With all the hoop-la lately regarding what the Islanders will do with the number one pick this upcoming draft, it’s easy to forget that they also have the 26th pick [edit] in the first round, courtesy of the trade that sent the under-achieving Mike Comrie and the unhappy Chris Campoli to the Senators.

Now, while Islanders general manager Garth Snow has kept mum on his intentions, I offer a few thoughts as to what the team should do with their picks.

Option One- Draft John Tavares and a talented blue liner. Many believe Tavares could be the player to build around, but he’ll just be one piece to the puzzle that will get the Isles back into the playoffs. A guy like Calvin De Haan, who scored 63 points in 68 games with the Oshawa Generals this past season, may be a great choice. With Campoli gone, the Islanders could use more depth on the powerplay and De Haan has the talent to be that man. I don’t know how you guys feel, but I miss the days when the Islanders had a bunch of talented defensemen who could score. Considering that, De Haan has the potential to help the Islanders offense quite a bit.

Swedish D-man David Rundblad is a little bit older and while he doesn’t have the same offensive ability, he may be the better skater of the two and has more size, making him the Andy Sutton with a better shot of the future. However, he may be spending more time abroad before jumping to the NHL, making him a tougher guy to consider drafting.

Option Two- Draft John Tavares and a goaltender. Of course, now it’s obvious what I think the Islanders should do with the first pick, but with the 29th, they may consider getting a young goaltender, just in case Rick DiPietro injures another hip. Wait, he’s already injured both of them over the past two seasons.

If Edward Pasquale is available when the Islanders go for their second pick, they should consider picking him up. Winning 32 games in the OHL this season with a solid .911 save percentage this season, Pasquale could be ready to thrive in a few seasons just in case DP doesn’t come close to finishing him record-breaking contract.

Oliver Roy is another quality goaltender the Islanders could look at. Winning 35 games in the QMJHL this season, Roy is a guy that may be able to play 40 games a season and take some of the pressure off DiPietro.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Posted under Offseason 2009

The only thing worse than watching the Islanders lose 6-2 is watching the Islanders lose 6-2 in person.

In the end, I felt horrible for my g/f, who had her first NHL spoiled by the exploits of Phil Kessel and the Bruins, who dominated the living crap out of an Islanders team that was sluggish in both ends of the ice.

Despite that however, you could see that Islander fans and the organization feel better about this team than their record indicates, especially Islanders head coach Scott Gordon.

“We have some elements of team identity to carry over into next season,” Gordon told the Associated Press after the game. “The second half of the season flew by with the attitude and commitment we had.”

After a dismal first half, the Isles were a different team in the second, as many of the youngsters carried them. Up until April, the Islanders were playing close to .500 hockey in the second half, no small feat for a team missing players like Rick DiPietro, Trent Hunter, Andy Sutton and Mike Sillinger. During that span, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Blake Comeau and Sean Bergenheim proved that could be everyday NHLers, while Josh Bailey and Jeff Tambellini showed that they may be able to contribute a bit more than they did earlier in the season as well [keep your fingers crossed.] Even the super youngin’s like Jesse Joensuu, Mike Iggulden, Trevor Smith and Joe Rechlicz have shown some potential and will be fighting for a job in training camp next year.

Doug Weight came back for the last few games of the season and showed his support for the team by signing a one-year extension, while Yann Danis fizzled out after a three-week stretch of excellent hockey in February and March.

Sounds like a Soap Opera doesn’t it? Now imagine writing something about a team like this every day for a year and watching half the other dudes and dudettes give up halfway through.

Seeing the Blog Box occupied only by the uber dependable Gary Harding for the last game of the season yesterday was pretty disappointing. Those guys have a privilege and to just give up because the team is losing says way more than any of their writing ever could.

That’s one of the reasons why I’d rather write at home [aside from the fact that I cover minor league hockey, live in Brooklyn, run three other sites and teach college English and journalism] anyway. What I’m trying to say here is that the Islanders should pay attention to these things very closely. When your most dedicated super fans can’t show up to watch the game from one of the best seats in the house and do something hundreds of young journalism students would die for, you know you have a problem.

Simply put, this team needs more offense, needs to stay healthy and needs a new building. Once that happens, all the fans that gave up will have a reason to believe again and this team can gain it’s respectability back.

Nothing short of John Tavares, the lighthouse project and Rick DiPietro back in net can fix that.

Site News: Now that the season is over, I will update less often, probably once or twice a week, in order to give myself a much needed break. Thank you to everyone that helped support me this season. Hopefully next season we’ll be able to talk Islanders hockey a bit longer.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

Growing up an Islander fan and seeing the team miss the playoffs for nearly a decade, you get used to cheering for the hard worker. You know, guys like Patrick Flatley, Claude Lapointe, Kenny Jonsson, Steve Webb, Mike Peca and now of course, Richard Park and Sean Bergenheim.

Seeing the way these guys have played as of late is one of the only reasons why I haven’t put my foot through the TV. The same thing goes for Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau and Mike Comrie, who have played their tails off over the past week.

In spite of the happiness these guys have been giving me lately however, I find myself watching this team score more goals than everyone thought they were capable of, but making crucial mistakes on defense that cost them games. Defense was supposed to be one of the team’s strong points this season, but I think the Isles are really missing Andy Sutton and Radek Martinek right now. That combined with a less than mediocre game from Rick DiPietro and the Islanders were sunk in the water.

So, as a result, the hard work of five or six players every night goes down the toilet…again.

But why?

I’ve said it before this season and I’ll say it again; right now, it just feels like the Islanders have to play as close a perfect game as possible to come out on top. One mistake, one defensive zone breakdown, one bad goal and this team has trouble coming back. It doesn’t help matters either that they are too concerned with playing dump and chase than establishing a forecheck and playing puck possession hockey. Sure, they play with a sense of urgency over the last two minutes and lately have shown enough spunk and jam to clean up a few messes, but in the end, it isn’t enough. This team is missing two many pieces and that, combined with DP’s problems, will make this team a big time contender in the John Tavares sweepstakes this summer.

I hate saying it, but as of right now, this team is a good two or three seasons from getting to where they were they need to be.

Weight gets 1,000 and 1,001- Seeing Weight’s kids run around with the banner trying to get the numbers right was one of the most adorable things I’ve seen in quite some time. It was about time he got that monkey off his back and even though it would have been great to see him get the point in front of the fans at home, the PA announcer in Phoenix did a stand-up thing and let Weight have his moment. Hopefully, now that he’s healthy again, he gives us a few more before the season’s over.

Bailey’s first- See what happens when this kid shoots? I know he’s a great passer, but he needs to stop being Adam Oates or Brendan Morrison and turn into someone like Doug Gilmour. With his stick-handling, skating and passing ability, I don’t see any reason why Bailey can’t eventually be a 20-goal, 65-point guy in this league. He’s just got to shoot more and be willing to make mistakes. Right now, he’s trying to be too perfect and much like his teammates, is failing at it.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants, Random Rant

In lieu of all of the losses lately, it’s gotten me thinking: would thinks have been different if Rick DiPietro was in net, rather than Joey MacDonald?

During a few of the earlier games this season, where Mac’s lack of positioning played a part in several goals, I would have to say yes.

However, with guys like Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek and Andy Sutton all out of the lineup, I think MacDonald did as good a job as anyone in the NHL… and that includes DiPietro.

Nonetheless, it would be idiotic to think that in spite of his injuries that DP isn’t still the Islanders franchise player. Without him, they haven’t been .500 team.

While it would take a toll on any player to see his team floundering without him, I think it’s been extra tough on DP, especially with the huge contract and constant expectations put on him.

“I’m not even sure I can put into words how hard it’s been,” DiPietro told Newsday. “It was a long summer, a lot of rehabbing, and a lot of things to get ready for this season, and then to have it not work out like it did in the beginning and have to go back and do it all over again—it’s tough. Definitely you realize how much you enjoy playing the game and the competition of being in net for the games, but now I’m rested and maybe we can go on a run to finish out the last half of the season.”

What is capable of at this point though?

Over the past two seasons, DP has had surgery on both knees and his hip. Can he still be the goaltender the Islanders need at this point? Can he be one of the players that helps lead them to the promise land of consistent entry in the NHL playoffs every season? Can he be the one that takes this team from semi-laughing stock and gets them the respect the need to get a new building as well?

I don’t know.

That’s the biggest problem for me as well. Over the past few weeks, I haven’t been able to escape the feeling that this team is missing something. It’s obvious that Kyle Okposo, Jeff Tambellini and Mike Comrie aren’t that something and we all know how much Radek Martinek is missed right now, but he isn’t the key to this team.

Again, is that key DiPietro?

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

The bottom line right now is a simple one for this team:

They are running way too thin on defense.

Nothing against Joe Callahan or Thomas Pock, but this team needs Andy Sutton and especially Radek Martinek back in the lineup.

They need their defense to be their strong point every single night if they are ever going to get back to .500.

On top of that, guys like Brendan Witt and Freddy Meyer are still getting back in the thick of things, which makes things that much tougher when the Isles offense is far from exemplary.

Last night, the Philadelphia Flyers had way too many second chances. Some were due to sloppy rebound control by Yann Danis, but most of them were due to the fact that the Islanders were not playing smart in front of their own net.

Combine that type of mediocre play with one of the best first lines in Simon Gagne, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter and it’s easy to see why the game ended the way it did.

As far as the forward lines go, I think there are players there too that are either still getting back in a groove or are not being used properly. Mitch Fritz is a tough cookie, no doubt about it, but guys like Richard Park are simply being wasted playing on a line with him. The way Callahan was used tonight, the Isles would be better off using five defensemen and giving Fitz a spot shift if they absolutely have to. Personally, I think that while Fritz obviously performs an admirable service out there and is damn good at what he does, Tim Jackman is enough of a tough guy. This team needs another scorer or energy guy in there.

Once Mike Sillinger gets back to his old self out there [he's getting there and was excellent in the faceoff circle last night] things may change a bit, but this team is starting to look like they need a lot more than just their revitalized assistant captain. Once Mike Comrie comes back however, the Isles may have more options, but if he continues playing the way he was before he left the lineup, the Isles will be stuck with another albatross on their forward lines.

All in all, it just feels as if this team is missing the depth and passion needed to win.

Comeau Rockin’- Despite another loss, Blake Comeau is quickly making Scott Gordon look pretty damn silly. In the three games that he’s been with the team, he’s been stellar and has been a huge upgrade over the listless Jeff Tambellini. I know what some of you are thinking right now: ‘Pat, calm down. He scored on a deflection.’ To those people, I say that energy, above everything else means a lot to me when I evaluate talent. Making yourself a factor is a trait that turns players with average talent into solid role players and good players like Comeau into guys defenses have to prepare for. Is he quite at that level yet though? Not quite, but by hustling and taking shots at the net, he’s guaranteed to keep his spot on this team for the near future.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

A few days off after a win like the Islanders had the other night is definitely a good thing. Bouncing back after an ugly loss against the Bruins on Friday, is it fair to say they’ve learned their lesson and are committed to playing 60-minutes of intensity-filled, high-speed, jaw-dropping, rockem-sockem, hyphen-induced hockey?

Guess we’re just going to have to see about that, but at any rate, they’re are a few players that I feel are going to get the most out of the next three days off.

Joey MacDonald- Even when the Islanders defense was without the likes of Andy Sutton, Radek Martinek and Brendan Witt, Joey Mac has done everything but bribe the opposition in order to keep this team in the mix. A few times he’s come down to earth, showing an inability to keep his feet moving in the crease, but for the most part this season, his positioning, determination and poise have been excellent.

Either way you feel about MacDonald’s play, it’s pretty hard to argue with eight wins in game in November.

“Joey’s given us a chance to win every night,” team captain Bill Guerin told the Associated Press. “That’s all you can ask from your goaltender. He’s played as well as anybody out there. He’s just a great teammate, and works his tail off every day. He deserves a lot of accolades for us being in every game.”

I still can’t believe I’m going to say this, but another guy that deserves a few days off is Andy Hilbert. Six goals already this season and a heck of a lot more polish in the offensive end have quickly proven to me that Super Andy may just have a 20-goal season in him. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if this is another Jason Blake case, where the guy just needed a coach to have more confidence in him and play him in every situation. I know Ted Nolan always had a soft spot for the kid, but I never thought last season that Nolan trusted him for offense late in games when the team was in a bind. This season however, Scott Gordon seems to really trust him and because of that, Hilbert is having the best season of his NHL career.

While guys like Trent Hunter, Doug Weight, Mark Streit and Guerin have been solid as well, I really hope Mac and Hilly get a few good night’s rest under their belt before Thursday against Washington.

In other news guys, my site has been nominated on YesIslanders.com for Islanders Blog of the year! The voting takes place all month. Please stop by and throw me a vote!

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

The Isles may have hit a snag against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, but they are still 5-4-1 over their last 10 games, proving they can be a .500 team without Rick DiPietro, Mike Sillinger, Mike Comrie and Kyle Okposo. Veterans the likes of Doug Weight, Trent Hunter and Bill Guerin have been holding down the fort offensively all the season and now with a healthy Brendan Witt and Freddy Meyer back to support Mark Streit, Andy Sutton, Chris Campoli and Radek Martinek, I really feel that the Islanders are ready to turn the corner and play .500 hockey.

Once they get as close to completely healthy and some of the youngsters begin to get more comfortable as well , I really think this team can gain the respect of the rest of the league.

However, as we’ve seen before, playing 500 hockey may not be good enough to make the playoffs anymore in the NHL. I’ve also said before that if this team is healthy, I feel they can make the playoffs, but it’s really a toss up at this point. Overall, this team has to commit itself to staying with their game plan. That means the forecheck has to be consistent for 60 minutes. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been as repetitive as a Green Day hook, constantly saying these things. I’m sick of it. From the look on some of the veteran’s faces on Wednesday, I can tell they’re sick of it too. There’s only so much they can do though. The same thing goes for the host of role players on this team. Richard Park, Jon Sim, Sean Bergenheim and Andy Hilbert aren’t 30-goal scorers and even though they work their tails off every night, I really feel that this team needs a career year out of these guys for this team to really be able to compete with the rest of this league.

So how does this relate to the Boston Bruins?

Just like the Isles, the Bruins lost a tough game their last time out, but overall, this is a much better team. 8-1-1 over their past ten games, Boston has one of the league’s most underrated, yet effective playmakers in Marc Savard and Phil Kessel, who finally seems to be coming into his own. Patric Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler and David Krejci aren’t to be underestimated either, as they have legitimate talent and are more than just spare parts. Add in a dominate duo in net between Manny Fernandez and Tim Thomas and it’s easy to see that the Islanders can and will be in deep trouble if they don’t commit themselves to working extremely hard in both ends of the ice.

Posted under 2008-2009, Pregame Musings

Through their first 21 games, the New York Islanders defense has had to deal with injuries to Chris Campoli, Brendan Witt, Andy Sutton, Radek Martinek and Freddy Meyer.

Wait, what did I just say? Am I to believe that through the first 21 games, the Isles have already had five defensemen on the shelf? Am I to believe that Mark Streit and Bruno Gervais have been the only healthy D-men on this team this season?

Unfortunately, the answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes.

Because of that, it’s incredibly hard to assess what this team has done defensively so far this season.

However, it is pretty simple to see that this team is headed in the right direction in their own end.

Streit, simply put, has been a revelation in both ends this season, playing extremely well on special teams and eerily solid in his own end. After the Islanders picked him up this summer, the Canadian press had a field day, saying the Isles paid too much for his services, and stating that he was basically a fourth liner that had a penchant for contributing on the powerplay. I myself said that I didn’t think he’d score 63 points again this season, but as of right now, he’s looking to be awfully close.

[Isn't it funny how over the past few weeks, the Islanders alone have made the Canadian hockey media look like Jason Blair on truth serum?]

With Sutton, Martinek and Witt all back and healthy as well, I think the Islanders have their spine back. Now they can shutdown the top lines in the league and mix it up a bit if they have to. A few weeks ago, guys like Gervais, Streit and Campoli were playing 25 minutes a game, killing themselves in both ends. With the anchors back, those three can now play in roles more beneficial to them and because of that, I think we’ll start to see some more production from them.

I come from a mindset as a fan where I’m used to seeing multiple defensemen being able to produce offensively on a team. Growing up, I saw guys like Tom Kurvers, Jeff Norton, Uwe Krupp, Mathieu Schnieder and Bryan Berard at the point scoring their 35 plus points a season. As a teenager, I saw Roman Hamrlik, Kenny Jonsson and Adrian Aucoin do the same thing. Because of that, I fully expect guys like Campoli, Streit and hopefully even Gervais and Martinek can produce offensively to be factors. I think it’ll come a bit more naturally for he first two players I’ve mentioned, but I really feel Gervais and Martinek have a lot more to give in the offensive zone.

If they do and the Isles can continue to support Joey MacDonald, I think you’ll see a very different Islanders team the rest of this season.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2008

Final Score: Islanders 1, Vancouver Media 0.

Seriously, what kind of journalist says something along the lines of the Islanders don’t stand a chance and Roberto Luongo and the Canucks can get away with playing decent and still win?

This is the NHL baby. Every game in this league never has a clear-cut winner. All it takes is for a hot goaltender or someone with a wicked backhand to get an opportunity in the shootout and it’s lights out, regardless of how good your team is.

Luckily, the Islanders got both last night, as Joey MacDonald and Frans Neilsen played superb games, leading New York to an “unlikely” win.

Winners of three in a row and holding a 7-9-2 record, things aren’t nearly as bad as they were a week ago, right? The return of Radek Martinek has quietly bolstered the Islanders defense and all of a sudden Frans Neilsen, Josh Bailey [would you guys keep him around after his nine games are up? As of right now, I totally would] and Kyle Okposo are noticeable out there. Are they playing phenomenal hockey? No, but they are making factors of themselves. The same thing goes for a guy like Tim Jackman, who looks like he may stick around this season after getting a long cup of coffee last season when injuries buried this team and their playoff chances.

This season however, the Islanders playoff chances haven’t really even been realized yet. All this team is doing right now is trying to earn the league’s respect back. In my mind, they are still a legitimate scorer and another offensive defenseman away from being a playoff contender, but if they keep finding ways to win and get Mike Comrie, Brendan Witt and Mike Sillinger back and they can produce, this team is going to be a heck of a lot of fun to watch.

Joey MacDonald alone has been a blast to follow this season and has almost singlehandedly kept this team as close to above water as he can. Nevertheless, I think guys like Bruno Gervais, Chris Campoli, Mark Streit and Andy Sutton have played much better in their own end over the past few games as well, giving MacDonald every chance to flourish.

If this keeps up, this team may just take us on another joy ride for a few weeks.

At the very least, Islander fans should enjoy this and keep their eyes on the prize. This is blue collar, unsexy hockey, but it’s winning hockey. With a host of rookies and aging veterans on this team, you couldn’t really ask for me right now.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

Coming off two consecutive wins against the Senators, the Islanders don’t look anything like the team that has had problems holding leads in the third period all season. Even in giving up two goals in the final period against the Sens in their last game, the Isles have finally started skating with the type of personal accountability they’ve lacked all season.

Regardless of what the pundits think, I think it’s fair to say that this team is starting to understand what they have to do in order to win.

On top of that, Joey MacDonald is playing his best hockey of the season and with Andy Sutton and Radek Martinek both back in the lineup and the return of Brendan Witt looming, the Isles defense will be as close to 100 percent as possible.

With that being said, a team like the Canucks, with all their offensive ability and strength in net, will be facing a much better Islanders team than they would have faced two weeks ago.
Because of that, this should be a fun one to watch.

The Josh Bailey Experiment Continues- Through his first handful of games this season, Bailey has been a lot better than anyone could have possibly thought. From what the team’s coaching staff has said thus far, it looks like Bailey may be sticking around.

“He hasn’t played at a junior pace. So, that’s very encouraging. Whether he’ll be able to maintain that through these nine games will probably dictate whether he stays here or goes back to junior,” Gordon told the AP “I think the bonus for us if he’s able to stay here is that it accelerates his progress for next year.

“If he goes back to junior, granted he’ll play a lot. But he’ll play at a pace that he should be above. Then, it’s a situation where he comes in next year and has to start over getting back into our system versus what they’re doing in Windsor. If he’s able to come in here and play at an NHL pace through nine games, at least we’ll have a better read on what the right thing is to do for this year and next year.”

If he stays here the whole season, I’m cool with that. However, if he ends up hitting a snag in his development, the Isles will be stuck with another Jeff Tambellini. As of right now, Bailey looks like a completely different player, but it’s way too early to judge what this kid is truly capable of yet.

Posted under 2008-2009, Pregame Musings