Islanders website: Has a morning update on the early practice and is promising more for later today.
Times & Transcript: Gerald McLaughlin has an article on the Islanders arriving in Moncton with the training camp schedule.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio had a blog update with a few items.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Aside from that nothing from the local papers, Mr Zipay is doing another Ranger chat, no blogs from Mr Logan, no Saturday article at this time.
Updated 1pm: Newsday: Greg Logan has an updated blog on the line combinations for day one with some speculation and he will have an article for Sunday on Rick DiPietro who for now is working on his own rehab program and not part of the workouts. Yann Danis and Joey McDonald are expected to share the early preseason workload.
Sound Tigers.com: Has the line combinations for the three teams the players were divided into and a few highlights.
Note-The sidebars have a host of video blog updates with individual players and day one of camp, apparently the tabs at the moment are in french?
Tsn.ca: Scott Cullen's thirty teams in thirty days previews New York.
THN.com: Ken Campbell had a followup up blog after his comments about Brandon Sudgen recently which apparently included a conversation with his father Travis who is battling cancer as his son traveled to Moncton today with New York.
Newsday: Greg Logan interviews former Providence Bruin, Ben Walter about what kind of system Scott Gordon plays and what the veterans can expect when camp begins in Moncton on Saturday.
More Friday: Times & Transcript: Gerald McLaughlin has an interview with Islanders assistant coach Dan Lacroix where he comments on Ted Nolan, the kind of hockey this team will play and how the young players have looked.
Yahoo.com: Russ McKeon's New York Islander Preview is scheduled for release Friday around noon. I expect it will not be pretty but hope it reflects a team that was competitive last season.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Afraid my instincts were correct on this one.
For a man who does the team rankings every week and knows who is winning or losing to write the Islanders were really never a threat or a factor in the playoff chase means Mr McKeon was asleep at the wheel when the club was in a playoff spot as late as Jaunary that was two points out at the trade deadline which is why writers should not do thirty previews in thirty days because a lot gets missed.
He did do a nice job telling us about coverage problems but forgot to note the only shadow the Rangers cast in baseball centic New York is how they regulate hockey coverage on their network and now in Newsday which hurts attendance and changes how newspapers editors cover teams.
You would never know how comeptitive this club was within it's division last season after reading this article and outside of a little about Okposo knew nothing about the prospects.
Worthless preview.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio had more on yesterday's prospect game in his blog with a few other items as he will be covering the Isles training camp from afar unfortunately.
New York Islander Fan Central | 9/18/2008 07:07:00 PM
Scott Gordon
Scott Gordon after his first day of practice this week visited a few of the local radio stations 94.3 WMJC along with a return interview with Jim and Kim on Long Island's KJOY 98.3 after he was hired.
The second interview does not have a lot of hockey-centric information.
Today we wrap up the Islanders 2008-09 preview with a look at the goaltending.
1. Rick DiPietro: Simply put one of the best goaltenders in the NHL according to Martin Brodeur who kept his club in contention last season in a stretch his team scored two goals or less fourteen games in a row and was named to his first all star appearance.
His All-Star debut also led to a knee/hip injury where he eventually decided to shut down his season in March when the club dropped out of contention after his post ASG play keyed a second half winning streak of six straight games capped by a 1-0 win against Tampa Bay. The media despite the winning streak ignored that and made a statistical argument that did not reflect his play or the quality chances against him up to the point he suffered a loss in the family. After that he did struggle in games against Philadelphia and Tampa Bay with some stick handling mistakes and penalties which the media then made it about Ted Nolan vs Rick DiPietro with the contract and his personality the story which never goes away, despite the goaltender never having a critical word in print for anyone.
DiPietro in his final game again played very well at Montreal before finally deciding to take care of his injuries. He had what was described as minor surgery again in June and for the moment there are questions as to his status during camp but intends to be a hundred percent for opening night.
I think Red Fischer in the Montreal Gazette said it best about DiPietro's puck-handing ability when he wrote after a January game in Montreal where he held them in virtually alone with the club unable to put two passes together all day at one point he shot the puck down the ice as if he was telling his defense and forward that's how you do it. He again toned down his wandering from the crease for the most part last season but his stick handling does keep clubs off balance and he did create chances. He almost scored his first NHL goal and when at his best is a third defender who gives the club every chance to stay in the game.
Moving forward it's fair to write without DiPietro at his best and keeping the club in games on what could be a very low-scoring club it could be a long-season but it is a deeper and strong group on the backline and it depends on the quality of shots against him and if the Islanders can hit the three goal mark and provide some room for a few goals against.
What former goaltender Scott Gordon can bring here could be an asset for DiPietro but we will not know until we see what kind of game the club will play in front of him. DiPietro has worked with a lot of coaches and former goaltenders starting with his current gm with Mike Dunham also a former teammate and former goaltending coach Sudsie Maharaj apparently making the occasional cameo according to a few reports.
The schedule this time around has several second half breaks unlike last season where this team did not see three days off in a row after mid-December, but it also has far more road trips. No matter what DiPietro tells the media it will be looked upon with skepticism and a negative angle despite his play that did not even merit updated local blogs come the ASG.
For those claiming he is injury prone, I do not know. The injuries he had in 2006-07 did not reoccur in 2007-08 and prior to 06-07 seemed to be healthy for the most part. The discussion of his games played cannot be set in stone months in advance despite those who feel it must be.
I guess his contract will always be more of the story despite some very ordinary goaltenders making close to the the same money or more in some cases.
2. Joey McDonald: McDonald got a one-way contract which means if he plays in the AHL he makes his NHL salary but for the most part McDonald had a steady season for Bridgeport and did play very solid including a fifty save game in an overtime loss for New York in one of his few NHL starts. A late season loss and a few soft goals did bring some criticism out of Bridgeport fans for his play but he did have a few short stints in Boston and Detroit where he played a few NHL games and did not look out of place.
A this point he can dress as an NHL backup but unlike Wade Dubielewicz who loves shots, work and thrives when he is facing forty shots and gave every indication he can step in and carry a club it's impossible to know if McDonald can do the same.
On paper McDonald goes into camp as an NHL backup but that could change if he does not perform well or DiPietro's status forces a goaltender to be acquired with NHL experience.
3. Yann Danis: Danis is kind of an interesting player in that he has six games of NHL experience in Montreal after playing for Hamilton but never played in more than fifty three games after graduating from Brown University where he posted outstanding seasons as a sophomore, junior and senior in terms of save percentage.
I tend to think the job of backup could come down how Danis does vs McDonald but there is a third party in this mix with some interesting lineage.
4. Peter Mannino: Peter Mannino was signed out of the same Denver University the Islanders signed Wade Dubielewicz and until last season split the goaltending workload with Glenn Fisher where he posted numbers of 25-14-1 record, 2.27 goals against average, .917 saves percentage and six shutouts • earned All-WCHA third-team honors and Lowes Senior CLASS Award first-team accolades • named to the WCHA Final Five and Wells Fargo Denver Cup all-tournament teams • set DU’s all-time shutout mark at 15 and also ranks second all-time in saves percentage (.917), and third in wins (63) and goals against average (2.35) • finished season tied for first nationally in shutouts, sixth in minutes (2,301:49), ninth in winning percentage (.638), 20th in goals against average and 24th in saves percentage • ranked second in the WCHA in minutes, third in winning percentage, and seventh in goals against average and saves percentage • ranks among DU's career goaltending leaders in saves percentage (2nd), shutouts (3rd) and goals against average (4th).
Never say never but on paper it looks like he will battle the loser of Danis vs McDonald for starting goaltender in Bridgeport.
Newsday: Greg Logan has a blog update with head coach Scott Gordon's comments on how he will not be having scrimmages but do what he has done with rookie camp and that is have controlled scrimmages within practice where teaching is done as Mr Logan writes about how squads will be divided in the upcoming days and what the routine will be.
Scott Gordon feels this is how he will teach the veterans and introduce everyone to his concept of increasing team speed within his system as no one will be considered a returning player and that's this is all new to everyone as they do drills that touch on things he wants his players to accomplish in a game as opposed to the usual scrimmage where the club plays and beats on one another as he wants that saved for the opposition.
Mr Logan is promising a recap of the prospect game in Shelton.
NYI Fan Central Comments: For someone like myself who understands coaching strategy and systems this is a little different to not have regular scrimmages. It will be interesting to see how a guy like Bill Guerin, Mike Sillinger or others who have their own routines and concepts of camp and what they feel they must do to be ready conflict with the coach.
I suspect a rookie NHL coach may have to put up with a little resistance to this approach from the ten year veterans but I loved what he said because obviously he's seen some tapes of this club's weaknesses and this team needed a lot more in the technical department.
He may be talking above some folks with this but he's got me fascinated, for it to work the players have to buy in.
I suspect the Sound Tigers website will have something on the game in Shelton along with Mr Fornabaio during the afternoon.
********************************************************* Boston Bruins.com: John Bishop has a running blog of the game at Shelton which at this time features a 6-4 New York lead and a Sean Bentivoglio hat trick along with a Joel Rechlicz fight after a five goal second period for New York.
Team 1 2 3 F Boston 2 2 0 4 NYIs 1 5 2 8
Bruins: First Period -Knackstedt (Lehtonen) 1:18, Nelson (Marchand) 14:24. Second Period – Wheeler (Fritch) 11:02, Sauve (Marchand, Fritch) 12:36. Third Period – none.
Islanders: First Period – Bailey (Smith) 11:37. Second Period – Marcinko (Gratchev) 6:24, Bentivoglio (Henniger) 10:09 PP, Smith (Bailey) 13:18, Bentivoglio (Nikiforov, Katic), Bentivoglio (Henniger) 19:23 SH. Third Period – Gratchev (Marcinko, DiBenedetto) 19:35 EN, DiBenedetto (Marcinko) 19:47.
Fighting Majors: Boston – Fletcher, 15:58, 1st. Marquardt, 15:07, 3rd New York - Rechlicz, 15:58, 1st. Haley, 15:07 3rd. Regan gave way for Hutchinson at 9:57.
Newsday: Greg Logan blogged on the 8-4 prospect win with head coach Scott Gordon's comments on how the club played as he praised Josh Bailey and Mark Katic among several players who stood out.
Sound Tigers website: Recaps the Islander prospects 8-4 win over Boston with comments from Scott Gordon and Sean Bentivoglio.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio had an updated box score on the game in his blog. ******************************************************** SI.com: Jim Kelley of SI is setting new standards for misinformation regarding the New York Islanders in an article about players with something to prove that Doug Weight has bounced all over the map in recent years when aside from a late season rental to Carolina in 05-06 had been with St Louis since 2001-02 and that he should quit because one could argue even god has forgotten about the New York Islanders.
NYI Fan Central Comments: SI seems to have a very big grudge with this franchise that does not reflect the teams record and especially Mr Kelley who Mr Botta had a few choice words for recently regarding his sloppy reporting.
Note-The training camp primer links were posted in the prospects blog sidebar, just a list of players with their profiles and a few players from Utah included.
Newsday: Greg Logan has an interview with Islander prospect Jack Hillen about the strengths of his game and how he thinks he can help the club in his first professional camp. General manager Garth Snow comments he feels like he got a late first round pick when he signed Hillen out of college while head coach Scott Gordon has been impressed with his skating and hockey sense.
NYI Fan Central Comments: I know I was impressed with the two games last season, he has a lot of ability and hopefully he makes it as tough as possible on the staff to send him down because for a limited look he did not seem out of place at all.
The rookie game in Shelton Ct Thursday is at 1pm against the Bruins prospects.
Vancouver Sun/several outlets: Report former New York Islander Mathieu Schneider cleared waivers Wednesday. Calgary Flames placed Marcus Nilson on waivers Wednesday for the second time this summer.
NYI Fan Central Comments: It's painfully obvious no club in this league is going to absorb that big a cap hit for a thirty nine year old player even on a one-year contract. Will Brian Burke make a deal and take back salary or put him on re-entry waivers with Anaheim playing part of his salary?
Quick Hits/Blog Announcements: Beautiful redesign for the Islanders tv player, a lot like the NHL player but Islander centric. All due respect to Scott Gordon but were going to keep the Four Stanley Cups in our picture.
Here is a little sample from Scott Gordon after Monday's rookie camp.
I cannot do anything with the Islanders current website logo and the ever changing slogans which I guess for now is Experience Islander Hockey so against what I wish to do I put up an older design from the club website. It's not my website so whatever picture they present I would like to post for my blog readers but in this case I am not able to at this time.
In terms of this blog I put up some more links (including a picture link) for the prospects blog and a link list where the old prospect section was to redirect anyone looking for it. I hope folks are not under the impression I dropped the Bridgeport, Utah or Odessa sections because all of them are on that new blog and enhanced. Making these changes allowed me add a lot of new things one blog would not have enough space for.
Our little schedule widget skipped right into October mode and cut out the preseason games after posting all of them.
I took out the dates for ITV and Islander website updates for a more crisp, clean look on the sidebars.
All the daily articles of course will be here for the Sound Tigers along with the prospects.
Anything regarding Wednesday's camp update I will either post here later or start a new blog for in the Thursday news articles.
With camp starting Friday I have to pick up the pace on these previews so today lets complete the defense with a few words on the goaltending coming tomorrow or Friday.
1. Mark Streit: Mark Streit comes to New York as one of the leading scorers on defense in the National Hockey league who played some forward in Montreal which led to him being somewhat outspoken of Bob Gainey but here joins a defense who's returning defenders are led by four goal scorer Chris Campoli with Berard and MA Bergeron's combined fourteen goals departing.
Streit's offense skills and production are essential to this clubs success at even strength and the powerplay, we will have to see how things go on defense because the game will come to him more with the Islanders than it was in Montreal where that club's team speed helped his game as they were on the attack which Scott Gordon has talked about but does not seem to have the players for that kind of game in effort.
In Montreal with the man advantage he produced seven goals and twenty seven assist which was just a little more than half his production so he can produce at even strength. Having written that it still does not replace Berard or Bergeron's combined goal production and pales in comparison to some stretches former Islander Adrian Aucoin had where he produced close to double-digit goals in a month which fair or not may be needed.
One thing folks will see is Streit's age and wonder if we have seen his best when in fact he has only been in the NHL for three seasons and improved all three years and is a player who in some ways who is still learning to play in this league.
Hard to say who Scott Gordon will pair him with at this time but with a combined sixty one goals plus leaving the roster of one the lowest scoring clubs in the NHL last season Mark Streit has to score goals and produce offensive chances.
2. Chris Campoli: For all the talk of Chris Campoli improving last season on offense based on two early season goals he only had four when his season was cut short by injury last January.
Fair or not he has to give this team more offense and is at a point in his NHL career where he should have the confidence to provide just that because he obviously has great natural instincts when to step in and create a chance and was a leading AHL scorer for a season in Bridgeport.
On defense his physical play improved along with his positioning. There is a fair question about his ability to stay healthy which has hindered him for the better part of two years. He won over Ted Nolan when he was healthy in 2006-07 and there is little doubt he will do the same with Scott Gordon who should remember Campoli from his time in Bridgeport. It will be interesting to see if he remains paired with Bruno Gervais or with Mark Streit.
3. Bruno Gervais: Many folks will only remember Bruno Gervais was hurt for the last month or did not score a single goal but what did stand out most of the season was his strong defensive game and positioning where he not only kept his angles but won most battles for the puck in his end of the ice and reminded me a lot of Kenny Morrow which I wrote about at the twenty game mark.
Gervais only seems to be improving in this area which is partly reflected by being only a minus five on a club that was one of the worst in the league in the plus/minus stats which is this case is an accurate barometer of how steady he was.
Having written that his offensive game has not progressed with his first callup in 2005-06 where he produced three goals but nothing the last two seasons aside from a playoff goal against Buffalo and a few very impressive rushes at the Sabres goal in game five.
Gervais is a former AHL defensive scoring leader for a few stretches in Bridgeport he has to give New York more production and it is fair to speculate even with his new three year contract he is fighting for a spot in the top six.
Like Campoli there are durability questions with regard to Gervais and if he can play a full eighty two games, his concussion did linger the final month.
It will be very interesting to see where Scott Gordon places him.
4. Andy Sutton: Andy Sutton came to New York with a three year contract and someone of a rap that he losses focus and does not play a consistent defensive game which a few articles suggesed out of Atlanta when he was not resigned there. When he came to New York he went for a few big hits early that were obvious penalties, the first month or so bad goals found him from deflections or screens and it was fair to say he was not comfortable or confident as he was the player paired with whoever was struggling less between Berard or Bergeron as they were hurt or benched and was running around too much in his end of the ice.
Funny thing happened at some point around mid-late November or early December.
Sutton settled down, got his confidence and not only played steady reliable defense for Ted Nolan but was a shut down defender who seemed to change his game like Brendan Witt did after the lockout and did an excellent job clearing the crease and what Peter Laviolette likes to call " the house."
This translated to whoever he was paired with to where he looked comfortable in any defensive role he was placed in as he helped carry the club on the backline during the six game winning streak by doing a lot of things that do not show on the scoresheet to win a hockey game along with his ability to block shots which has always been a strength to his game.
That streak also led to the other problem he brought with him from Atlanta and that's a history of being injured which ended Sutton's season in the final minutes of a game against San Jose.
Sutton's offensive game did not make it to New York, he had two eight goal seasons in Atlanta but declined his final season there which could have been the defensive system or his role here.
Sutton is signed for the next two seasons at three million, it's tough to speculate if Brendan Witt's extension changes his future here but like Witt is the only player that brings the size and physical factor, would not be easy to replace and what seemed to be the best version of his defensive game was a big asset for this club.
It would be for any team.
5: Freddy Meyer: What can I write about the 2007-08 journey for Freddy Meyer that led him to two leagues, two teams, two waiver placements and two different conferences before New York finally got to see him play completely healthy where he earned a two year contract extension after only two weeks of playing regularly in December?
Meyer finally got his chance at full strength since his 2006 trade for Alexei Zhitnik, like Andy Sutton looked solid on defense and only kept getting better to where he was a plus six on a brutal plus minus squad, you could see the confidence he had him in himself as he played solid defense, blocked shots very well and was another very big reason New York cuts it's shots against by close to two hundred by the end of the season.
Having written all that you would think on paper he is a lock for the top six but this is a very deep defensive squad all signed to contracts of two year or more. He is injury prone but for now someone will have to sit and it could well be Meyer who has not been durable here or in Philadelphia but did show an offensive element that stood out for the Flyers in 2005-06 that could make a difference if he settles into a role here where he can produce.
He even had two game winning goals when it was all said and done.
6: Jack Hillen/Dustin Kohn: Not much to write here, both are on the outside looking in. Hillen comes out of college with a two game trial in the NHL where he did not look out of place and produced his first NHL points and could earn a spot if he forces management with his play to move someone and has the offensive game to do just that. Dustin Kohn comes in off his first AHL season where he was spotted by Jack Capuano in Bridgeport and had some injuries but this is a second rounder the club has a lot invested in.
For those looking at Bridgeport the depth seems settled on paper.
Now that I did all this we'll see if Mathieu Schneider has been claimed by general manager Garth Snow.
Times & Transcript: Gerard McLaughlin previews Islander training camp in Moncton.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Solid research work here from the local writer pointing out the club is looking for a big year from Comeau and it's record in one goal games suggest they have be competitive in games, the recap even included how Gordon conducted practice on Monday.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Shelly Anderson has the first comments from Miroslav Satan in a North America paper that he felt it was a combination of an off year and playing on a struggling team with New York last season as he mentioned a change of style may help.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Fair enough that he played hurt last year and struggled but that went on for most of the last two seasons whether he was hurt or not. Sometimes the puck does not go in and the numbers suffer but you expect to see him use his shot and generate chances, that did not happen nearly enough as he disappeared for long stretches.
Also he seemed completely lost when he was on the point during a powerplay.
Barrie Examiner: Ian Shantz reports Islanders prospect Matt Martin's rights were included in a multi-player trade last season between the Barrie Colts and the Sarnia Sting where he was to finish out the year with Sarnia and then play for Barrie but Martin according to the writer has a so-called no-trade clause in his contract that he refused to waive which now has OHL commissioner David Branch involved to arbitrate the dispute.
Mr Shantz speculates Matt Martin is a candidate to be named the Sting's captain this season when returned by the Islanders from training camp.
Times & Transcript: Neil Hodge has an interview with Islander prospect Andrew MacDonald who played two season in Moncton, what it means to be here for training camp as he looks to play for Bridgeport all season.
Quick Hits: Michael Fornabaio wrote in his blog Vladimir Nikiforov is on an AHL deal and that it was mentioned only in passing a couple of weeks ago.
Mark Everson doing his best to stir the pot actually had the gall to do a limited space article that Devils coach Brent Sutter leans toward North American players and away from Europeans which he dismissed as non-sense as should everyone regarding anything Mark Everson presents to the public.
Newsday: Greg Logan's article has an update on Mike Comrie who is working his way back from hip surgery also but says he will play by the opener as he talked about the team and the expectations.
NYI Fan Central Comments: I think it's fair to say anyone who saw pictures during the summer saw a few of them with him on crutches. I'm not sure this is a story that merits an article to where camp and prospects were ignored today but if he is held back for a while it is newsworthy.
Newsday: Arthur Staple's article was on local product, left winger Vladimir Nikiforov who reported after a tryout invite in July was again invited to the current rookie camp. Garth Snow comments along with his father while some lineage is drawn with other local products who have made the NHL as he has made an impression on a few veterans.
NYI Fan Central Comments: I was a little skeptical of what former Ranger beatwriter Arthur Staple would write about today but he did a very good job here.
I'm also a little confused here because in one part of the article it's written he was invited to this weeks camp according to Mr Staple but then he writes Nikiforov is on a two-way minor-league contract with the Isles, so he may end up in Bridgeport or Utah.
I will add his profile if there is one to the prospects blog in the Bridgeport section if he is signed given he cannot go back to the junior league given his age.
No formal announcement was made of a signing to my knowledge, I wonder if Mr Fornabaio can confirm that for us?
OHL.com: Has Vladimir Nikiforov profile with the Sarnia Sting for those curious. The Islanders website had a feature back during prospect camp in July which was linked to the Sarnia website here.
Tsn.ca/several media sources: Report former Islander Mathieu Schneider has been placed on waivers by the Anaheim Ducks.
NYI Fan Central Comments: I do not see a fit with the Islanders given they have seven defenders under contract for the next two years and his contract is hardly a bargain. If healthy and at his best he may be a nice stop gap for a year in terms of offense but if you sign him you have to move a defender.
Would not shock me to see general manager Garth Snow put in a claim but if he did he has to move someone or put a regular in the stands long-term. I think if the Isles can offset this by offering a combination of Andy Hilbert, Richard Park or Freddy Meyer to offset the cap hit it's move that may be worth it but with Schneider on waivers we are past that point.
Windsor Star: Reports Josh Bailey has been named the new captain of the Windsor Spitfires with head coach Bob Boughner's comments.
Sound Tigers website: Has the projected lineups for Thursday's prospect game in Shelton against the Bruins.
Newsday: Greg Logan has a lot more on head coach Scott Gordon with his comments regarding Gerard Gallant deciding to work out of PEI as a consultant to general manager Garth Snow, his relationship with current assistants Dan LaCroix/John Chabot and if the club may add a third assistant along with how he took charge at practice for day one of rookie camp.
NYI Fan Central Comments: It's always a downside with Mr Logan, always looking for a negative undercurrent to sell to the public like there is some kind of problem with today's being it would have been awkward for Gerard Gallant to work with a rookie coach after he just worked with Ted Nolan who was out of the NHL for close to a decade.
Mr Logan was so quick to let us know Scott Gordon was schooling the assistant coaches yesterday, he could not even get Bridgeport Sound Tigers coach Jack Capuano's name correct in the article.
I want to read about what players looked good in practice and what drills Gordon did and who made an impression along with how he took charge at practice. When is Newsday going to tell us about the players and some actual hockey?
NY Post: The Post editor actually allowed Dan Martin to do a limited space article on practice yesterday with Scott Gordon, Kyle Okposo and Brendan Witt's comments on day one of rookie camp.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Dan Martin is quick to tell the public the club could struggle, he could not even properly report Scott Gordon was not even hired when prospect camp took place back in July and until yesterday never worked with the organization's younger players.
Nothing but the sounds of silence from the Times, Daily News and NY Sun but if you want to know what's happening in Europe the Times blog will be all over it.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio was in Syosset and reported on how practice was conducted with head coaches Scott Gordon and Jack Capuano commenting along with former Providence Bruins Ben Walter and Sean Bentivoglio who both played for Scott Gordon in 2006-07 as they talked about the practice and the systems Scott Gordon will play.
Ct Post: Mr Fornabaio in his blog goes on to tell us a host of things that happened at camp during day one with line combinations and who impressed.
NYI Fan Central Comments: As usual Mr Fornabaio leads the way with the coverage letting the public know Scott Gordon had meetings last week with the coaches in the organization and that having all his coaches on the ice before practice is not be something he would be doing next year. Mr Fornabaio also told us specifically what was done in practice as he even got us comments from Sean Bentivoglio and Ben Walter who played for Scott Gordon.
Brandon Sudgen will supposedly be in town tomorrow according to the beatwriter.
Too bad Mr Fornabaio is going on assignment for a few days, his coverage will be badly missed.
Times & Transcript: Gerard McLaughlin has comments from Warren Frizzell, who heads the Moncton delegation dealing with the Islanders needs as he has more details of training camp.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Times & Transcript along with Daily Gleaner have brief updates on prospect games and exhibition games next week for those planning to attend.
Updated Tuesday: Newsday: Mr Logan blogs on Mr Botta being given a spot on the Islanders website for his new blog and what his contribution will mean. Mr Logan also also had a few words on expanded coverage for the New York Islanders and the team now owned by Newsday who for some reason receive equal or better coverage (and far more many blog entries) despite the fact the city publications do not have a regular beatwriter traveling with the club.
Mr Logan cites the impressive blog numbers achieved by both teams was the catalyst for the decision to provide hockey fans with increased coverage despite the fact Mr Zipay's blog produces more views because of far more information and regular updates for their readers.
Of course Mr Logan made sure to point out the Islanders were last in NHL attendance.
NYI Fan Central Comments: All I can add is my old point our team needs more blogs and coverage which Mr Logan does not provide for us as he's out blogged by his Newsday counterpart which there is no excuse for despite some who claim longer blogs is a substitute for less blogs.
Our fans do not need even or less than even coverage with the team that now owns the paper. Islanders should be receiving virtually all of the Ranger coverage in Newsday for the same reasons the city editors are not covering the New York Islanders beyond a few articles on occasion.
It will be interesting to see if those live blogs for baseball are also posted for New York Islander hockey.
Globe & Mail: David Shoalts in an article about NHL participation in the Olympics after 2010 a problem because of insurance onn long-term contracts has Jim Johannson, the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey perspective that Rick DiPietro's 15-year, $67.5-million contract is un-insurable and even if he were healthy before the world championship last spring in Halifax and Quebec City not have been added to the U.S. team.
From Late Monday: SI.com: Darren Eliot gave us the usual sloppy SI Islander content that began with Rick DiPietro's contract and that this year could feel longer which was advertised as a camp notebook in one of the smallest updates of the thirty teams he wrote about.
In other words he knows nothing about the 2008-09 Islanders.
Islanders website: Website publications coordinator Jason Lockhart recaps day one of rookie camp with comments from head coach Scott Gordon, Director of Player Development Bryan Trottier and Director of Pro Scouting Kenny Morrow.
NYI Fan Central Comments: I posted Katie Strang's video update with Kyle Okposo and Scott Gordon's comments.
I will either post the Newsday/media updates here later or in a new blog post tomorrow depending on how many articles are written on the club.
Upcoming Schedule: Iceworks Tuesday: 9 am – 12 pm Wednesday: 9 am – 12 pm
Shelton, Ct Thursday: 1pm vs Boston Bruins rookies
Updated 8pm: Newsday: Mark Herrmann after making sure to let the public know expectations are low for the club now and in the immediate future has comments from Kyle Okposo about what he is looking to do this season along with Bryan Trottier who coached the Islanders 2006 first round selection at a teen select camp in Minnesota when he was fifteen years old according to Mr Herrmann. Okposo did not practice with the rookies but worked out with the veterans and had a few words with team owner Charles Wang.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Mr Herrmann is entitled to his opinion but Scott Gordon, Bill Guerin, Doug Weight and Garth Snow disagree about the expectations. Only time will tell if the New York Islanders will parade down the Canyon of Hero's where they belong next June but if Philadelphia can go from 30th to the conference finals it's fair to say any club can turn things around quickly.
Newsday: Greg Logan has a blog update with head coach Scott Gordon's comments where there is a lot of speculation about early line combinations and who could play center in Mike Sillinger's possible absence during camp.
Mr Logan felt there will be attention on Josh Bailey as prospect camp opens with his opinion he could benefit from another year in junior hockey.
NYI Fan Central Comments: I have no idea why Greg Logan thinks it was interesting Gordon did not include Ben Walter in his list of possible centers, he did not include Jeremy Colliton or Rob Hennigar either according to this.
All he had to do was ask the coach about Ben Walter, what he thinks of his game and if he had input into the trade for Petteri Nokelainen.
We just have to see how this plays out and hope the players make it a very tough decision for Scott Gordon and Garth Snow because they did well.
Espn.com: Scott Burnside does an Eastern Conference preview and as usual makes Rick DiPietro and how he gets along with his coaches issue number one (after he brings up the last fifteen years to make up for his lack of current information) even though he is not around the club and feels Mark Streit's contract is a whopper of a deal and Doug Weight is the next John LeClair waiting to fall off the map during the season.
NYI Fan Central Comments: No shock Mr Burnside had his usual negative preview where he goes right after the goaltender despite this young player never saying a negative word about anyone in print going back to the day he was drafted. What a surprise Mr Burnside did not feel Wade Redden at ten million more did not get a whopper of a contact but Mark Streit did?
Of course Newsday treats Rick DiPietro poorly in print, looks to make it about his personality and his contract every chance they can so no shock Mr Burnside and the outside media take that angle and run with it every chance they can. His speculation is fair about the lack of scoring on the roster but the rest was virtually worthless.
By my count Rick DiPietro has played for John Anderson, Butch Goring, Steve Stirling, Peter Laviolette, Brad Shaw as well as a few tournaments and no one wrote about how he got along with those coaches until he got his long-term contract.
I have never read one word about a fan being treated poorly by him for what that is worth since the day he was drafted either.
Of course Greg Logan took off all-star weekend from blogging like he wanted no part of DiPietro as an all-star.
CBS Sportsline: Wes Goldstein placed Doug Weight ninth in players who desperately need a turnaround noting his defensive role in Anaheim with Ryan Smyth playing eleventh.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Is it that tough to look at the stats before writing incorrect statements? If Doug Weight has been in decline since the lockout how come he had his best single season goal total since 2000-01 in 2006-07?
Fifty nine points and a plus ten is hardly a poor season or reflects a player in decline but how he does now will tell us the story.
In the very interesting department: Media relations coordinator Cory Witt sent out a press release out announcing Mr Botta's Point Blank blog will be carried by the club in it's current version or a new version beginning September 25th which will not be subject to approval by Islander management.
Islander team President Chris Dey and Mr Botta comment about what they are looking to go with this.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Obviously great news for all New York Islander fans, his tenure ended far too quietly with no formal announcement and his link quickly pulled from the site.
Seemed a bit cold from an outsiders point of view but obviously the Islanders need all the folks willing to write about this club with objectivity they can find.
My only suggestion if possible is keep the same link and blog site, most folks know where it is already and the club's media voices blog is set up the same way because facebook seems like a lot or work that seems limited to the general public.
Mr Botta has a few words on this and as usual credits is very classy and thanks the fans for the support here.
24/7 Coverage? Be careful what you wish for in that department, Mr Botta.
THN.com: Ken Campbell rips the NHL for reinstating Brandon Sugden because of NHLPA pressure, a feel good story and what he calls the media apologists and those in hockey who refuse to acknowledge Sugden and his ilk are a blight on the game. Mr Campbell feels anything that can be used to keep him out of the game is a good thing because he is nothing short of a goon who could seriously injury some one's prospect. He goes on to further write the Islanders by extending an invitation to him goes a long way to explain why they’ll almost certainly be prime players in the Victor Hedman/John Tavares sweepstakes this season.
NYI Fan Central Comments: The only thing that matters here are the rules, not the ilk of someone you have never met face to face Mr Campbell or what kind of player he is. More than fair to question changing the rules to accomodate Sugden but the rest of this has no place here.
Monday begins the preview of the Islander defenders with Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek.
1. Brendan Witt: Brendan Witt's statistical season in 2007-08 would suggest not much happened given the numbers but we all know Witt is a player who is not about his stats but how he contains the opposition from getting their stats with physical play, strong positioning and shot blocking with the occasional big hit that can change a game.
Along with the goaltender he sets the defensive tone for the club and did an excellent job. His second half was marked by injury and shutting it down early to avoid further problems but this is a trend that has marked his career we did not see as much in 2006-07 as Witt has altered his game since the lockout and adapted to the new NHL.
Brendan Witt last season did his job so well there was a lot of talk he should have represented the Islanders at the all-star game which is virtually unheard of for a defender without offensive numbers.
Make no mistake Witt will continue to be one of the leaders on the club with his physical play, shot blocking and leadership. Islander management made a very savy signing this summer locking in Witt to a three year contract at what many would consider below market value. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the youth movement and a new coach as more young players enters this clubs mix.
2. Radek Martinek: New York again not only got a solid season out of Radek Martinek a year ago at a time they needed him to step into a number one pairing but for the most part he was healthy. Overall we saw his usual locked in strong defensive play and ability to take away the puck from the opposition and skate it out of dangerous areas but we saw him have some very memorable battles with Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin where he gave as good as he got and as those games went on he wore down those players down leveling Malkin and Ovechkin with checks as he kept in position and won the puck late in the game or overtime.
That was a highlight for me last season and I expect to see more of the same as he only seems to be getting better in his own end of the ice.
For a small framed man Martinek has this ability to play very big with his skating ability and defensive instincts, you can see the confidence when he is on his game, playing well.
On offense Martinek is still very tenative to step into a play or use his shot but maybe coming in at full strength can improve his offensive game.
Islanders need another huge year our of Martinek who is one of the longest tenured players here and with a contract extension should not be going anywhere. Plus minus would not properly tell his story because like Witt, Martinek is out of these players who wins games with things that you do not see on the stat sheet.
He will never receive any hype on this club with the limited media around it but Radek Martinek is a top defensive defender in the NHL.
New York Islander Fan Central | 9/14/2008 08:43:00 AM
NYI Fan Central
A few things:
I hope folks are finding and checking out the new prospects blog that has it's link at the top of this page under New York Islander Fan Central Prospects blog.
It is not a blog I write messages in but an extension of the sidebar where you can link to a specific players website or newspaper coverage (in some cases) and see how they are doing. New York Islander Fan Central as always will have the prospect updates in the daily news articles but New York Islander Fan Central Prospect blog will have reference links added to it's blog.
Just too many links to keep all on one blog and I wanted two pages that loads as fast as possible for everyone. *********************************************** The newspaper links for Moncton/Summerside coverage are on the sidebar so days I cannot update you can find what's happening quickly. No specific feeder for this because Islanders are not just a sports story but a news story in these places and no feeder is Islander-centric. ************************************************ I'm not sure if I'm going to do a live blog during camp, a few folks have asked but I will have a few during regular season games. ************************************************ A little early for polls but as I wrote all along when I come up with a good one folks will enjoy and be challenged by I will post it. I do not subscribe to the concept of creating polls for page hits or to stir up reaction. ************************************************* I think the new redesign to the template looks excellent and will serve us well. I wanted the three column blog so things are not cluttered and tried to balance things on both sides. ************************************************* Still working on a cloud tag format but for now I set something up where you can see items with twelve entries or more if you want to search. For this year I'm going to drop putting NYI, NHL or Bridgeport, AHL in tags just as I stopped listing specific writers most of the time.
Just makes for a tag list that is simply too long. ************************************************* As I wrote last week blogger now lets you add blogs as a favorite if you choose so you do not have to link to it from other places if you care to.
As always comments, suggestions on things you would like to see here are welcome here along with your links if you would like to add your site to the sidebar here. My only criteria for this is an updated Islander blog and no profanity.
Thanks again. I cannot believe this little blog hit the sixty thousand mark the other day but just says how New York Islander hockey is a year round passion for our fans.
Summer went very quick.
A little treat for a few days only, our new dynasty header for special occasions that includes the entire core of the four.
Point Blank: Mr Botta reports he received a call from Brandon Sugden that he has been cleared by the league and can attend Islanders training camp which Darren Dreger of Tsn.ca confirmed last night.
Syracuse.com: Lindsay Kramer who reported on this story in the Cruch blog from the beginning has Brandon Sugden's comments about the phone call from Bill Daly and how he will be fighting long odds to make the Islander roster.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Highest marks to Chris Botta and Lindsay Kramer who went to bat and worked hard to make this a story for folks to rally behind, praise to the Rangers and the other three clubs who changed their stance allowing Brandon Sugden to return because they stand to lose the most if Sugden dresses for an NHL game against them.
An invite is one thing but signing a contract and making an NHL club is quite another but now he receives a chance here and regardless where he plays you wish him and his family the best of luck moving forward.
For all the negative things Greg Logan jumps all over where was he to get out the message in Newsday to Islander fans about Sugden? If it were a negative story I have little doubt he would have been all over it.
It was kind of interesting Yankee salesman Michael Kay had to defend his ripping the Yankees the other day but at the end made it clear he cannot rip them all the time to make everyone feel miserable about being a fan of the club to where they no longer care to watch.
Somewhere along the way that kind of media attention is the only kind the New York Islanders receive.
When a good story like Sugden comes along we get nothing but silence about Islander management, the same kind of silence like when clubs copy things Mr Wang does first.
Islanders website: Has the highlights of Saturday's events at the Coliseum when individual tickets being put on sale.
Newsday: Greg Logan has his article with coach Scott Gordon where he talks about how he will work with his players and what he will do to increase the clubs scoring and speed.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Scott Gordon had a lot of interesting things to say about Jeff Tambellini and what his problem have been in terms of confidence. I'm a bit surprised Scott Gordon feels he can get more speed out of his players by better positioning and how fast players can play slower but he is correct and if you know hockey you understand that. He repeated one comment about where his players will know where the stand with him but overall he said a lot of things I was looking for because replacing forty eight goals on one the lowest scoring clubs in this league will most likely define how this club will do.
The New York Islanders not only need to replace those goals but add another fifty goals to that and play defense.
Newsday: Greg Logan also has the coaches comments about how has worked in the past with changes at Providence and how he will work with general manager Garth Snow. To this point the duties of assistants John Chabot and Dan Lacroix have not yet been determined.
NYI Fan Central Comments: Ted Nolan is one of the brightest and most respected coaches around, he knows when a player has the talent and when he does not. Just because he is no longer here does not automatically mean his judgement was incorrect about Jeff Tambellini, Robert Nilsson or any other player he did not give more minutes to. Only Snow and Nolan know if they held back Tambellini but it was clear enough Comeau and Bergenheim won over the coach so the idea he does not trust young players does not completely add up.
Scott Gordon is correct in that he will disagree with his gm but how it's handled with define the working relationship.
From Saturday afternoon:
Boston Globe: Kevin Paul Dupont has an interview with Bryan Berard where the writer claims Berard's opinion was his early season groin injury placed him behind the eight ball with Ted Nolan and is quoted as saying he felt it was time to move on as he gave his thoughts about Mark Streit's acquisition.
