Late notables for Thursday

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio has an article on Bridgeport's schedule with team President Howard Saffan's comments why the club is playing two regular season home games in Canada.

Ct Post: Mr Fornabaio in his blog had some speculation on why Bridgeport is playing two games in Canada and that the Sound Tiger fans will be compensated for the missed games as he breaks down the trends in the schedule and compares it with last year's club.

Sound Tigers.com: Released Bridgeport's schedule for 2008-09 which puts two November home games against Binghampton in Summerside and St John's NL.

AHL.com: List all the other games scheduled for neutral sites which include a lot of games involving Albany and Portland.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Love the trip to the Western Conference, hope the Ct Post allows Mr Fornabaio to travel as he did in year one, total ripoff for the Bridgeport fans to lose two home games for sites the Isles play or practice in preseason.

CamWest News/Ottawa Citizen: Don Campbell reports the QMJHL may vote to elimitate it's import draft of players from Europe with the Ontario Hockey League set to address the import draft on Friday at annual meetings in Collingwood, Ont., the QMJHL will have it's annual meeting Aug. 20-24 in Victoriaville, Que.

Quick Hit:
Sean Hill signed in Switzerland, too lazy to provide a link nor does the former Islander comment. Another member of the 06-07 club that falls off the NHL map.

Former Islander Jan Hlavac will also be heading to Sweden.

Day off for US-Finland-Swedish prospects in Lake Placid Thursday.

Islander News Articles 2/10:

Newsday: Greg Logan recaps the loss with Jeff Tambellini's comments on his missed breakaway, Ted Nolan who thought they could not play much better but was not happy how his club did not come back on the winning goal.

Newsday: Greg Logan had more from Sean Hill on his suspension.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
The Daily News has a full Ranger article and a three part Sunday feature but did not cover the Islander game. The Devils game was covered by a reporter.

Jay Greenberg was permitted to travel to Philadelphia for an extra Ranger article from Philadelphia with Larry Brooks and of course Mr Brooks had his usual Ranger centric Sunday feature. Mark Everson had a full Devils article.

At Newsday Ranger beat writer Steve Zipay controls the Sunday hockey agenda where it's usually more Ranger centric but about the NHL in general.

It's not the Islanders folks, it's the people in the offices making the decisions and it seems to come down to who is a fan of what team. This is why we need more Islander fans in the decision making process at these publications and that starts with Islander fans covering the team who will push the editors hard for print space and blogs.

Anyone think Greg Logan should have picked up on this and maybe just let the blog on Sean Hill be enough and used the space for his second article on the Islanders? Instead all we got in his second article is Aaron Johnson's scratch. He did not even report Colliton was sent back to Bridgeport, despite Mr Fornabaio telling us he could not get back in time to play against Portland and was sent down.

Star-Tribine: Michael Russo recaps Minnesota's win with Mark Parrish's comments on how he tried to convince the refs Blake Comeau knocked out his teeth, even though they were missing already which is very funny.

Pioneer Press: John Shipley recaps the game with Bill Guerin's comments that it was not a good point because his team did not finish the job.

The News: Has more on Jon Sim and Hockey weekend in Canada where Sim and Devin Smith of the NHL Association donated ninety sets of hockey gear through the NHL Dreams and Goals program and was praised by mayor New Glasgow Mayor Ann MacLean who presented Sim with a hand-tinted photograph of the Westside rink Sim skated on as a youth.

Chronicle Herald: Tom Mccoag has more on Jon Sim.

Sports Illustrated/AP: Has Brian Burke's and Chris Botta's comments on what happened with Pat Lafontaine and the Ducks gm Tuesday night and points out Lafontaine has been to several Islander games this season.

Sound Tigers website: Recaps the Sound Tigers loss to Portland.

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio reports on the Sound Tigers 5-2 loss to Portland in a very physical game in front of the biggest crowd of the year at Harbor Yard. Kyle Okposo got a favorable bounce for his goal. Jeremy Colliton was sent back to Bridgeport but did not arrive in time to play. Kip Brennan was given a match penalty for sticking up for a teammate. Pat Bingham was behind the bench for Jack Capuano who had the flu.

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio's game recap also includes Kyle Okposo suffering from the flu and the Sound Tigers race to qualify for the playoffs with only thirty games left and Bridgeport on the outside.

Islanders website: Had a late Saturday feature on Kyle Okposo's two goals and assist which included his comments after the Portland Pirates loss.

Portland Press-Telegram: Has the Pirates coverage.

Sean Hill explains

Newsday: Greg Logan has the full story on former Islander Sean Hill suspension for testing positive for a banned substance a year ago, why he did not talk after season which was not popular with his teammates outside of Rick DiPietro and how come he appealed as opposed to sitting out his suspension during the season. He also explains why he took and passed a lie-detector test.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
All we know as fans is the organization found out two weeks before game five and we just got that a day ago. The players found out on the day of game five.

If he passed a drug test that he did not take a banned substance I tend to believe him. We can speculate forever, what's done is done and we'll never know for sure.

He did not survive for over fifteen years in this league by using banned substances.

Newsday's Islander Insider

Newaday: Greg Logan released the Friday Islander Insider which has Mike Comrie's comments on wanting to be a part of this organization.

He praised the core group of guys, an ownership that wants to win that treats the players extremely well, what he considers the best coaching staff in the league and a situation that he says he wants to be a part of. Ted Nolan and Comrie commented on why he struggles at times and how the opposition keys on him as a wide range of things were discussed.

The coach also talked about Sean Hill's suspension and praised the way he competed and his enthusiasm for the game saying it was a lot of fun to coach him. Mr Logan wrote the Isles did not know he tested positive until two weeks before the suspension was handed down as the appeals process was nearing an end.

The AHL prospects, specifically Blake Comeau are written about with what he needs to do more of with Ted Nolan explaining how different the AHL is compared to the NHL.

Teemu Selanne praised Sean Bergenheim who he knows from working out with the following comments:

I'm expecting a lot of things from him. He has all the skills, all the tools to be a great player in this league. I think he's at the point that the only thing he needs is more ice time and confidence. When he reaches that level, he's going to be really good because of his skill level and skating and how strong he is with the puck."

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Mr Logan makes sure to point out Comrie maybe was just giving the politically correct answer and that could be true but did say he has a solid relationship with Ted Nolan.

I know this may not be popular but Mike Comrie can help this team as an offensive player which they lack badly and as long as his demands are within reason should be brought back next season regardless of the final record because they need some core offensive players to build around.

Isles get some speed and skill around him with finishing abilities his game will improve and he will have more time to make plays. All due respect to Andy Hilbert, Richard Park and some of the other left wings but these are not top six forwards in terms of being productive to where opposing forwards will key on them.

The other left wings employed at this time are not first line players yet.

In the end maybe Mike Comrie is not a first line player but he is a second line player at the very least and an offensive talent lacking on the roster and should be resigned if possible. With Satan's possible departure they need a scoring veteran as a fixture.

Good article by Mr Logan here, let's see some more with extra blogs......
A lot more.

Sean Hill claims Isles sold him down river

Duluth News Tribune : Kevin Pates has a full interview with former Islander Sean Hill who makes his debut with the Minnesota Wild. Hill claims he passed a drug test and a lie detector test. He also said the the Islanders did not stand by him despite a promise they would.

“I probably won’t ever know how it happened that I tested positive. I know there’s nothing I could’ve done differently,’’ Hill said Tuesday. “I took the [independent] tests just to make sure that there was nothing in my system, and to let other teams know what kind of person I am. If they were wondering about me, about my character, they could see that I passed both of those tests.

“I assume the Islanders were shying away from the public perception of what had happened to me and they washed their hands of it. They told me the whole time that they’d stick by me, and they didn’t. They sold me down the river,’’ Hill said.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Only Sean Hill and the Islanders know what happened behind the scenes or what was promised. It's too bad he did not file suit against the folks who did the test and made a formal complaint with the NHLPA, that's where his frustration should be directed.

All the public knows is he failed a test and was given a chance to appeal and the suspension was upheld and it all became public hours before a playoff game, he promised to discuss it and never returned the Newsday call on the subject.

I tend to believe his story and that he did take something he did not know about or was given incorrect information about the substance he took but did he honestly expect the club to give a player who was suspended for twenty games a contract?

Hill did a very good job for the Islanders a year ago, no doubt about that and he's a player who's been solid for a lot of teams for well over a decade and well respected. He likely would have gotten an increase to stay if this did not happen so he has a right to be angry because this did cost him his job and it did cost him in terms of salary.

Sunday Islander/NHL notables

Star Tribune: Michael Russo reports Sean Hill's suspension is over and will make his debut with the Minnesota Wild.

"I'm as ready as I can be," said Hill, a Duluth native who denies he used steroids last season while playing for the Islanders. "Obviously there are times when I'm a bit rusty, and maybe my timing won't be where it should be, but I think we've done everything we can as far as preparing, and the rest of the stuff's going to come the more I play."

Buffalo News: Bucky Gleason credits Garth Snow as having done a very good job when talking about Brett Hull coming in as a novice to the interim gm role who will not do the job in tandem with Les Jackson.

Hull could wind up being precisely what the Stars need. People snickered — guilty! — when backup goalie Garth Snow suddenly became the New York Islanders’ general manager, but he’s done a very good job.

TSN's Mike Milbury called Hull's appointment an insult to all NHL gm's in Globe and Mail

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Milbury's comments make no sense here to me. Snow has a business background but in terms of knowing the league and the players it's hard to see any difference between Snow and Hull who both have long experience unless this is about how hard Hull lobbied for his contracts which is his right. Snow and Hull were both very outspoken as players as was Mike Milbury.

Toronto Sun: Lance Hornsby points to the Islanders hiring Garth Snow as an example of a direction Toronto could go in if they make a change and bring in a former player with no experience.

If MLSEL looks close to home, it has old-school assistant GM Mike Penny and newcomers Jeff Jackson and Doug Gilmour. Hey, experience meant nothing when the New York Islanders fast-tracked Garth Snow, who brushed off the mockingbirds, made the playoffs and remains neck and neck with Ferguson's Leafs.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
When you lose a playoff spot to a team the final week and only lead them by one point with five more games played, it's advantage Islanders. Especially with the no movement clauses Toronto has locked in with a Bryan McCabe and far less cap space.

Halifax Daily News: Pat Connolly in a sports column that mentions hockey give the nod to Ted Nolan for the best NHL coaching job over the first two months of the season with Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins.

Islander News Articles 10/4:

Newsday's Greg Logan gives us an update on Berard and some interesting comments from Brendan Witt here.

* It's possible a move will be made before the Islanders board the team plane this afternoon and head to Buffalo for Friday night's opener. Berard is paying his own expenses, which allows him to practice with the Islanders as Tommy Albelin did with the Devils last season. But judging by the fact he was running the top power play Wednesday, it's likely Berard will be signed sooner rather than later.

"We're trying to get ready for the season and trying not to let it be a distraction for the guys that are still uncertain," Witt said. "It's a lot of pressure for those guys. It's sort of like a mini-training camp for them still to win that job. It becomes very competitive."

In the knock me over with a feather department the Daily News Sports Editor Leon Carver actually had a writer named Jesse Spector do an article today where someone went to practice and got actual comments from the players and in an even bigger shock it's a good article where the writer knew the subject and brought out things Newsday has not reported. Berard was not mentioned.

"I don't think you really know what to expect," said Mike Comrie, who will center the all-free agent top line that also includes Ruslan Fedotenko and new captain Bill Guerin. There's so much parity in the league that if you work hard, and you compete, you have a chance to win every night.

"We realize we don't have one of the marquee big names or anything like that," Guerin said. "But you play as a team, you play hard, and we've got one of the top five goalies in the league, and we've got four pretty solid lines - everybody's going to have to do their part."

"Those first couple of games are big," said DiPietro, who suffered a concussion in March and missed the final seven games of the regular season, then rushed back for the playoffs after backup Wade Dubielewicz won the final four games to seal the Isles' berth. "You want to get that confidence going and get that good feeling back."

"We're going into this season expecting to win," second-year coach Ted Nolan said. "You can't have any other thoughts going in."

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Brendan Witt is correct. Islanders have too many defenders around and have to make some decisions now. If Berard is at practice and paying for it out of pocket and leading the defenders on the pp, it's time he be signed and some players be exposed to waivers or a trade is made. The season has begun, teams are playing games, this cannot be a distraction any longer and must be decided.

Witt's comments were encouraging, but why Logan brought up Sean Hill when he had all summer and all through camp to bring it up makes no sense, he's not on the club and he's not going to play the first twenty games for Minnesota.

What can I say about the Daily News, show up and cover our team daily and provide a blogger and it will be good for the Islanders and good for New York Hockey which needs all the exposure it can get in a New York City market where it's virtually invisible. Cannot cost that much to have someone blog for the club.

Michael Fornabaio it the Ct Post updated his blog
here and had four articles for the Ct Post Thursday edition Sound Tigers get physical BREAKING DOWN the Sound Tigers FIVE QUESTIONS for the Sound Tigers Jackman enjoyed brief NHL taste.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Impossible not to see how much Fornabaio puts into his work letting the fans get to know the club. Outstanding coverage cross the board. There is very good reason to expect the best Sound Tigers team since it's first season.

Islander News Articles 9/26

Newsday starts off Wednesday's coverage with more comments from the Islanders on Monday night's brawl.

Michael Fornabaio it the Ct Post had two updates one on Olivier Labelle the other on Steve Regier.

Here's a mini updated on the state of the Devils here as Brent Sutter meets his former team as a head coach for the first time tonight in Lowell.

And of course the Toronto Sun for some reason compares a player in the league's substance abuse program (Mark Bell) who will be heading to jail vs Simon and wonders why Bell cannot play the preseason in a comparison that seems outlandish.

Chris Botta's blog update feed (on main page of this site) says league did not contact the Islanders as of last night regarding Chris Simon.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Islanders have every right to play Simon if that's what the rules allow to get him ready to play the season. For those curious Sean Hill has not been in a Minnesota Wild boxscore or NHL.com just does not have his name and number in the Wild preseason database yet.