When I heard the news the Islanders were extending qualifying offers to Sean Bergenheim, Bruno Gervais, Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen, Jeremy Colliton and Ben Walter, I couldn’t help but smile a little bit.

Anyone that has been to this site over the past year and change knows that I am a huge believer in Bergenheim and Nielsen. I’ve said it before, but I really believe Bergenheim can develop into a 20 goal scorer and be an adequate pest. He just has so many things going for him in his game. All he has to do is be more consistent. If he does, I think he can be someone every team in the NHL would love to have in their organization.

While I haven’t seen as much of Nielsen, I think he’s a quality playmaker with good puck-handling skills. With that being said, I see him this season as someone who can score 15 goals and add 25-30 assists. I know it’s a big task, considering the Isles leading scorer had 49 points last season, but I have a lot of faith in his ability. I also think with regular ice-time, Colliton and Walter can be solid players. Colliton I see as a penalty-killer type in the mold of Richard Park with a little bit more of a physical game, while Walter is a guy I see scoring 35-40 points on a third line.

In my mind, I think these are six players that have established themselves at the AHL level and are ready to prove themselves.

Only time will tell if they can deliver.

Also, the Isles are supposedly going to announce a buyout on Shawn Bates’ contract soon. What does that mean for the team? Not much, considering the former “Lucky 7’s” line member hasn’t played in 80 games combined over the past two seasons. However, it does say that the Islanders are serious about establishing a youth movement. That, I believe is a step in the right direction. Again, many Islander fans are sick of waiting for this team to develop into a Cup contender, but this is the only way it can happen. Let’s face it, the Islanders don’t have the money of the New York Rangers and by developing quality players from within, they’ll finally be able to attract talented free agents, rather than second and third-tier players who want to try and revitalize their careers.

We’ll have to wait a while to see how that turns out too.