Double Standard

How is it possible that a clothesline to the head isn't really making contact?? It seems that Colin Campbell has one set of rules for the players of 29 NHL teams and a totally different, harsher set of rules for the Isles. Thomas Pock and Mike Mottau, Chris Simon and Chris Pronger, etc. It's hard to think that there isn' t something behind his decisions.

Before Mottau made like Tito Santana, Nielsen was having one of his best games as an Islander. Confident and energetic, Frans was flying around the ice like a 10 year vet. He was in position and comfortable with the puck. One play in particular made me think that Frans had finally arrived. Midway through the game, Frans picked up the puck in his defensive zone and started up the ice. Jeff Tambellini was skating full speed behind Frans and Nielsen stayed ahead of the high flying Tamby controlling the puck without losing stride. While the play had not materialized into anything, the control that Frans showed had proven the maturity he had grown into. It's unfortunate that Nielsen had gotten hurt at this time in his career, right when he had turned the corner.

It's been a while.

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. Sorry to those of you that have emailed me, I'm sure my responses clarified. For those wondering, let me just say that the Election and financial Crisis have taken up a bit of my time.

Let's get on to the more important stuff at hand, the ISLES.

So we're 18 games in and the Isles have compiled a rather decent 7-9-2 stats. Decent because the majority of Islander fans have expected this team to sink like the Titanic. That's obviously not the case and Coach Gordo's got the team to believe in the system. OVERSPEED. What I've noticed is that this system is built for a team like the Isles. Fairly young, speedy guys with a knack for forechecking. Alot of fans around the boards are saying that if the Isles had better players, the system would work better. The only way I believe this to be true is if they had some more finishers, otherwise the system gives the team chances off turnovers, clearly evident during the Vancouver game, and eventually they're going to bury some. It's safe to say that Gordo put in a decent system that, once the team is fully comfortable with, will show signs of interest from other teams.

The injury front had hit as well. DP, Witt, Marty, Sutts, Campy, the IVth all have been sidelined this short season. With a depleted D, the team gave up some leads and have 9 losses. This team could easily by above .500 had the D remained healthy. Unfortunately, those are the breaks and it looks like the full D will be back together shortly.

Weight and Guerin have proven that they can still play and, if it were up to me, given another year on the contracts. Now, let's not go rushing into anything, alot can change over the next couple of days, weeks, months, but I'm sure Snowy hasn't closed the door on that option yet.

And the brightest spot of this young season is not so young Joey Mac. With the Rick on the shelf, Joey (clap clap) has provided solid goaltending. Schooled by guys like Ozzie and the Dominator, Joey Mac has come into his own and has been as good as anyone could've hoped for. Wade who??

What about Comrie & Tamby, Nielson & Bergy, Bailey & KO? That's coming up a bit later.

Addiction

September has begun and we are only a few short weeks away from training camp. While most fans will be looking to see if the players trained well in the off-season or what Gordo's line combinations will be, I will be looking elsewhere. All my attention will be on the players, it will be focused, not on their skating, passing, and shooting, but on their gear. The Nike Bauer skates, Warrior sticks, Easton gloves and Reebok helmets the players adorn are my main concern. My first impression of any player is based on the tools he is using. They say "You can tell alot about a person just by looking at their shoes." Same can be said about a player and their gear.

If you need an example, look no further than our own Brendan Witt.

Ever notice the gloves and stick he uses. He's been known as a Warrior for quite a while. No coincidence, that's his brand of choice.


So when training camp begins and pictures start trickling in, I'll be back with an update on the gear and my impressions of what to expect from the players.

As a little gift to all the gearheads out there. There've been pictures floating around the net of some new Warrior sticks. Don't be surprised to see several players on the Isles using these sticks.

Warrior Dolomite Spyne












Click here to get your new Warrior.


WARRIOR JOHNSON - (One Piece)

2008-2009 Goals by Player

I mentioned in an earlier post that the Isles will, in no way, score fewer goals then last season. To back up that claim, I have pulled out my Crystal Ball and looked to see where they are coming from. Below is my prediction.

FORWARDS (in alphabetical order)

Sean Bergenheim - 12
Blake Comeau - 16
Mike Comrie - 17
Bill Guerin - 21
Andy Hilbert - 9
Trent Hunter - 7
Kyle Okposo - 21
Richard Park - 12
Mike Sillinger - 11
Jon Sim - 8
Jeff Tambellini - 23
Doug Weight - 15

DEFENSE

Chris Campoli - 12
Bruno Gervais - 3
Radek Martinek - 7
Freddy Meyer IV - 4
Mark Streit - 15
Andy Sutton - 3
Brendan Witt - 1

EXTRAS

Nielsen - 6
Colliton - 0
Walter - 2
Bailey - 3
Jackman - 0
Dipietro - 1

So there you have it. The scoring is accounted for and the Isles will score 229 goals next year. 40 goals more then last year. Our leading scorer will be Tambellini with 23, followed by a tie for second with 21 from Guerin and KO, then in fourth is Comrie 17 and rounding out the top 5 will be Comeau with 16. The Defence will pitch in a ton. Streit will make a solid debut with 15, Campoli will score 12, and Marti's gonna rip it up with 7. In addition, Ricky's gonna score 1 this year, and Josh Bailey will start his career right with 3, scoring in his first NHL game.

Now bookmark this site and return on Sun Apr 12, 2009, after the season finale against the Bruins, and compare stats.

Kudos to the Isles

While we wait for some news from the new coach, I wanted to touch on a couple of things.



First, I have to say that the Isles Marketing Dept. has done a great job getting the Isles out into the community. From Eisenhower, to Cantiague to Central Islip, the OrganIzation, led by Chris Dey, has really gone grassroots and should be commended. I don't know what other sport allows for their players and staff to work their butts off to help get the team some recognition. Good job Chris, now just stay away from the table on draft day.


Second, MSG+ will be airing another edition of Islanders Illustrated on Thursday at 7:30. They'll have a one-on-one with Coach Gordo, Josh Bailey's was mic'd up during the prospects camp, Campy's talking with "the 2-man advantage", and KO's gonna teach us how to go top shelf on Marty Brodeur. Sounds fun and the best part is we get another look at Shawna Ryan.





Finally, for fans looking for a deal, the Isles have announced the "Victory Plan." It's a four game plan that could turn into an eight game plan. Each time the Islanders win one of the games from the plan, you will be rewarded with tickets to another select game. Sounds like a decent deal.

Another bashing...blah, blah, blah

Jim Kelley from Sports (except Hockey) Illustrated is the most recent "journalist" to jump on the bash the Isles bandwagon. I guess it's easy nowadays to talk about what happened in the late 90's with this team and continue those thoughts through to present time. As a fan, I can agree that it's been a fiasco, changes in ownership, hoistgate, fishsticks, Milbury. There is a lot of good material there for lazy hacks, looking for an easy story. The thing is, it's old news, the team has turned the corner and many reporters choose not to look at the bright side, instead they continue to harp on the bad. Let's take Ted Nolan for example.

Everyone in the OrganIzation knew it was time to change the course and rebuild. Everyone except Teddy. Keeping a guy that clearly is not on board with the future of the team would be disastrous. Instead everyone's painting Teddy as a victim to the idiocy of the higher ups. There was a reason Nolan was out of the league for so long, and this recent tenure behind the bench only proves how big Nolan's ego is. Good luck catching him behind an NHL bench anytime soon. Another topic everyone loves to bring up is Neil Smith. Where is he now? What team is he the GM for? There have been several opportunities for Neil and there's a reason he is not currently in the league. "Well Smith one the Rags a Cup." I say whatever to that. He did not help the team's future, he asked Mark Messier who he likes playing with. Kevin Lowe, Adam Graves, Glenn Anderson, Craig MacTavish, Esa Tikkanen. Looks like the New York Oilers to me. Not too hard to win a cup when you compile a core of players from a recent Stanley Cup winner.

Bashing the Isles is a new tradition among sports writers and it's about time these guys checked the stats. Here's a good one:

Since the 2001-2002 season, the Islanders have a better record than the perennial Stanley Cup Contending Rags.

W L OTL T PTS
NYR 223 197 21 51 518

ISLES 226 199 30 37 519

That's right, the Isles have had more wins and more points than the Rangers over the past 6 seasons. Instead of beating someone when their down, how about looking up the stats and writing a new story.

A Coach Is Named

The Orange smoke has been seen coming from the Coliseum. Garth Snow has made his decision. The Islanders have given the coaching reigns to current AHL Coach of the Year Scott Gordon. A Masssachusetts native that has compiled a fantastic record in Providence, will be the coach of our Isles. With the decision, comes the cheers or jeers from fellow Isles fans. Is Gordon the right choice? Is Gordon Snow's yes man? Is he capable of coaching at the NHL level?
The questions will not be answered till the season gets fully underway. In the meantime, lets look at the pros & cons of this hiring:

PROS
AHL Coach of the Year
221-141-20-27 Coaching record
Familiar with the Isles young players he has coached against.
Looks like he can work well with Young players.
A MASS native and former Goalie (good for Ricky)
High Goals For, Low Goals against

CONS
No NHL coaching experience
...

So, in my opinion, the Pros definately outweigh the cons. I believe this is a great choice and shows that Snow is committed to his plan. I think Scott Gordon has more of a chance of becoming a successful Laviolette than a tarnished Stirling.