He also said anyone can play this system when he took the job and opened camp, I'm very skeptical of this at the NHL level.
Perhaps if Scott Gordon did have the correct players you can have success with any system?
Don't have an answer there.
Having written this a lot of what we read when he was hired was a good defensive coach who would put in a system to suit these players. The Islander injury bug is legendary and part of it now are groin problems.
Practice, overspeed, coincidence? Maybe but sometimes not.
Andy Sutton did not break his foot because of a system, Okposo did not hurt his wrist from it and Martinek's shoulder injuries have nothing to do with overspeed and the same for Frans Nielsen. Sillinger, DiPietro. Comrie did not get reinjured from it and Gervais has been a walking injury for almost a year. Meyer had past hernia problems, Witt past knee issues.
We have discussed the career injury records on the backline long before the coaching change and we all knew this is a group that does not stay collectively healthy.
Hunter and Weight are a new story with groin injuries.
To answer the topic as to why this system works in the American Hockey League.
Most weeks during the AHL season, they do not play a lot from Monday to Thursday, Bridgeport also seems to be carrying a lot of extra players. Team Captain Mark Wotton sits once in a while, Tomas Marcinko and most of the players take a turn.
Is the depth the reason they can play the system with success (with a good mix of skill, speed and size) or is it the four days off most weeks?
Mr Fornabaio has written constantly about the blown leads for Bridgeport too.
I think that is a fair question to ask.
Anyone think we are on to something with this?
I'm not of the school because Adam Proteau and a lot of people who have not watched Islander hockey since the late nineties say this is a bad club it was expected to lose because they traded Roberto Luongo a decade ago.
Too many fans write they were supposed to lose, I'm not buying that because someone who needs a scorecard to name the current roster says so.
This team was in sixth last year before injuries hit and they could not score to save themselves. I expected a team with a better defensive system that could score a few more goals and keep them in playoff position all the way behind outstanding goaltender which MacDonald has provided as well as DiPietro most games. I felt Okposo, Tambellini, Comeau and more prospects would fill in the lost scoring and Streit would be an excellent pickup.
The overall scoring has been improved but only on the powerplay. Even strength may even be worse than a year ago.
I predicted a sixth place club, when they take sixty shots against Carolina I did not see that as overmatched or not good enough. When they had leads against Pittsburgh, Montreal I did not see an overmatched club.
Now I obviously do but for different reasons.
I keep coming back to Scott Gordon's AHL success with this system.
Comments?
