Category Archives: News
Each week until the entry draft in June, Point Blank will be reporting on the top prospects in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. This week’s profile is forward Brendan Gaunce, ranked as the 13th best North American skater in the final CSS rankings. You can keep a watch on our profiles via the “2012 Draft” tab at the top of the page and check out profiles of Islanders’ young guns filed under the “NYI Prospects” tab.
Belleville (OHL) Bulls head coach George Burnett never second-guessed his decision in naming then 17-year-old Brendan Gaunce an assistant captain in just his second junior hockey league season. Now, many National Hockey League scouts are touting the Markham, Ontario native’s leadership skills and believe that his attributes – both on and off the ice – should translate into the quintessential captain on the professional level in the not-so-distant future.
“From the moment he stepped into our locker room, he had all the qualities that you would want in a leader,” said Burnett, a 21-year coaching veteran, who has spent the past eight seasons behind the bench in Belleville. “He’s a guy who always wants to be in key situations.
“From his skating to his grit to his overall compete level, Brendan possesses the great habits that you would want in a hockey player,”
Compared most favorably with current Pittsburgh Penguin center Jordan Staal – a second overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft – due to his size, superior skating ability and overall skill-set, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Gaunce possesses the hockey pedigree that professional organizations salivate over. It is however the drive that the now 18-year-old center is blessed with that may catapult his draft standing from what was thought to be a mid-to-late first round pick into a top-10 overall selection in June’s Entry Draft in Pittsburgh. (more…)
Numerous players around the NHL do their part to raise money for charity and improve their community.
Mike Fisher of the Nashville Predators, John-Michael Liles of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders stood out among their peers, and for that reason they have been nominated for the 2012 NHL Foundation Player Award, presented to “an NHL player who applies the core values of hockey — commitment, perseverance and teamwork — to enrich the lives of people in his community.”
The winner of the award will be announced at the 2012 NHL Awards Show, June 20 at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas, with the winning player receiving $25,000 to donate to their chosen charitable organization.
Each week until the entry draft in June, Point Blank will be reporting on the top prospects in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. This week’s profile is defender Olli Maatta, ranked as the 8th best North American skater in the final CSS rankings. You can keep a watch on our profiles via the “2012 Draft” tab at the top of the page and check out profiles of Islanders’ young guns filed under the “NYI Prospects” tab.
Having been selected first overall in last summer’s Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft, a then 16-year-old Olli Maatta undoubtedly felt the pressure to play up to that top billing. The Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights felt confident in its evaluation of the Finnish-born import that it traded third-year defenseman Reid McNeil, along with its own first round pick (25th overall) and 2013 second and third round picks to climb up to the top of the draft board and select the then 6-foot-2, 198-pound defenseman.
“(London general manager and coach) Mark Hunter came to watch me play at the (2011) World Junior Championships, and all I knew about them (London) was that they were a pretty good team,” said the mild-mannered, yet confident Maatta. “For me and the development of my game, I knew that I really wanted to play Canadian style hockey.
“The chance to come here and play on a smaller rink was very appealing. The game is so much faster … it is definitely more interesting to play.”
While he didn’t see much of the ice in Finland’s six tournament games, Maatta, alike past and current NHL greats Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby, did have the opportunity to hone his entire hockey repertoire – as just a 16-year-old – against players who were primarily 18 and 19 years old.
“Olli is a very focused, level-headed kid,” said Knights third-year assistant coach Misha Donskov, who also serves as Hunter’s assistant general manager. “He’s very cerebral, with a very high hockey IQ.
“We knew when we drafted him that the transition from playing in Finland to playing here (in London) would be seamless, because of his work ethic. He’s a tireless worker.” (more…)
Each week until the entry draft in June, Point Blank will be reporting on the top prospects in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. This week’s profile is defender Matt Finn, ranked as the 16th best North American skater in the final CSS rankings. You can keep a watch on our profiles via the “2012 Draft” tab at the top of the page and check out profiles of Islanders’ young guns filed under the “NYI Prospects” tab.
When the Islanders selected Guelph (OHL) defenseman Andrey Pedan in the third round – 63rd pick – of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, they were looking to add some much-needed muscle to a blue line that lacked the beef to compete in the physically-imposing Atlantic Division.
Much to the delight of the organization, the Lithuanian-born Pedan – playing in just his second full season in North America – has adjusted exceedingly well in his unfamiliar surroundings. Off the ice, he has “fit right in”, according to Guelph second-year head coach Scott Walker. On the ice – more importantly – Pedan’s bond with defensive partner Matt Finn has not only elevated the overall play of the 18-year-old Islander prospect, it has also given the 30 NHL scouting departments an important look-see at what many draft prognosticators believe could be the most unheralded defensive prospect to have his name called at this June’s NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh.
“Matt Finn is 17 (turned 18 on February 24) going on 27,” said Guelph second-year general manager Mike Kelly, formerly a professional scout with the Carolina Hurricanes. “He is well above the maturity level of any kid that I have ever come across.
“He came here at 16 years old, and has been our #1 defenseman from day one.”
Born in Toronto, Finn began skating at four, and quickly grew fond of every moment he spent on the ice.
“I grew up watching hockey with my dad,” said Finn, a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan and an admirer of former Leaf and Islander defenseman Bryan McCabe. “So for me, when I started to skate, it was a dream come true.” (more…)
Defenceman Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers right-winger Jordan Eberle and left-winger Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders were named Monday as finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
The award is given annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, in addition to a high standard of play.
The winner will be announced at the NHL awards banquet June 20 in Las Vegas.
Moulson had only six penalty minutes while playing in all 82 games this season. He led the team in goals with 36, good for 10th in the entire NHL. Two Islanders have won the award previously; Pierre Turgeon in 1993 and Mike Bossy in 1983, 1984 and 1986.
Each week until the entry draft in June, Point Blank will be reporting on the top prospects in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. This week’s profile is defender Cody Ceci, ranked as the sixth best North American skater in the final CSS rankings. You can keep a watch on our profiles via the “2012 Draft” tab at the top of the page and check out profiles of Islanders’ young guns filed under the “NYI Prospects” tab.
Ryan Strome’s ascension up the 2011 NHL Entry Draft board came as a result of a breakout 2010-11 season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara Ice Dogs, where he nearly quadrupled his previous season’s point total (106 vs. 27). Projected by many draft experts to be slotted in the latter part of the first round as the season commenced, Strome was eventually chosen fifth overall by the Islanders.
Sarnia (OHL) scoring winger Nail Yakupov, Everett (WHL) defenseman Ryan Murray and Quebec (QMJHL) playmaking center Mikhail Grigorenko were all projected to be top-five selections last fall, and undoubtedly will be picked in that range this June in Pittsburgh. Yet, alike Strome’s meteoric rise last spring, this 2012 NHL Entry Draft class also has its share of fast risers, stemming from their own stellar 2011-12 campaigns.
Cody Ceci, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenseman, entered his third season with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s with lofty goals. Having only collected 46 points – 13 goals and 33 assists – in his first two OHL regular seasons (132 games), the former first round selection (16th overall) in the 2009 OHL Draft was looking to be more active offensively, and in turn make a name for himself in an expected defensive-laden opening round.
“While not affecting my game, I was definitely projecting myself against the other defensemen who were looked at as top-20 picks,” said the Orleans, Ontario native Ceci. “But my main goal this season was to stay healthy, improve on my skills and help my team win.” (more…)
Gary Bettman spoke with reporters yesterday and had some interesting things to say relating to yesterday’s discussion of suspensions, but he also was asked about the Islanders situation in Nassau County.
← Older postsNewer posts →NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says Brooklyn may not be a viable potential destination for the New York Islanders because it’s hard to reach for the team’s fan base in Long Island and Queens.
Bettman reiterated Friday that the league ideally wanted the club to remain in Nassau County. The Islanders plan to leave outdated Nassau Coliseum after their lease expires in 2015. (more…)
