Newsday’s Katie Strang’s article on Isles training camp invitee Brandon Sugden yesterday was a pretty interesting read, eh? It was so interesting that it sent me to Youtube to check out just how deadly this guy actually is with his hands.

Check these out:

After watching those and a few other choice battles, I really think this guy should get a shot on the fourth line. If someone like Derek Boogaard can get a spot at the end of the bench, I don’t see any reason why he can’t either. The downside is that a youngster is going to lose a roster spot, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

In some of these fights, you really see how intimidating this guy is. It looks like some of these guys are playing him extremely cautious and don’t want to get hit. That’s what the Isles need at this point. If they can play a quick game like new coach Scott Gordon wants them to and they have someone who can protect the Kyle Okposo’s, Mike Comrie’s and Blake Comeau’s on the team, this bunch of misfits is going to be a ton of fun to watch this season.

Strang mentions in her article that Sugden has knockout power from both hands as well and from the look of these videos, it’s almost as if he was a boxer on skates. Watching hundreds of fight videos over the years, he reminds me a lot of someone like Bob Probert and that is something that I don’t throw around very often. Unfortunately, he has a lot of the same off the ice problems Probie used to have as well. According to the Newsday article though, he’s been clean for quite some time, which could be both good for him and the Isles.

Despite that, you have to wonder hat he is capable of bringing to the team besides just the fisticuffs. From the look of his stats, he doesn’t seem to offer too much else, but on paper, so did a guy like Steve Webb, who could change the entire game with one big hit and get the crowd and his team back into it.

If Sugden is one of those players, I say bring him in right now.

Watching guys like Comrie fight last season was just embarrassing as a fan of this sport and a journalist. In order for the Isles to be taken seriously, stuff like that has to stop and stop RIGHT NOW.

On another note, he’s just a great story and someone that could put people in seats. The fact that he’s trying to make the NHL to make his father proud just does something to me as a person. It makes me want to root for him.

After over a dozen years in the minors and over 2,000 minutes in penalties, he may just get his shot.

Last week, I talked about what I expected from the likes of Kyle Okposo, Jeff Tambellini and Blake Comeau. This week I’ll discuss a few other players, who despite a few more years under their belts than the aforementioned above, can still be considered youngsters.

Bruno Gervais

Predicted Stats- three goals, 15 assists, 22 :00 ATOI.

Last season, Gervais averaged 20 minutes a game of ice time and while it looked like he was in the good graces of Ted Nolan most of the time, he never really got a chance to break out of his shell offensively or play big time minutes in close games. Preferring to go with the likes of Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek on defense most of the time in tight contests, I believe Gervais was limited to mop up duty and only got a chance on the powerplay when there were little or no options left. A solid offensive D-man in juniors, I think Gervais can produce a little more than he has been over the past few seasons if given a real opportunity. At times, Gervais has led the rush on offense and seemingly, doesn’t look out of place at all. With a little more work, he can be a solid number four or five D-man that can contribute on both sides of the puck.

Chris Campoli

Predicted Stats- 12 goals, 22 assists.

Another player with a lot of room to grow, Campoli looked like he had it all figured out before a nasty shoulder injury ruined his season in 08. Combining the physical play he’s been getting a reputation for, while developing already good offensive skills, I see Campoli as someone who would look great with Mark Streit on the powerplay at some point in the season. It’s just a matter of staying healthy and in the good graces of the whoever coaches this team in 09, something the youngster has had a few problems with over the past few seasons.

Frans Nielsen

Predicted Stats- 10 goals, 20 assists.

Before Doug Weight was signed, I may have considered bumping his stats up just a little bit. However, on a fourth line with guys like Blake Comeau and Richard Park, I see Nielson playing a crucial role as a sparkplug and someone who can help on the powerplay and the penalty kill. Some may be turned off by his lack of size, but I believe his ability in the face-off circle, combined with his speed and quick release will make him a solid fourth liner and someone Isles fans will love by the end of the season.

Photo by Pete Borriello

Over the past month or so, a lot of writers, bloggers and pundits that cover this team have been writing about the youth movement and how the youngsters will have to develop at a rapid pace for this team to make the playoffs this season. Some have even conjured up potential trades for players like Jay Bouwmeester. I, on the other hand, prefer to focus on what the Islanders currently have and not on what they could have.

With guys like Mark Streit and Doug Weight in the fold and the youngsters getting more of an opportunity, the Islanders offense this season is going to be hit or miss. However, unlike those same writers, bloggers and pundits who don’t give the Islanders a chance in hell in making the playoffs this season, I believe they do have a chance.

And that one small, almost minuscule chance this team has in making the playoffs doesn’t depend on any new player or any youngster.

It depends on Rick DiPietro.

It’s funny to me how a team with such a rich history like the Isles could have fans with such horrendous short term memory. They remember the bad trades and the years playing golf [I especially remember them] in May, but they don’t remember the small things. Before this team collapsed down the stretch last season, they were right in the thick of things. The reason why wasn’t because of an amazing offense or shut down defense. It was because of their goaltending. DP was an All-Star. And better yet, he deserved to be there; he had the numbers. They were actually better than a few Vezina finalists, one named Henrik Lundqvist.

However, after getting injured, the Isles went in a downward spiral and DP’s own unwillingness to take time off wound up hurting the team even more. If Wade Dubielewicz could have gotten in more games for an injured DP, who knows what could have happened. This season though, the Isles don’t have that kind of insurance and DP will be asked to not do the little things he’s done over the past few seasons that have hurt his team and his career. This season, DP will be asked to not be so aggressive with the puck and to take a day off every five games or so. Regardless of what the gregarious and confident goaltender may think, 65 games is more than enough for any starting NHL goaltender and by not playing 75, he won’t break down like he has over the past two seasons.

In the end, if he can stay healthy and on top of his game all season, this team will challenge for the final playoff spot. Once the playoffs begin, it’s a whole other ballgame.

But if DP is more preoccupied with chasing pucks away from fourth liners at the blue line in Montreal or playing past injuries in All-Star competitions than keeping this team on his back, the Islanders’ season will be over before it gets started.

Notes-

Don’t think I forgot about the second part of “These Kids Will be Alright.” Expect it on either Monday or Tuesday. I just felt the need to talk about our good ole buddy Rick DiPietro.

Photo courtesy of NHL Media

On my way to school today, I decided to take my Islanders media guide with me and after skimming through it on the bus, I can honestly say that there were a few lines in there that really touched me and made me think about the state of this great sport more than I have in years.

One quote in particular, by Mike Lupica, after the Islanders lost to the Rangers in the playoffs in 1979 [four years before I was born] really made me think about how far this sport has deviated from what made it so great and thrust me to the keyboard faster than Rosie O’Donnell to a nearby White Castle at lunchtime.

After that series in ‘79, Lupica wrote, “New York has been spoiled. They will never forget these hockey teams.”

Sadly almost 30 years later, Lupica was wrong, but I’d almost do anything in my power to make him right on this one.

After the Rangers won the Cup in ’94 and after two strikes in 95 and 2004, this sport has paled in comparison to what it used to be. When I first started watching hockey, it didn’t matter who was playing. The passion, grit and energy that was hockey in the early 90’s and before was absolutely astonishing to me and glued my young Rickey Schroeder- looking self to the television . As I’ve mentioned before in previous columns, I would watch Rangers, Devils and Islanders games as a youngster because I loved the game so much and just wanted to see guys out there competing. That’s how amazing the sport was to me then.

Nowadays, despite seeing all three local teams make the playoffs for the first time since ’94, I feel that the game has changed drastically and the things that made it so great may be gone forever. Gone forever are the personalities like Clark Gillies and Bob Probert, tough guys who could put the puck in the net as often as they dropped the gloves, to only be replaced by uber-talented youngsters like Sidney Crosby, Dany Heatley and Evgeni Malkin. It’s not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just not the same.

I know I’m deviating from my point here, but 30 years after that amazing playoff series that Lupica spoke about, are there any remnants of that kind of play left in the game today? Sadly, I’d have to say there aren’t nearly enough.

However, I’d be out of my mind to say that I still don’t love the game, it’s just in a different way.

Like a long, loving relationship, over a long period of time, things change and the reason why you originally fell in love with someone may not be present anymore; despite that however, the person can name a myriad of other reasons why they stay connected with that person and still harbor feelings for them, making the relationship stand the test of time and provide memories that make life itself worth living.

While hockey doesn’t feature the same type of hitting, grit and toughness that made me a lifelong fan 15 years ago, the speed added to the game over the past few years are exciting and great to watch in their own way and have continued to spark my interest and keep me watching.

But that’s just me. Like the thousands of marriage that end up in divorce every year, hockey fans will continue to watch something else if their needs aren’t met and they aren’t satisfied. Let’s face it, not everyone is a hardcore fan or capable of being in a loving, long-lasting relationship and it’s those people that have the ability to change the way the world looks at things.

Right now, the NHL needs to find a way to keep the hardcore fan involved with the game and bring in the casual one, without altering the game to the point where it’s barely recognizable anymore.

Otherwise, the rich and nostalgic history this sport has will be gone forever.

It’s already started.

Now it’s time to stop it.