It feels like a year ago that the Islanders were awarded the first pick in this year’s entry draft.

Or is it just me?

Ah, the suspense.

Who will the Islanders draft?

John Tavares? Victor Hedman?

Will they even use the pick?

Guess we’re just going to have to wait and see.

At any rate however, the Islanders still need to solve their goaltending issue and look for a few more players to challenge these youngsters for spots in camp. Nothing is worse than a complacent 20-year-old who knows he has a job. Because of that, the Isles have to look around for some veterans who can come in and try and earn a job. Who knows, they may end up with another Richard Park or someone like that who can truly help the youngsters and his career at the same time.

Islanders call on former first round pick to backup bench- Any older Islander fans doesn’t have to be told who Dean Chynoweth is. Despite the fact that his career didn’t go as planned, he was an extremely fierce competitor who put his heart into every shift.

For you younger fans who don’t know who he is, check this out:

Over the past decade and change, he’s made a good name for himself in minor league hockey and has shown the same type of passion behind the bench.

At the very least, he’ll be an interesting addition to the Islanders bench.

“Dean has an extremely strong background of developing young prospects from working in the International Hockey League (IHL) and WHL for the past 11 years,” Snow said on the team’s official site a few days ago. “With the youth of our team, he is a perfect fit to show them what it takes to succeed in the NHL. His defensive background from his playing days will also serve as a tremendous asset to our young defensemen.”

Posted under Offseason 2009

If one thing was painfully obvious this season, it was that Doug Weight doesn’t like losing.

Unlike some of the other players that seemed content with their play during the season, Weight was always seen yammering on the bench and trying whatever he could in order to get his team going.

Now with the team ready to draft the number one pick in the draft in a few weeks, Weight sees the possibilities.

And boy is he excited.

“Getting the first pick in the draft certainly excites me from an organization standpoint,” Weight said. “We had 61 points this year and we had a lot of injuries and it was a tough year for us this way. I think we are going in the right direction, but nothing speeds it up like getting a great hockey player. We have some good young players that have taken some strides this year, but to get somebody like this in your organization in September or October will give us a boost and maybe it will give us some confidence. If you team that up with everyone getting healthy next year, who knows what position we are going to be in.”

You have to admit, Weight has a point. While the rest of the NHL is focused on what the Islanders did this year, no one is thinking about how much better they can be next season. Guys like Josh Bailey, Frans Neilsen, Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau should be ready to perform at a higher level and if they can keep veterans like Trent Hunter, Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek healthy, who knows what the team will be capable of.

Well, I think even if that is the case, the team will struggle to find itself in the postseason, but they will be better than this season.

At the very least, it’s a start.

While garnering the first pick has lifted the spirits of Weight, it’s been great for business as well.

“There is a lot of excitement surrounding this year’s NHL Entry Draft for the Islanders organization and its fans,” New York Islanders President Chris Dey told the team’s official website. “That enthusiasm is being felt through the increased interest in our various ticket packages.”

Teams like the Blackhawks and Penguins have proven how much a first overall pick can change play on the ice and business; hopefully this is just the beginning of something special for the Isles.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Posted under Offseason 2009

When the Islanders signed Doug Weight this past offseason, not much was expected from him, especially considering he had the worst season of his professional career last season.

I even set the bar pretty low for him in July, writing:

“If he’s healthy all season, I definitely see him scoring a dozen goals and adding 30 helpers, while setting a great on-ice example for the youngsters.”

And who wouldn’t have set the bar low for the guy after what happened to him the year before? As a matter of fact, many insiders thought the guy was finished after last season.

“I felt like I had a lot of hockey left in me and that I was not put in a good situation to play,” Weight said of his experience on 2007-08 on the team’s official website a few days ago. “But those things happen and it’s how you respond to those things. Fortunately, the Islanders wanted to give me a chance and I had a coach that had a lot of respect for my game and the way I play. I felt like I responded pretty well.”

Damn skippy you did.

In just 53 games, Weight scored 10 goals and added 28 assists, good for third on the team. Scoring 21 of his points on the powerplay as well, Weight did everything the Islanders could have asked from and more. Before the Islanders began their collapse and Joey MacDonald was doing just more than holding down the fort, Weight was also scoring a point a game and was screaming his head off on the bench, proving he was every bit the leader the Islanders expected him to be.

Considering what most of us expected from him, it’s almost impossible to argue with that.

“I wish I could’ve stayed healthy because I think I could have had a pretty good season and helped our team even more,” Weight said on the team’s official site. “But having said that, I am going to work hard during the offseason and come back and hopefully have a great year.”

If he is healthy, I expect Weight to score 15 goals and add 40 assists that should put him near Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo for the team’s scoring lead. That alone means the Islanders offense will still have its fair share of growing pains next season, but that won’t be because of Weight.

Simply put, the guy just fits into the Islanders system and is still a capable playmaker.

If the Islanders pick up John Tavares and perhaps a free agent signing and there is less pressure on Weight to produce, I expect him to have an even better season. At this point in his career, he can’t be asked to score 70 points, but if some of the youngsters can pick it up, Weight can and will continue to be a productive player for the New York Islanders.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Posted under Offseason 2009

I’ve told you guys countless times in the three seasons that I’ve been writing this column that the New York Islanders are unlike any team in the NHL.

Regardless of if they are winning, losing or middling, there is always news, always things to think about and write about.

Despite being in last place, this team will have a serious goaltender controversy to think about this offseason. Everyone knows Rick DiPietro will be the number one, but coming off another injury-ravaged season, it’s highly doubtful that he’ll play the 70 games he wants to play.

My best guess is that DP will play about 50-55 next season and if all goes as well, then and only then will he be used in the Tim “Every Day” Cheveldae-esque role that he insists on playing.

However, will it be Danis or Joey MacDonald that is on the bench? Would one of them be willing to sign a two-way contract next season to provide support just in case DP gets injured again? Highly doubtful. Especially after both of them have proved they can be a solid backup if given a chance.

So what happens here? Who knows, but from what I’ve seen from Danis over the past few weeks and how much the coaching staff has embraced him, I think it makes this decision in the future an even tougher one.

“He’s played like a No. 1 over the short term,” coach Scott Gordon told the AP. “That’s ultimately going to be a decision to be made after the season is over. Ricky’s status will factor into it. All I can say is Yann has clearly shown his performance has been at a higher level than anything we’ve had all year. I’m happy for him.”

Wow. Big words, but that’s what comes with putting up the numbers that Danis has this season.

And who would have thought after his first two miserable outings? Not me, that’s for sure.

But then again, this is what the New York Islanders are all about. A few months ago, everyone, including myself, weren’t thrilled when Wade Dubielewicz got picked up by the Blue Jackets, because we didn’t like what we saw from this Danis-guy with the French-accent. We all wanted our Yoda back, so he could swing his light saber. Instead, we got d’Artagnan, with his saber and funny looking mustache.

But hey, he’s been great and it’s given this writer something to of course, write about.

What more could you ask for?

A playoff appearance?

One day fellas, one day.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

Well, after a month without a coach, the Islanders have their man. Scott Gordon will be behind the bench for the 2008-09 season and who knows how long after that, as details of his multi-year contract have not yet been announced as I am writing this.

I tried to really stay away from this topic because I felt it was something everyone was talking about and from day one, I’ve tried to make this site different from all the other Islander blogs out there. Nonetheless, I am happy to see Gordon behind the bench. It was either him or Paul Maurice that could have cut the mustard for me and for two reasons.

I never was a big fan of Marc Crawford, just for the simple fact that I think he was put in good situations and was a by-product of the players he had, especially in Colorado, where anyone could have coached that team to a playoff birth. Then when things looked tough in Los Angeles, he wasn’t nearly as successful, which then sold me on his ability, or in this case, lack there of.

Bob Hartley is very similar in the case that he got a very good Atlanta team to give up on him and the Isles need someone with some marbles, who is going to get them in gear. Someone like Scott Gordon, who will rustle feathers, but with positive intentions and someone who doesn’t put his needs ahead of the team. Someone dedicated to a cause and not a stop before going somewhere else. Gordon already has a good coaching resume, but will cement it on Long Island and will either make or break himself over the next few seasons. That’s something Hartley wasn’t capable of here. If you ask me, he’s already broken.

Plus, he looks way too much like Mike Bossy. It’s kind of scary actually. If you’re ever bored, take a look at the two of them side by side. Twins.

I liked Maurice for the job because of his experience of taking a team with mixed talent and age to the finals a few years ago. He showed a lot of moxie that year with Carolina and I thought he would have been a good fit with the Isles.

However, Gordon got the job and like I said, I don’t think it’s a bad choice at all. Greg Logan also made a great point of acknowledging the fact that, Gordon, Snow and Rick DiPietro are all goaltenders from the same part of the country, which should make the communication factor one that should be very different from last season. Because of that, I don’t expect to see many “eye brow-raising situations” this season.

It’ll be about the development of these kids, rather than on the problems between the coach and GM.

The way it should always be.

Photo by the AHL

Posted under Offseason 2008

With DP back at the helm for the Islanders, fans now have one less thing to worry about. If the team’s performance in game 2 is any indication, they now understand that they have to play their tails off for every second of the rest of this series if they want to stay in it.

Knowing that, it seems that Islanders head coach Ted Nolan isn’t going to take any chances and is going to bench anyone that isn’t up to the task.

One of those players in game 2 was Alexei Yashin.

Anyone else notice that Yashin got barely any playing time in Game 2? I did. Looks like Nolan is going through the same things that Peter Laviolette, Steve Stirling and Brad Shaw all had to deal with at one time or another, as Yashin’s play in the playoffs so far has been lackluster to say the very least.

Despite going through similar stretches during the regular season, it’s kind of hard to argue with 50 points and a +6 in 58 games. Maybe I’m stretching here, but if Yashin doesn’t get hurt down the stretch, maybe he leads the Isles in scoring and the team doesn’t have to fight as hard as they did to get into the playoffs.

For the time being though, guesses and hunches about what Yashin could have done aren’t going to help the team now. Going into the playoffs, I thought Yashin was at least going to have a little bit more jump in his game than he’s had now, considering that he had. Aside from drawing a penalty in game two, what has Yashin done so far in this series?

Not much.

It’s kind of sad when you think about how things have gone with Yashin. Here we have a guy that was supposed to give this team the kind of offensive presence they haven’t had since Ziggy Palffy got traded and aside from a decent first year with the Isles in 2002, what else has he done? I mean, sure, you can say that the guy didn’t have a consistent pair of linemates for a majority of the time he’s been here, but what about now? Viktor Kozlov and Miroslav Satan aren’t exactly Oleg Kvasha and Brad Isbister; they have talent and have proven it time and time again over the course of their careers. I may be stretching here, but they may be two of the best players Yashin’s ever played with.

In Ottawa, Yashin’s favorite linemate was Shawn McEachern. Last time I checked, Kozlov and Satan could skate rings around that guy. With the goaltending situation taken care of and the Isles having noticeably more jump, it’s time that Yashin starts playing the kind of hockey he was playing in the beginning of the season.

That means keeping his legs moving and getting himself in a position where he can use his shot. There’s a reason why NHL scouts still think that Yashin is one of the most talented players in the league; that’s because he is. However, his talent has never been under question. Sadly, his lack of desire has.

Let’s face it, he’s the captain of this team; it’s time for him to start leading by example. If not, the Isles are going to have a tough time taking the Sabres down.

Posted under Isles 2006-07, Pregame Musings