it happened to Marty…”
Still, as Radek likes to say in his ever-improving English, no problem. A source very close to Martinek told Point Blank on Sunday that he’ll sit out the rest of the tournament and simply get ready for another hockey season. He is excited about the potential of playing more seasons for his beloved Islanders or, if need be, another team.
(How’s this for irony? In what may have been his last season with the club, Martinek’s 64 games were tied with Jack Hillen’s for the most played by an Islanders defenseman in 2010-11).
Martinek will shrug this one off. He always does. It’s kind of amazing that, for all of his broken bones and torn ligaments, Martinek never comes back a step slower. At 6-1 and 210 pounds, he’s one of approximately ten defensemen in the Eastern Conference capable of staying with Alexander Ovechkin stride-for-stride and hit-for-hit, which is why the Islanders kept him around for ten years. Which is why, even with his injury history, he will receive other offers.
He’ll laugh this one off, too. Who doesn’t smile at the thought of Martinek’s first time in the NHL as the First Star? In his second season with the Islanders, he scored an overtime goal against Carolina at the Coliseum. In the few seconds we had, I tried to explain how Stars of the Game skate out a few feet, do a twirl, raise their sticks to the fans and leave the ice. Marty nodded like he understood, then skated all the way to center ice, unveiled a giant smile and sheepishly bowed to the fans in every corner of the arena. It was a beautiful, innocent moment.
So Radek Martinek got beat up pretty badly at the World Championships, playing a game he loves for one of the two countries he loves – the Czech Republic and Islanders. To him, it’s simply the price you pay. He won’t bother a single trainer, won’t complain about the hit or his bad luck, won’t ask for special accomodations for his rehabilitation, won’t second-guess his decision to play in the tournament and will only thank management for the memories if he doesn’t get another Islanders contract. All he’ll do is get ready for next season. He is Radek Martinek, the favorite player of every coach who ever worked with him.
Comments on this story and Radek Martinek are welcomed in this thread.
