Reviewing the Islanders

October 3, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

I haven’t really paid much attention to the Islanders thus far and part of it is due to the lack of coverage here. Yikes. I mean I rarely ever see anything on them in the local papers. We get the Daily News and NY Post and honestly, what a freaking waste! Well, I mean if you’re looking for info on the Isles, forget it! :-\

The Post at least has Scrooge himself Larry Brooks covering the Rangers with his doom and gloom approach. And Mark [N]Everson does a decent job with the Devils though it’s painfully clear he loathes them and has that same defeatist attitude.

If I could find Newsday somwhere, that’s the best bet because they’re Long Island based and more geared towards the Orange and Blue. Easier said than done out here in Staten Island.

So, what’s there to say about a club expected to again be in the Atlantic cellar with new coach Scott Gordon replacing Ted Nolan behind the bench? I don’t really know except that Islander fans should be extremely excited to see how Kyle Okposo fares in his first full season. The man has skills and I’m predicting great things for the former Isles’ No.1 pick.

But aside from him, who else is there for Islander fans to wrap their arms around and cheer for? Okay. Trent Hunter’s a gritty hard worker but if he doesn’t find a way to score a few more goals, he’s not worth the five years they gave him. He needs to step up and assume a leadership role.

Mike Comrie’s back for another season as the club’s top pivot. A guy who once looked like someone targeted for big things with Edmonton enters his second year on the Hempstead Turnpike with what’s still his fifth different team. Shouldn’t he be able to total more than the 49 points (21-28-49) he had last season which sadly paced the club? I think so. He’s got talent. Skating’s good. Nice hands. So what gives? Maybe he gets a jolt from a full season playing alongside Okposo. Isles brass is banking on it.

Bill Guerin is a guy I respect. Especially for how well he conducted himself in his first season taking the role of Islander captain seriously. Considering how despised the ex-Devil is by NJ fans (just ask Hasan), I never thought I’d see him wearing a ‘C’ on his jersey and doing a solid job totaling 23 goals and 21 assists for 44 points along with 65 penalty minutes in 81 games. He also netted seven power play goals and five game-winners. Not bad production for a guy who turns 38 next month.

If he can duplicate that success, it would be a plus for a team which lost Slovakian headcase Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko to the Pens. Not like they’ll miss either much. I know my NYHR buddy Gary Harding would concur.

Garth Snow did go out and add veteran center Doug Weight to a corps which includes the aforementioned Comrie, a healthy Mike Sillinger and the vastly underrated Richard Park, who always seems to be in on big goals since his Wild days when they made that run to the Conference Finals.

Truthfully, if the veteran Sillinger who does so many things well like taking and winning big faceoffs, killing penalties is back healthy (injured), that should make them decent up the middle. It’s amazing how many different rosters the 37 year-old Isles’ alternate has been on considering how smart a player he is. Getting a chance to watch him, I really have a newfound admiration for why he’s been able to stay afloat in the league entering his 18th season.

A little fun bonus trivia for our diehard puckers out there. Name all the teams Silly Sillinger has been on? Hint: It’s double digits and you got one already.

Don’t cheat either.

So, who else is on this roster that must step up in order for them to compete in such a tough division? Blake Comeau showed signs in the second half and is only 22- a former Isles’ 2004 second rounder. So did gritty energizer Sean Bergenheim, who posted career highs across the board. Both can improve this season.

Andy Hilbert has good speed and works very hard but he has no hands. Otherwise, he’d net 15-16 goal or twice what he had last season. Jon Sim returns healthy after missing 80 games last season. I like him. He’s got speed, decent hands and can chip in offensively. So, that should help.

One player who really needs to show something is Jeff Tambellini. They freaking re-signed a one-goal scorer to a multi-year deal. Four points in 31 games is God awful for the former Kings’ No.1 pick they traded for. He’s 24 and must make strides in the NHL instead of living off his college success at the University of Michigan.

I don’t believe Frans Nielsen is anything more than a depth forward. Now watch him prove me wrong. Speaking of which, has a guy from Denmark ever done anything in the NHL? I’d love to know the answer.

Their blueline ain’t bad by any stretch. Okay. Maybe it won’t keep opponents from getting chances and plenty of shots on what should be a very busy Rick DiPietro but a healthy Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais, Radek Martinek along with bruisers Brendan Witt and Andy Sutton would be alright. Unfortunately, both Campoli and Sutton are nicked up on the injured list.

Did I mention that they added ex-Hab Mark Streit to address an awful power play? A brilliant move but is he worth the four million per-year price tag over five years? About as much as Michal Rozsival on the other side of town.

As Has also mentioned in a previous Isles entry, ex-Ranger Thomas Pock was picked up by the club off waivers. Honestly, this isn’t a bad move. The Austrian doesn’t turn 27 till December and is still young enough to crack a roster. His skating’s always been fine and I felt his defense got better over time when he got in. But remember, he played up front in college. So does Streit who can play either on the blueline or on the wing which explains the 62 points he had. But then again, Montreal has the best PP in the league. So, he’ll never duplicate that production ever again. Especially when you factor in different personnel.

With Campoli and Sutton hurt, Pock should start on the blueline.

Truthfully, for this team to have any kinda of success, they can’t afford to have key players hurt like last season. Nolan squeezed as much as he could out of that club and still got canned for “philosophical differences.”

If Brodeur and Lundqvist are important for their respective teams, what does that make DiPietro? His team won’t score many goals which means the 27 year-old franchise netminder must stand on his collective head every night. I just hope he holds up for their sake and also for his cause he’s had concussion history. Say what you want about his cockiness but the guy is a great competitor who really deserves to have a better team in front of him.

Freaking Wang! And heck. This is coming from a Ranger fan. That guy’s a crook!

Joey MacDonald takes over the role of backup replacing ever popular Wade Dubielewicz, who bolted for Russia. He’s been in a handful of games (Det, Bos, NYI)and has looked okay. So, I don’t see this being a team problem.

Gordon should ride DP as much as he can but also, with the amount of rubber he’ll see, it’s important to give him a breather every now and then. Get MacDonald in when it’s really busy (3 in 4 nights). That way DiPietro holds up.

As for the former Providence coach, I really don’t know what to expect. They’re hoping for similar success that Peter Laviolette had before Wang foolishly let him go to Carolina where he won a Stanley Cup.

I just can’t imagine how that feels for Islander fans. I expect the Isles to be a hustling, hard working in your face bunch who forecheck well. That’s always been their bread and butter. They have a young roster with enough vets around to teach. Figure them to play hard under Gordon.

Unless there’s a miracle on Uniondale, they’re likely destined for the NHL Lottery again.