Brendan Witt- Not comfortable in the Islanders system, Witt has played his worst hockey since his first dozen or so games with the team in 2006, when he wasn’t skating and was instead taking shortcuts that were hurting his team. -25 for the season, it’s obvious a change of scenery might do him good, but knowing the ability he does have and his willingness to give up his body for his team every night, the Islanders will try to get him back to where he was last season. Every team in this league needs a Brendan Witt-type player, the question remains however if Brendan Witt needs or wants to be a part of the New York Islanders.

Grade- D

Radek Martinek- When healthy, Martinek is one of the best shutdown defensemen in all of hockey. Playing in only 11 games this season however, Martinek hasn’t been able to do much of anything.

Grade- D

Freddy Meyer- He was the team’s best defenseman through their first five or six games, but between getting injured and some rough spots along the way, he’s never been able to get back to where he belongs. With his spot and passing ability, Meyer can and should be a 30-point D-man every season. Combined with his physical play and skating ability, he should be able to play against the top forwards in this league every night. The only way that happens however, is if he finds the same consistency he had earlier in the season.

Grade- B

Thomas Pock- From watching him play this season, you’d never know that he once scored over 60 points in the AHL one season and was once considered one of the Rangers’ top young D-men. Simply put, Pock was the victim of the Rangers spending money on defensemen that could sell tickets and this season has been the beneficiary of the plethora of injuries that have ravaged the defense core. However, his play in both ends has remained mediocre throughout.

Grade- F

Chris Campoli- Offensively gifted, Campoli has the shot and instincts with the puck that should produce a 40-point a season defenseman. However, between injuries and the amount of shuffling going on within the D-men on the team, he’s on pace for only 24. His physical play has been taken down a notch as well, making him neither the good offensive d-man his was in his rookie season or the tough cookie he was in his sophomore season. Simply put, Campoli has to start producing more.

Grade- C+

Bruno Gervais- In the team’s last two games against Edmonton and Calgary, I really liked what I saw from Gervais, who was using his skating ability and was pinching offensively while not hurting himself in the defensive end. However through the other 27 games he’s played in this season, he hasn’t done it nearly enough, making him another Islanders youngster who still has some growing up to do in all facets of the game. I’d also like to see him shoot the puck some more over the second half of the season.

Grade- D+

Mark Streit- Offensively and defensively, this guy has been solid and has proved he’s much more than a gimmick. He’s a real defenseman in this league and is a damn good one. In my mind, the Islanders best offensive defenseman since Jeff Norton.

Grade- A

Andy Sutton- Before his injury, Sutton was the Islanders best shutdown D-man. If you don’t believe me , his +3 rating pretty much proves it. Add in 10 assists and some good physical play and it’s easy to see how much this team is missing him.

Grade- A-

Bert Skinner- Despite playing in 11 games and being a +2, the Islanders coaching staff never let the leash off on Skinner and it’s tough because of that to assess him. Nevertheless, he has good size and with some more polish can be a decent number six defenseman in this league.

Grade- C+

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009