For some reason the Islanders generally have trouble solving the Florida Panthers. Even in games where they've come out on top it seems to take every ounce of energy they have and frequently they blow leads against them.
So after what happened in Florida on Saturday night, we probably should be feeling fortunate right now.
Showing posts with label Calvin de Haan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Calvin de Haan. Show all posts
January 28, 2015
Isles Down Rangers as Season Resumes; Thoughts to Start '2nd Half'
A little snow couldn't keep the Islanders and Rangers from playing on Tuesday night. It couldn't keep the fans home either. I can't recall ever seeing the Nassau Coliseum that full so soon after a snowstorm but the fans showed up, loud and proud. It brought a fun atmosphere for what was an intense game to kick off the 2nd half of the season. It's key not to get lost in some of the intensity, and the Isles did their best to not let that happen despite the eight day break on their way to the 4-1 victory.
January 19, 2015
Isles defeat Flyers 7-4, Lead Metro at All-Star Break
If the Islanders were looking to have something resonate with the league during the All-Star break then they were successful thanks to their 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday afternoon. The win guarantees that the Isles will sit atop the division for the next week until play resumes after next weekend's festivities.
January 11, 2015
Isles Dominate Blue Jackets; Tavares Named to All-Star Roster
The Islanders gained some momentum for themselves heading into the game on Tuesday against a red hot New York Rangers team by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Saturday night. The game was the second of a back-to-back and after playing into extra time with the Devils in that previous night the Islanders certainly made a huge statement in Columbus.
January 10, 2015
Tavares the Hero as Isles Beat Devils 3-2 in OT
With less than stellar efforts in their prior two games in Edmonton and Vancouver, the Islanders needed to get back to their winning ways with the team now back in the East. A win against the Devils would be just what they needed heading into tougher games against the Blue Jackets and Rangers later this week. But to do that the Islanders needed some better play than what we saw in Western Canada.
January 3, 2015
Tavares wins Battle of the Johnnys 2-1
The Islanders continued their road trip out West on Friday night, taking on a Calgary Flames team that has been Jekyll and Hyde all season long. Lately they have gotten back to their winning ways thanks to their quick skating offense, especially that of Johnny Gaudreau.
December 30, 2014
Another 3 Goal Lead Blown, but Boychuk Saves the Day
Monday night's game against the Washington Capitals was a huge contest, for both teams really. In his pregame comments Braden Holtby even pointed out that the Isles were a potential playoff partner in the near future. Anyone who watched the game saw how much energy and passion there was, with physical play and a fanbase that once again showed up and ramped up the intensity especially as the Isles built up another 3-0 lead.
December 28, 2014
Halak Returns from IR after Sabres Stun Isles in Shootout
Prior to their game on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres, the Islanders announced that they had placed goalie Jaroslav Halak on injured reserve retroactive to December 20th. This meant that the Islanders had to be without him through the completion of Saturday's games. So despite getting his maintenance day in the final game before the holiday break, the Isles deemed that it made sense to give him one more game against a weaker team to get over his bumps and bruises.
December 24, 2014
Isles fall 3-1 to Habs; 23-11-0 at Holiday Break
The Islanders were looking for another five game winning streak to head into the break with, but the Montreal Canadiens stood in their way and provided one of the biggest tests the Isles have had in weeks when it comes to understanding how they stack up with the beasts of the East. Despite a nice start, the Habs build a small lead and the Isles comeback bid ultimately fell short.
November 30, 2014
Halak Stands Tall Again in 3-1 Win over Devils
We knew when the Isles brought Jaroslav Halak in to the fold in May that we could reasonably expect a step up in what we saw out of the crease in several years prior. But I don't think anyone would have expected him to show us the goaltending skills he has here in the early going, and we all walked away completely amazed at what we saw from him again on Saturday night as he single handily won the game for the Isles. Halak stopped 34 of 35 shots, including all 16 that he saw in the 3rd period to give the Isles the win and hopefully start off a new winning streak.
September 18, 2013
Isles Drop Both Ends of Split Squad to Flames
The Islanders got their first preseason games under their belts, playing a pair of games against the Calgary Flames in split squad matches.
Naturally it's tough to gauge anything in the early preseason games as it's more of a tune-up. In general vets don't want to get hurt, and that's the best strategy of them all.
Naturally it's tough to gauge anything in the early preseason games as it's more of a tune-up. In general vets don't want to get hurt, and that's the best strategy of them all.
June 24, 2012
Day Two of Draft Provides Even More Defense
Clearly, Garth Snow and the New York Islanders were uncomfortable with the depth that they had on defense. So much so, they didn't even consider drafting a forward or a goalie.
The Islanders took defensemen with all 6 of their picks on Saturday at day two of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. That's right - every single pick the team made this weekend was a defenseman.
The Islanders took defensemen with all 6 of their picks on Saturday at day two of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. That's right - every single pick the team made this weekend was a defenseman.
December 16, 2011
Isles Lose as Injuries Mount
The Islanders dropped yet another game, this time to the Dallas Stars. The losses are once again piling up as injuries continue to mount, and the Islanders are in danger of going through another loosing streak.
The sparse crowd was not treated to a very strong Islanders effort, and certainly not anything like the 5-4 heart pumper these two played the last time they met, in Dallas.
The sparse crowd was not treated to a very strong Islanders effort, and certainly not anything like the 5-4 heart pumper these two played the last time they met, in Dallas.
December 22, 2010
Off Day? Hah!
9:52 - The Isles proved me wrong as they have called up Josh Bailey.
I will say that I am not overly impressed with this, and I truly did get the impression that he would be down for a while.
Fans of the BST were still concerned recently that Bailey would go stretches where he looked invisible because of some fore-checking and defensive deficiencies, but would suddenly appear as he put up some of those points. Hopefully it is fixed, because this is it now. After his next NHL game he has to go through waivers to be sent down again.
8:08 AM - No one told me that the off days were going to have this much going on. I suppose when you're record isn't great, that's to be expected.
Tuesday was a rather interesting one to say the least if you're an Islanders fan. Of course, we'll hit some of the juicy stuff later. First we'll have to start off with some unfortunate news.
The Islanders once again practiced with two goaltenders - Dwayne Roloson and Nathan Lawson. Rick DiPietro did not practice. Jack Capuano stated that it was still just your typical maintenance stuff.
Of course, that "maintenance" word might have even deeper meaning now that DiPietro was officially placed on IR with the swelling in his right knee. For those of you who listened to our last podcast, when Sean and I gave our take on the Roloson situation I downplayed DiPietro's injury. Meanwhile, Sean maintained that he'd "believe it when he sees it" when it comes to any injury of his being minor.
As of right now, I'll only slightly nod my head in his direction but not completely tip the cap yet. Matt Martin was suspended for two games as punishment for his elbow to the head of Vernon Fiddler. The Islanders were already at the max roster limit, which we pointed out during the show on Sunday. They have to call up another forward to take the spot of Martin - unless of course you want to see Bruno Gervais play wing again. Even though we're under the holiday roster freeze, there can be call-ups for emergency. This would qualify.
I'm seeing some people say they want Josh Bailey to be called up. If the Islanders were smart in this situation, and I think they will be, Bailey will not and should not be up. I love what he is doing. The points he is putting up with the Sound Tigers is phenomenal. However, the total package is still not 100% there yet - fore-checking, defensive play, etc. Hasn't the kid been rushed enough in his very short NHL career thus far? Not only that, but he was constantly shifted from one position to another, and seemingly was not given ample time to adjust to that let alone to the NHL game. Josh is going to be down in Bridgeport for the next little while it sounds like. At least that's what my take was after listening to Garth Snow on "The GM Show" a couple of weeks back.
All in all, I have a wait and see approach on the extent on DiPietro's injury. Perhaps it's truly wishful thinking, but I still firmly believe that the Islanders called up Lawson to get a look at what he can do when they inevitably ship off Roloson. DiPietro probably is banged up, but my feeling is a) the Islanders are using it to see what others can do for more than just one game and b) to create a roster spot.
Meanwhile, Mike Mottau was also placed on IR and will be out the rest of the year with a torn labrum in his hip. Mottau had been out since taking a puck off of his eye in Atlanta. Some may be wondering "how the heck does that happen?" Apparently the injury is something he had suffered prior to the year, and most likely re-aggravated it while rehabbing recently. He had started skating with the team.
The news of Mottau's injury is a bit of a blow, but it obviously gives some more thought to the idea that Travis Hamonic will stay up for most of the year. The shame in this is that the Islanders were slowly having better defensive efforts coming on the heels of getting Andrew MacDonald and Milan Jurcina back. I was looking forward to Mottau coming back. Now, we can only hope that the surgery takes care of the issue and it doesn't linger next season. We know all too well how persistent those hip injuries can be.
The biggest story of the day, however, was the rumor of a potential buyer for the team. On Monday night, ESPN's Pierre LeBrun made a mention in his chat that former Isles goalie and current Hockey Night in Canada analyst Glenn Healy told him that Nelson Peltz has expressed interest in purchasing the Islanders. Of course, it didn't take the news too long to spread, and by Tuesday morning the story gained more steam.
Furthermore, Chris Botta in his Fanhouse piece on AOL was able to confirm from multiple sources that Peltz has been kicking the tires for the past year or so, and it appears he will continue to do so.
Before anyone gets too ahead of themselves, let me bring out a key point here. This does NOT mean that Charles Wang has the team up for sale. It could be and we just don't know it, seeing as how tight lipped things can get with the organization, but do not read into it any more than that. I saw some folks on Twitter getting all excited, with some talking as if it were a done deal.
I'm sure Peltz isn't the only one who kicked tires, but he may be the only one who has been persistent enough in making it known that he wants the team.
The connections with Peltz, however certainly are very eerie.
First off, he is currently on the Board of Directors at Wendy's/Arby's Group. The Islanders have a relationship with Wendy's as many fans know by now. Peltz is also the former owner of Snapple Inc., which had it's headquarters on Long Island in Valley Stream for a number of years before relocating to Plano, Texas.
Peltz, who hails from Brooklyn, lives in Bedford, NY. When not there, he is most likely at his other homes in Paris or Palm Beach, Florida.
According to the recent list of wealthy folks from Forbes, Peltz is now worth $1.1 billion which ranks 880th.
Of course, as Botta's source says in the article, Peltz will only buy the Islanders on his terms, which makes sense. Any potential buyer who has interest in keeping the team right where it is doesn't want to deal with all of the politicking that has gone on. Keep in mind though, Peltz has been more than generous over the years to George W.Bush's and the campaigns of Republicans in general. It's possible the TOH Republicans would be willing to do him a favor they weren't willing to do for Wang if they can settle their own debt problems.
Some are wondering if he would move them to his hometown over in Brooklyn if he bought them. I'm not too sure he would do that. I think the preference of the league is to get something worked out in Uniondale. In fact, those who listened to deputy commish Bill Daily on the commissioner's show on XM last Thursday heard him say that they were working with the town to find a solution, and he was pretty adamant about it. Is part of that solution the sale of the team to someone who is willing to accept the proposal the town presented?
Obviously, the selling of teams takes an extremely long time and if anything comes of this, it won't be for a bit. But, the idea of tire kicking for the past year is very vague and who knows what's gone on. I believe the source Botta uses when he says it's nothing for people to get all excited about right now. Time will tell, and it's certainly something we'll be keeping our eyes on.
De Haan Gets an 'A' - Isles prospect Calvin de Haan was named an alternate captain for Canada's World Junior team. He is the captain of his OHL team, the Oshawa Generals. The Islanders are doing Calvin right when it comes to his development, and all of these feathers in his cap are going to help him greatly in the same way they would have helped Bailey out if they didn't rush him. With both de Haan and Cizikas on the roster, and Nino Niederreiter on Switzerland's team, we'll be sure to focus on the WJC a little bit. Congrats to all these prospects.
Up Next - The Islanders take on the Lightning at the coliseum, have gone 1-1 against them so far this season. The usual Islander killers of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Ryan Malone will all be in the line-up.
We don't know for sure who will be in net for the Isles yet. Something tells me it will be Roloson though. We shall see. We will also see who the team ends up calling up to replace the suspended Martin. Be sure to check back for updates.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
I will say that I am not overly impressed with this, and I truly did get the impression that he would be down for a while.
Fans of the BST were still concerned recently that Bailey would go stretches where he looked invisible because of some fore-checking and defensive deficiencies, but would suddenly appear as he put up some of those points. Hopefully it is fixed, because this is it now. After his next NHL game he has to go through waivers to be sent down again.
8:08 AM - No one told me that the off days were going to have this much going on. I suppose when you're record isn't great, that's to be expected.
Tuesday was a rather interesting one to say the least if you're an Islanders fan. Of course, we'll hit some of the juicy stuff later. First we'll have to start off with some unfortunate news.
The Islanders once again practiced with two goaltenders - Dwayne Roloson and Nathan Lawson. Rick DiPietro did not practice. Jack Capuano stated that it was still just your typical maintenance stuff.
Of course, that "maintenance" word might have even deeper meaning now that DiPietro was officially placed on IR with the swelling in his right knee. For those of you who listened to our last podcast, when Sean and I gave our take on the Roloson situation I downplayed DiPietro's injury. Meanwhile, Sean maintained that he'd "believe it when he sees it" when it comes to any injury of his being minor.
As of right now, I'll only slightly nod my head in his direction but not completely tip the cap yet. Matt Martin was suspended for two games as punishment for his elbow to the head of Vernon Fiddler. The Islanders were already at the max roster limit, which we pointed out during the show on Sunday. They have to call up another forward to take the spot of Martin - unless of course you want to see Bruno Gervais play wing again. Even though we're under the holiday roster freeze, there can be call-ups for emergency. This would qualify.
I'm seeing some people say they want Josh Bailey to be called up. If the Islanders were smart in this situation, and I think they will be, Bailey will not and should not be up. I love what he is doing. The points he is putting up with the Sound Tigers is phenomenal. However, the total package is still not 100% there yet - fore-checking, defensive play, etc. Hasn't the kid been rushed enough in his very short NHL career thus far? Not only that, but he was constantly shifted from one position to another, and seemingly was not given ample time to adjust to that let alone to the NHL game. Josh is going to be down in Bridgeport for the next little while it sounds like. At least that's what my take was after listening to Garth Snow on "The GM Show" a couple of weeks back.
All in all, I have a wait and see approach on the extent on DiPietro's injury. Perhaps it's truly wishful thinking, but I still firmly believe that the Islanders called up Lawson to get a look at what he can do when they inevitably ship off Roloson. DiPietro probably is banged up, but my feeling is a) the Islanders are using it to see what others can do for more than just one game and b) to create a roster spot.
Meanwhile, Mike Mottau was also placed on IR and will be out the rest of the year with a torn labrum in his hip. Mottau had been out since taking a puck off of his eye in Atlanta. Some may be wondering "how the heck does that happen?" Apparently the injury is something he had suffered prior to the year, and most likely re-aggravated it while rehabbing recently. He had started skating with the team.
The news of Mottau's injury is a bit of a blow, but it obviously gives some more thought to the idea that Travis Hamonic will stay up for most of the year. The shame in this is that the Islanders were slowly having better defensive efforts coming on the heels of getting Andrew MacDonald and Milan Jurcina back. I was looking forward to Mottau coming back. Now, we can only hope that the surgery takes care of the issue and it doesn't linger next season. We know all too well how persistent those hip injuries can be.
The biggest story of the day, however, was the rumor of a potential buyer for the team. On Monday night, ESPN's Pierre LeBrun made a mention in his chat that former Isles goalie and current Hockey Night in Canada analyst Glenn Healy told him that Nelson Peltz has expressed interest in purchasing the Islanders. Of course, it didn't take the news too long to spread, and by Tuesday morning the story gained more steam.
Furthermore, Chris Botta in his Fanhouse piece on AOL was able to confirm from multiple sources that Peltz has been kicking the tires for the past year or so, and it appears he will continue to do so.
Before anyone gets too ahead of themselves, let me bring out a key point here. This does NOT mean that Charles Wang has the team up for sale. It could be and we just don't know it, seeing as how tight lipped things can get with the organization, but do not read into it any more than that. I saw some folks on Twitter getting all excited, with some talking as if it were a done deal.
I'm sure Peltz isn't the only one who kicked tires, but he may be the only one who has been persistent enough in making it known that he wants the team.
The connections with Peltz, however certainly are very eerie.
First off, he is currently on the Board of Directors at Wendy's/Arby's Group. The Islanders have a relationship with Wendy's as many fans know by now. Peltz is also the former owner of Snapple Inc., which had it's headquarters on Long Island in Valley Stream for a number of years before relocating to Plano, Texas.
Peltz, who hails from Brooklyn, lives in Bedford, NY. When not there, he is most likely at his other homes in Paris or Palm Beach, Florida.
According to the recent list of wealthy folks from Forbes, Peltz is now worth $1.1 billion which ranks 880th.
Of course, as Botta's source says in the article, Peltz will only buy the Islanders on his terms, which makes sense. Any potential buyer who has interest in keeping the team right where it is doesn't want to deal with all of the politicking that has gone on. Keep in mind though, Peltz has been more than generous over the years to George W.Bush's and the campaigns of Republicans in general. It's possible the TOH Republicans would be willing to do him a favor they weren't willing to do for Wang if they can settle their own debt problems.
Some are wondering if he would move them to his hometown over in Brooklyn if he bought them. I'm not too sure he would do that. I think the preference of the league is to get something worked out in Uniondale. In fact, those who listened to deputy commish Bill Daily on the commissioner's show on XM last Thursday heard him say that they were working with the town to find a solution, and he was pretty adamant about it. Is part of that solution the sale of the team to someone who is willing to accept the proposal the town presented?
Obviously, the selling of teams takes an extremely long time and if anything comes of this, it won't be for a bit. But, the idea of tire kicking for the past year is very vague and who knows what's gone on. I believe the source Botta uses when he says it's nothing for people to get all excited about right now. Time will tell, and it's certainly something we'll be keeping our eyes on.
De Haan Gets an 'A' - Isles prospect Calvin de Haan was named an alternate captain for Canada's World Junior team. He is the captain of his OHL team, the Oshawa Generals. The Islanders are doing Calvin right when it comes to his development, and all of these feathers in his cap are going to help him greatly in the same way they would have helped Bailey out if they didn't rush him. With both de Haan and Cizikas on the roster, and Nino Niederreiter on Switzerland's team, we'll be sure to focus on the WJC a little bit. Congrats to all these prospects.
Up Next - The Islanders take on the Lightning at the coliseum, have gone 1-1 against them so far this season. The usual Islander killers of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Ryan Malone will all be in the line-up.
We don't know for sure who will be in net for the Isles yet. Something tells me it will be Roloson though. We shall see. We will also see who the team ends up calling up to replace the suspended Martin. Be sure to check back for updates.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
November 30, 2010
Injury Updates and Prospect News
While the Islanders might be in the middle of a five day rest between games, Monday certainly brought about a lot of news.
We learned that defensemen Jack Hillen and Andrew MacDonald are close to returning, which is really good to hear. MacDonald was one of the Isles best defensemen this season up until the point he got hurt, which was coincidentally the last game the Islanders had won prior to Friday. MacDonald is very smooth with the puck and blocks a ton of shots, and the sooner the Islanders can get him back the better.
There was also some news of the unfortunate type too. Milan Jurcina, originally slated to miss 4-6 weeks with that hamstring injury is now out an additional 4-6 weeks. I know I might be in the minority here when I say this, but I really liked Jurcina's game. It wasn't flashy or the best, but he was providing some solid play for 18 minutes a night. In the same week that he got injured, I wrote this piece explaining what he provided and what he was doing so well. I was really looking forward to getting him back soon, and this setback hurts.
For those of you who listened to the latest podcast that we uploaded on Sunday night, you may have heard us give a shout out to Bruno Gervais at the end of the show for sticking up for P.A. Parenteau against the Devils. Gervais got into a fight with Colin White, which lasted all of one punch. As if Bruno wasn't getting enough props already, we learned yesterday that he has suffered a fractured cheekbone as a result of that punch. A lot of criticism gets thrown his way in Islanders land, but to stick up for your guy, get a broken bone in your face as a result and still play the remainder of the game, not even going to the dressing room? Kudos, my friend. That's a good example to set, and Bruno has moved up a few notches in many people's books, mine included.
Doug Weight is still day to day with the back spasms. That is the same injury that kept Rob Schremp out for most of the first month of the season. Hopefully, it doesn't last as long as that for Weight. I'm just happy that it's not his shoulder or hamstring again. If it were, one could venture a guess that his playing time would be over. Weight hadn't looked very good in the last few weeks, and one has to wonder if he was perhaps playing through the injury a bit. Hopefully the time off rejuvenates him.
Josh Bailey also suffered an injury down in Bridgeport. He strained a pectoral muscle, and it doesn't seem serious. In the couple of games he's played down there he has looked just OK. Hopefully he can get it going a bit. He really needs to for his and the Islanders sake. We talked extensively about Bailey's situation in the podcast, giving our opinions on his demotion.
Yesterday, Team Canada announced their invitations for the World Junior camp. Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Casey Cizikas will both be attending.
In the case of de Haan, this is a perfect example of why you don't rush your prospects. The World Juniors is great experience for a prospect. In the case of de Haan, he is already the captain of his team in Oshawa and was one of the top defenseman for Team Canada last year along with Travis Hamonic. Now, he has a chance to be one of the top guys once again and perhaps even get a letter. This is some good experience that Bailey really lost out on, and one of the reasons I'm upset with the way he has been developed.
For Cizikas, while he may be a long shot to make the final cut, it is certainly a success story. Cizikas has been very good in the OHL, putting the demons behind him of the gruesome accident he was involved in during a rugby game where another player died. Cizikas was not convicted, and with support from not only his family but the family of the victim too has really taken this "second chance" and ran with it. Good for him, and hopefully he can make one of the checking lines.
So that's where we are for now. There's still so much time off left that I'm sure there will be something else to talk about and dissect.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
We learned that defensemen Jack Hillen and Andrew MacDonald are close to returning, which is really good to hear. MacDonald was one of the Isles best defensemen this season up until the point he got hurt, which was coincidentally the last game the Islanders had won prior to Friday. MacDonald is very smooth with the puck and blocks a ton of shots, and the sooner the Islanders can get him back the better.
There was also some news of the unfortunate type too. Milan Jurcina, originally slated to miss 4-6 weeks with that hamstring injury is now out an additional 4-6 weeks. I know I might be in the minority here when I say this, but I really liked Jurcina's game. It wasn't flashy or the best, but he was providing some solid play for 18 minutes a night. In the same week that he got injured, I wrote this piece explaining what he provided and what he was doing so well. I was really looking forward to getting him back soon, and this setback hurts.
For those of you who listened to the latest podcast that we uploaded on Sunday night, you may have heard us give a shout out to Bruno Gervais at the end of the show for sticking up for P.A. Parenteau against the Devils. Gervais got into a fight with Colin White, which lasted all of one punch. As if Bruno wasn't getting enough props already, we learned yesterday that he has suffered a fractured cheekbone as a result of that punch. A lot of criticism gets thrown his way in Islanders land, but to stick up for your guy, get a broken bone in your face as a result and still play the remainder of the game, not even going to the dressing room? Kudos, my friend. That's a good example to set, and Bruno has moved up a few notches in many people's books, mine included.
Doug Weight is still day to day with the back spasms. That is the same injury that kept Rob Schremp out for most of the first month of the season. Hopefully, it doesn't last as long as that for Weight. I'm just happy that it's not his shoulder or hamstring again. If it were, one could venture a guess that his playing time would be over. Weight hadn't looked very good in the last few weeks, and one has to wonder if he was perhaps playing through the injury a bit. Hopefully the time off rejuvenates him.
Josh Bailey also suffered an injury down in Bridgeport. He strained a pectoral muscle, and it doesn't seem serious. In the couple of games he's played down there he has looked just OK. Hopefully he can get it going a bit. He really needs to for his and the Islanders sake. We talked extensively about Bailey's situation in the podcast, giving our opinions on his demotion.
Yesterday, Team Canada announced their invitations for the World Junior camp. Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan and forward Casey Cizikas will both be attending.
In the case of de Haan, this is a perfect example of why you don't rush your prospects. The World Juniors is great experience for a prospect. In the case of de Haan, he is already the captain of his team in Oshawa and was one of the top defenseman for Team Canada last year along with Travis Hamonic. Now, he has a chance to be one of the top guys once again and perhaps even get a letter. This is some good experience that Bailey really lost out on, and one of the reasons I'm upset with the way he has been developed.
For Cizikas, while he may be a long shot to make the final cut, it is certainly a success story. Cizikas has been very good in the OHL, putting the demons behind him of the gruesome accident he was involved in during a rugby game where another player died. Cizikas was not convicted, and with support from not only his family but the family of the victim too has really taken this "second chance" and ran with it. Good for him, and hopefully he can make one of the checking lines.
So that's where we are for now. There's still so much time off left that I'm sure there will be something else to talk about and dissect.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
September 27, 2010
Report: Streit out for 6 Months; Okposo, Training Camp Invites
I have been a bit slow in putting together my re-cap from the Islanders scrimmage from this past Saturday, and I apologize for that. It is still a work in progress as I try to gather together all the photos and all my thoughts. However, there is some unfortunate news to hit on now, something that came as a result of said scrimmage.
Islanders country has been hit hard by the latest word, as Katie Strang of Newsday has reported that Mark Streit will be out of action for six months. If this is true, it is obviously a crushing blow to the squad.
I say "if this is true" because the Islanders have not confirmed that this is the case. The Islanders and Streit are going to get a second opinion of the injury, which Strang reports as a torn labrum and rotator cuff that will require surgery. It is also being reported that the blue liner's shoulder was dislocated for close to 20 minutes after the injury. The Isles have been very adamant in their statements thus far, only going as far to say Streit is out indefinitely until they can get that second opinion.
If you ask me, I would have to say he is going to be out for six months. Based on what I've heard, the amount of sources saying it - we have to prepare for a season without one of the top-15 defensemen in the league. This would be very bad on so many levels.
The obvious one is how this would affect the power play. The Islanders last season, with Streit, finished 27th in that category. They added a bona-fide two-way defenseman in James Wisniewski, who they planned to put on the first unit with Streit. All preseason, the combo looked very good. Now, we wont even have a chance to see it or use it.
Another issue here is that this will most likely force one of the Islanders young defenseman to step up their game and prove that they can help the remaining group out. I might be in the minority here, but honestly I have not seen enough out of Calvin de Haan or Travis Hamonic at this time. The have both had their moments, but thinking overall of what I have seen out of both in training camp does not put my mind at ease. De Haan is 19, and really only has one full season of juniors under his belt after suffering a couple of injuries last season. Hamonic needs just a little more seasoning in Bridgeport before he can make the jump to playing with men.
Sure, it is very possible that the Islanders can look to bring in a defenseman from outside the organization, but who or what, and for what? The Rangers put Wade Redden on waivers, and that isn't anywhere on their radar. So for those of you thinking about him, be it now or on re-entry waivers, you can forget it. The Islanders won't be doing their rivals any favors. Edmonton's Sheldon Souray is ideal, however there apparently has been no interest in him and I quite frankly do not understand that. He's a defenseman ho has a cap hit of $5.4 million, but for only two seasons. When healthy, he can provide offensive output equivalent of Streit's, and from what I have seen worked on his defensive game a bit over the years.
The argument against Souray has people bringing up how no one was willing to pick him up on waivers, so why trade for him? Well, while it's true that no one picked him up on waivers, it is also true that his health has been very unclear. In a league with a salary cap, when so many teams are really close to it, not many are going to pick him up, be it at $5.4 million or half that through re-entry. Many teams are playing with a few hundred thousand dollars to spare, not $2.5 million. You can be sure that Souray would be highly motivated as well, to try and stick it to the Oilers and everyone else who passed on him.
Other names that will surface as trade candidates are Florida's Bryan McCabe and Vancouver's Kevin Bieska. Bieska would be a long shot because of the long term injury to Sami Salo.
The problem with the trade market is that teams now see the Islanders as a possibly desperate team. If I were an opposing GM, of course I would try to take advantage of this. While the Islanders should really be looking at moves to make, they have to beware of the dreaded knee-jerk reaction.
So far, the only move we have seen from the team is bringing in defenseman Anders Eriksson on a tryout basis (along with some others, but more on that later in this entry). Eriksson provides some good depth, but quite simply isn't going to cut it if he makes the team and is relied on for a top-six spot.
The Islanders find themselves in a very precarious situation now, and a Streit injury makes their job even tougher. Last week during media day, Charles Wang, Garth Snow and Scott Gordon all spoke of their expectations for the season, and how this is a team that is done with the rebuilding tag and looking to make the playoffs. Snow told us that he has no restrictions standing in his way, and the owner has said that he is more than willing to do what it takes for this team to make the playoffs. But as you can see from that Bob McKenzie tweet, the money on trading for Souray reportedly "doesn't make sense." What's unclear there is if the Islanders simply don't want to help the Oilers out, or the Islanders just aren't willing to spend the money. If it's the latter, then they don't come out looking too good, and many fans responding to this tweet have started to make accusations already.
Be that as it may, the Islanders have some options to work with right now. The Islanders still have seven defensemen on one-way contracts, so they can try to mix and match them if need be. Everyone now will have to understand that they need to step their games up to bring the level of the group as a whole up to try and mitigate some of the loss.
Wisniewski has talked so much about getting the opportunity to be a first pairing guy on this squad. I bet you he had no idea that he might be coming into the season looked at as the number one defenseman, but I do think he is capable of it. He is the only one who has logged Streit-like minutes, without too many weaknesses exposed while in Anaheim. Mark Eaton logged 20 minutes per game for the Penguins, and Andy MacDonald, who came up from Bridgeport in the middle of last season, found himself playing with Streit and logging 23+ minutes per night by seasons end. MacDonald and Jack Hillen have been playing on the power play in the preseason, and both have looked pretty good. MacDonald appears to have not lost a step from last season, so that is obviously good to see. A sophomore slump from him would not be good at this time, and quite frankly cannot happen.
The best thing that we can do is hope that there is some good news on the 2nd opinion. If not, then you just roll with the punches and see what you can work with. I agree with not making a knee-jerk move, and going through camp with what you have. However, if there is a deal to be made, for a late pick, for a guy like Souray and he is as healthy as he claims to be, then it is something that needs to be explored and talked about. The team's chances of making the playoffs could rely on it by seasons end.
OKPOSO AILING: Speaking of shoulder injuries, Kyle Okposo has been going through some of his own discomfort. He has sat out the last couple of days, and now the Islanders are going to have him look at an additional specialist on Monday as well.
There is some cause for concern here, but it is being overshadowed by the Streit talk. I hope nothing is seriously wrong with Okposo. He was at the scrimmage, watching from the stands and seemed to be in very good spirits, so we'll see what this brings.
TRAINING CAMP INVITES: As I mentioned earlier, the Islanders decided that they were going to bring in some training camp invites after all. They have announced that aside from Eriksson, they are bringing in goalies Manny Legace and Joel Martin, and forwards Dean McAmmond and Kris Kolanos. Martin was slated to go to Bridgeport originally. McAmmond played for the Isles in 2009, and I actually liked him in a bottom six role. He'll provide some good depth if he sticks.
The thing that makes these moves interesting is the fact that the Islanders needed to dress at least eight vets for each of their split squad preseason games this week, so that obviously played a factor. But I feel that some of these guys can stick on two-way deals.
So that's where we stand right now. As I said earlier, I am still working on that recap from the scrimmage with some observations I've had and all that. I'll try and get that up for you guys within the next day or so.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
Islanders country has been hit hard by the latest word, as Katie Strang of Newsday has reported that Mark Streit will be out of action for six months. If this is true, it is obviously a crushing blow to the squad.
I say "if this is true" because the Islanders have not confirmed that this is the case. The Islanders and Streit are going to get a second opinion of the injury, which Strang reports as a torn labrum and rotator cuff that will require surgery. It is also being reported that the blue liner's shoulder was dislocated for close to 20 minutes after the injury. The Isles have been very adamant in their statements thus far, only going as far to say Streit is out indefinitely until they can get that second opinion.
If you ask me, I would have to say he is going to be out for six months. Based on what I've heard, the amount of sources saying it - we have to prepare for a season without one of the top-15 defensemen in the league. This would be very bad on so many levels.
The obvious one is how this would affect the power play. The Islanders last season, with Streit, finished 27th in that category. They added a bona-fide two-way defenseman in James Wisniewski, who they planned to put on the first unit with Streit. All preseason, the combo looked very good. Now, we wont even have a chance to see it or use it.
Another issue here is that this will most likely force one of the Islanders young defenseman to step up their game and prove that they can help the remaining group out. I might be in the minority here, but honestly I have not seen enough out of Calvin de Haan or Travis Hamonic at this time. The have both had their moments, but thinking overall of what I have seen out of both in training camp does not put my mind at ease. De Haan is 19, and really only has one full season of juniors under his belt after suffering a couple of injuries last season. Hamonic needs just a little more seasoning in Bridgeport before he can make the jump to playing with men.
Sure, it is very possible that the Islanders can look to bring in a defenseman from outside the organization, but who or what, and for what? The Rangers put Wade Redden on waivers, and that isn't anywhere on their radar. So for those of you thinking about him, be it now or on re-entry waivers, you can forget it. The Islanders won't be doing their rivals any favors. Edmonton's Sheldon Souray is ideal, however there apparently has been no interest in him and I quite frankly do not understand that. He's a defenseman ho has a cap hit of $5.4 million, but for only two seasons. When healthy, he can provide offensive output equivalent of Streit's, and from what I have seen worked on his defensive game a bit over the years.
The argument against Souray has people bringing up how no one was willing to pick him up on waivers, so why trade for him? Well, while it's true that no one picked him up on waivers, it is also true that his health has been very unclear. In a league with a salary cap, when so many teams are really close to it, not many are going to pick him up, be it at $5.4 million or half that through re-entry. Many teams are playing with a few hundred thousand dollars to spare, not $2.5 million. You can be sure that Souray would be highly motivated as well, to try and stick it to the Oilers and everyone else who passed on him.
Other names that will surface as trade candidates are Florida's Bryan McCabe and Vancouver's Kevin Bieska. Bieska would be a long shot because of the long term injury to Sami Salo.
The problem with the trade market is that teams now see the Islanders as a possibly desperate team. If I were an opposing GM, of course I would try to take advantage of this. While the Islanders should really be looking at moves to make, they have to beware of the dreaded knee-jerk reaction.
So far, the only move we have seen from the team is bringing in defenseman Anders Eriksson on a tryout basis (along with some others, but more on that later in this entry). Eriksson provides some good depth, but quite simply isn't going to cut it if he makes the team and is relied on for a top-six spot.
The Islanders find themselves in a very precarious situation now, and a Streit injury makes their job even tougher. Last week during media day, Charles Wang, Garth Snow and Scott Gordon all spoke of their expectations for the season, and how this is a team that is done with the rebuilding tag and looking to make the playoffs. Snow told us that he has no restrictions standing in his way, and the owner has said that he is more than willing to do what it takes for this team to make the playoffs. But as you can see from that Bob McKenzie tweet, the money on trading for Souray reportedly "doesn't make sense." What's unclear there is if the Islanders simply don't want to help the Oilers out, or the Islanders just aren't willing to spend the money. If it's the latter, then they don't come out looking too good, and many fans responding to this tweet have started to make accusations already.
Be that as it may, the Islanders have some options to work with right now. The Islanders still have seven defensemen on one-way contracts, so they can try to mix and match them if need be. Everyone now will have to understand that they need to step their games up to bring the level of the group as a whole up to try and mitigate some of the loss.
Wisniewski has talked so much about getting the opportunity to be a first pairing guy on this squad. I bet you he had no idea that he might be coming into the season looked at as the number one defenseman, but I do think he is capable of it. He is the only one who has logged Streit-like minutes, without too many weaknesses exposed while in Anaheim. Mark Eaton logged 20 minutes per game for the Penguins, and Andy MacDonald, who came up from Bridgeport in the middle of last season, found himself playing with Streit and logging 23+ minutes per night by seasons end. MacDonald and Jack Hillen have been playing on the power play in the preseason, and both have looked pretty good. MacDonald appears to have not lost a step from last season, so that is obviously good to see. A sophomore slump from him would not be good at this time, and quite frankly cannot happen.
The best thing that we can do is hope that there is some good news on the 2nd opinion. If not, then you just roll with the punches and see what you can work with. I agree with not making a knee-jerk move, and going through camp with what you have. However, if there is a deal to be made, for a late pick, for a guy like Souray and he is as healthy as he claims to be, then it is something that needs to be explored and talked about. The team's chances of making the playoffs could rely on it by seasons end.
OKPOSO AILING: Speaking of shoulder injuries, Kyle Okposo has been going through some of his own discomfort. He has sat out the last couple of days, and now the Islanders are going to have him look at an additional specialist on Monday as well.
There is some cause for concern here, but it is being overshadowed by the Streit talk. I hope nothing is seriously wrong with Okposo. He was at the scrimmage, watching from the stands and seemed to be in very good spirits, so we'll see what this brings.
TRAINING CAMP INVITES: As I mentioned earlier, the Islanders decided that they were going to bring in some training camp invites after all. They have announced that aside from Eriksson, they are bringing in goalies Manny Legace and Joel Martin, and forwards Dean McAmmond and Kris Kolanos. Martin was slated to go to Bridgeport originally. McAmmond played for the Isles in 2009, and I actually liked him in a bottom six role. He'll provide some good depth if he sticks.
The thing that makes these moves interesting is the fact that the Islanders needed to dress at least eight vets for each of their split squad preseason games this week, so that obviously played a factor. But I feel that some of these guys can stick on two-way deals.
So that's where we stand right now. As I said earlier, I am still working on that recap from the scrimmage with some observations I've had and all that. I'll try and get that up for you guys within the next day or so.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
September 16, 2010
Rookie Game 2: Boston 2, Isles 1 (OT)
The Islanders dropped the 2nd and final rookie game to the Bruins in overtime by a score of 2-1. Ryan Spooner scored both goals for the Bruins, while Tony Romano scored the lone goal for the Isles.
Tonight's effort was much better than the one we saw on Wednesday. Kevin Poulin was in net, and looked very strong. Just like Mikko Koskinen, Poulin has some very quick reaction time. He looked a little quicker with his lateral movement and had the ability to go into the butterfly stance a little quicker that Koskinen, but we could probably chalk that up to Koskinen being five inches taller and very thin. Poulin is at 6'2" and 205 lbs, so he has good size for a goalie. He is very quick with the glove saves, and that seems to be what he is most comfortable with.
Calvin de Haan had a better game, but there were still some bumps here and there. The fact that his play improved leads one to think that it is just rust from the lack of playing time, but he is getting there. The Islanders had a lot of powerplay opportunities tonight, and de Haan saw a lot of time from that. It seems like he is very hesitant to shoot the puck. There were a couple of times you could see how much space he was being given from the overhead camera the Bruins were using for the live feed. A good offensive defenseman has to shoot when given that much time and space. He will learn with time, but again you can clearly see he is still trying to shake off some rust. At this point, I'm not expecting de Haan to make the Islanders despite being one of the final cuts last season. He really should spend another year down in juniors to get all of the kinks worked out.
Travis Hamonic had a much better game, but was knocked out fairly early after getting into a fight, his 2nd of the tournament which meant a game misconduct. He definitely likes to scrap, and that was good to see. I'm glad he came around and was having a better go at it than he did on Wednesday. I'm very interested to see what he does in the real camp now.
For some reason, my recap of game one failed to mention David Ullstrom. I have been pretty impressed with what I have seen from him. This isn't a guy who's going to score a ton, but he has some talent, good speed and a huge frame. A number of times tonight, he could be found screening the opposing net on the powerplay. When he had the puck behind the net, he seemed to be able to cylce back and forth a couple of times and pass it up to create some scoring chances. He's got some really good tools to become a very effective top-9 forward, maybe a top-6 with some luck. I've been excited to see Ullstrom for a little while, and these two games left me even more curious with what we have here. Keep your eyes on him closely during camp in the battle for the open forward spot.
Justin DiBennedetto has some good skills as well. He's not the most skilled guy, and the probability that the skill he has shown translates into a regular top-6 in the NHL is slim, but he looked a lot better than what I saw last year. He's faster, smarter and much more "chippy." I like what he is trying to do with his game and how he is trying to change is. That could go a long way in making him an effective player and a contributor at the pro level.
Nino Niederreiter is a very strong kid. He has an excellent ability to be able to turn his back to a defender when he's carrying the puck, which enabled the Isles to set up shop in the offensive zone a few times tonight. He got knocked down a couple of times, but he's still trying to get his "NHL legs." He'll be in camp, and an obvious favorite to make the club for at least the first nine games of the season. If Niederreiter sticks to the game we saw him play in these two, he should have no problems. What will be interesting to see now is how he fares going up against even bigger, faster and stronger opponents in the NHL camp. If he doesn't have the same success, he won't take long to adjust. He has the size which gives him an advantage over many other young players, and the hockey sense to be able to make some adjustments on the fly.
Kirill Kabanov was doing much of the same as he did last night. The kid can be an offensive dynamo one day. It's a shame that he is so light, because he could really do a lot more if he were only about 10-15 pounds heavier. Perhaps after another season in junior he can become a contributor with the Isles, but he is on the right track skill wise. Hopefully he matures so that we can be sure that we'll definitely have the skill here, in North America.
Finally, Mark Katic had a very strong series. I didn't mention him Wednesday night either, but he showed quickness and a good offensive game. He has definitely gotten significantly bigger since the Islanders took him in the 3rd round in 2007, and playing in Bridgeport last season seems to have taught him a lot. He likes to jump in on offense, but he's very smart with knowing when to pick his spots. Twice I saw him get himself into trouble on pinches, and both times he was able to use his speed to get back. Both times he didn't put himself totally out of position either though, and that surely played a factor. Good to see that we could possibly have a little more offense coming up the ranks on the blueline.
These are only a few of the guys who had strong games, but they are the ones that people had the most interest in given their skill level and draft positions. It was nice to see some generally good performances from some of the Isles top young talent, and now we get to see how some of it will translate in the NHL camp.
Tonight's effort was much better than the one we saw on Wednesday. Kevin Poulin was in net, and looked very strong. Just like Mikko Koskinen, Poulin has some very quick reaction time. He looked a little quicker with his lateral movement and had the ability to go into the butterfly stance a little quicker that Koskinen, but we could probably chalk that up to Koskinen being five inches taller and very thin. Poulin is at 6'2" and 205 lbs, so he has good size for a goalie. He is very quick with the glove saves, and that seems to be what he is most comfortable with.
Calvin de Haan had a better game, but there were still some bumps here and there. The fact that his play improved leads one to think that it is just rust from the lack of playing time, but he is getting there. The Islanders had a lot of powerplay opportunities tonight, and de Haan saw a lot of time from that. It seems like he is very hesitant to shoot the puck. There were a couple of times you could see how much space he was being given from the overhead camera the Bruins were using for the live feed. A good offensive defenseman has to shoot when given that much time and space. He will learn with time, but again you can clearly see he is still trying to shake off some rust. At this point, I'm not expecting de Haan to make the Islanders despite being one of the final cuts last season. He really should spend another year down in juniors to get all of the kinks worked out.
Travis Hamonic had a much better game, but was knocked out fairly early after getting into a fight, his 2nd of the tournament which meant a game misconduct. He definitely likes to scrap, and that was good to see. I'm glad he came around and was having a better go at it than he did on Wednesday. I'm very interested to see what he does in the real camp now.
For some reason, my recap of game one failed to mention David Ullstrom. I have been pretty impressed with what I have seen from him. This isn't a guy who's going to score a ton, but he has some talent, good speed and a huge frame. A number of times tonight, he could be found screening the opposing net on the powerplay. When he had the puck behind the net, he seemed to be able to cylce back and forth a couple of times and pass it up to create some scoring chances. He's got some really good tools to become a very effective top-9 forward, maybe a top-6 with some luck. I've been excited to see Ullstrom for a little while, and these two games left me even more curious with what we have here. Keep your eyes on him closely during camp in the battle for the open forward spot.
Justin DiBennedetto has some good skills as well. He's not the most skilled guy, and the probability that the skill he has shown translates into a regular top-6 in the NHL is slim, but he looked a lot better than what I saw last year. He's faster, smarter and much more "chippy." I like what he is trying to do with his game and how he is trying to change is. That could go a long way in making him an effective player and a contributor at the pro level.
Nino Niederreiter is a very strong kid. He has an excellent ability to be able to turn his back to a defender when he's carrying the puck, which enabled the Isles to set up shop in the offensive zone a few times tonight. He got knocked down a couple of times, but he's still trying to get his "NHL legs." He'll be in camp, and an obvious favorite to make the club for at least the first nine games of the season. If Niederreiter sticks to the game we saw him play in these two, he should have no problems. What will be interesting to see now is how he fares going up against even bigger, faster and stronger opponents in the NHL camp. If he doesn't have the same success, he won't take long to adjust. He has the size which gives him an advantage over many other young players, and the hockey sense to be able to make some adjustments on the fly.
Kirill Kabanov was doing much of the same as he did last night. The kid can be an offensive dynamo one day. It's a shame that he is so light, because he could really do a lot more if he were only about 10-15 pounds heavier. Perhaps after another season in junior he can become a contributor with the Isles, but he is on the right track skill wise. Hopefully he matures so that we can be sure that we'll definitely have the skill here, in North America.
Finally, Mark Katic had a very strong series. I didn't mention him Wednesday night either, but he showed quickness and a good offensive game. He has definitely gotten significantly bigger since the Islanders took him in the 3rd round in 2007, and playing in Bridgeport last season seems to have taught him a lot. He likes to jump in on offense, but he's very smart with knowing when to pick his spots. Twice I saw him get himself into trouble on pinches, and both times he was able to use his speed to get back. Both times he didn't put himself totally out of position either though, and that surely played a factor. Good to see that we could possibly have a little more offense coming up the ranks on the blueline.
These are only a few of the guys who had strong games, but they are the ones that people had the most interest in given their skill level and draft positions. It was nice to see some generally good performances from some of the Isles top young talent, and now we get to see how some of it will translate in the NHL camp.
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