Nice hustle, Witt.

Jon Sim was resigned for a year.  Andy Hilbert has also just been resigned for a one year two way contract.  AHL player Rob Hisey also joins the ranks with a similar contract to Andy.  So theres our depth, I suppose.

That being said, much is still up in the air.  The Islanders still need one more top 6 forward.  Signing an UFA looks pretty unlikely at this point.  Could Garth get lucky again with a steal of a trade?  Yea, and monkeys will fly outta my butt.  If anyone can pull if off, he can.  Training camp begins soon, and several surprise invitations have been given out.  Vets like Ruslan Fedotenko could end up fighting it out with rookies like Petrov for the last spot.

The Goalie Situation: Thank god we have Rolison for one more year.  DiPietro claims to be health and skating.  And management must believe him since we have no real alternative backup goalie outside of our AHL powerhouse Lawson.   Katie strang says the rumors of dealings with Niemi are BS.  But even if DP is, and can remain, healthy, does he still have what it takes? Throwing him right back into the big club is the worst idea since casting Stephen Baldwin in Slapshot 2.  We’d be better off just putting a garbage can in front of the net when Roli needs a rest.  I can never get anything past that goddamn can!  Or just send DP to Bridgeport for a few weeks to get his sea legs back.

Nino scores on the penalty shot

Nino the boy wonder was particularly impressive.  Size-wise he might just be NHL ready, and the kid has some slick moves and great hands. He took a penalty shoot in the second period and deked the pants off goalie Brian Robbins for the goal. He also tried a baseball style goal in the skills competition but came up short on accuracy.  If this were two years ago he’d probably be on the roster come October, but that would be rushing it.  He could benefit from another half year or so in the AHL if the Isles can spare him.

The quickly growing fan favorite Matt Martin also looked impressive.  His stride seems improved, and he was zipping his weight all over the ice and into opponents.  I’d be surprised if he didn’t finally break into the big club for real this year.

Travis Hamonic was also looking ready for prime time.  His size is incredible compared to a few short years ago, and his presence on the ice was noticeable.  Bruno might just find himself out of a job if he isn’t careful.

Kabanov fights it out behind the net with Hamonic

Kirill Kabanov is definitely a most skilled forward.  He had some great shots, great puck handling and maneuvering, and in this game had an uncanny ability to find himself open.  Unfortunately the kid is tiny out there.  Another year or two to mature both physically and emotionally will do him wonders.  He had great energy out there and was obviously grateful for the fan support, rooting them on when the game was over.

Robin Figren and David Toews also showed some great potential, particularly Figren in the break away skills competition.  He deked and did a full 360 in front of the net with the puck held tight between the ice and the tip of his downward pointing stick.

Net minder Mikko Koskinen was a giant out there, and performed great in the scrimmage.  But his slow lateral movement when faced with 6 incoming pucks in the skills competition might be concern enough for him to stay put for another year or so.

Matt Donovan and Joey Diamond were also some nice surprises out there, and are sure to warrant second looks by the islanders.  The biggest disappointment of the night, besides the long lines to get in, was the absence of Kirill Petrov, who complained of shoulder pain before the scrimmage.

Koskinen The Giant on ice with Kabanov and Niederreiter

Nino: "In 48 hours, I'll be accepting your apologies."

Prospect camp started this week with almost all our top prospects attending.  Petrov, Kabanov, Nino, Hamonic, Koskinen, Nilsson et al.  Notable injured are Calvin de Haan (whose present and skating, but not dressed) and Kevin Poulin.  See here for a full list.

This years camp is closed to the public with the exception of the Orange vs. Blue prospect scrimmage and skills tourney, taking place this Saturday at 7:00.  Purew.in will be in attendance and we’ll have a full write up to follow (and pictures as well, if they let this non-professional photographer in with his “professional” camera)

Our predictions? Hamonic, Petrov, and Nino are NHL-ready caliber talent that should steal the show.  Does Gordon and company agree? 48 hours from now, if they’re not convinced, I’m not convinced.

The Isles have also aquired some talented free agents, including defensemen Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina, and forwards Zenon Konopka and P.A. Parenteau (the inevitable Tambellini replacement).  Konopka is a super entertaining enforcer, and Eaton is a skilled defensive defenseman.  The overall theme? Size, these are all big friggin guys.

And we wont even touch on the Kovalchuk fiasco.

1 – Direct Parking Traffic

At Christmas time he uses a whistle and break dances

If the 2x4 breaks he'll drop it immediately, don't worry

Todays big news is that Nassau County exec Edward Mangano is talking to the Shinnecock tribe about building a casino/resort/hockey rink to replace the crumbling Nassau Coliseum.  And Dwayne “The Rock” Roloson is gonna be pissed when he gets back from the off season.

Apparently Mangano’s been working on this deal for sometime.  The Shinnecocks have been hoping to establish a casino on Long Island since their federal recognition just this past December by President Obama. Yes We Can get complimentary drinks, thank you.

There are two popular schools of thought on this possibility.  The first is that its a genius idea that will draw in more fans, bigger players, and of course more money.  Even with the profits being divided between the town, Wang, and ofcourse the Shinnecocks, this has to be a better deal then SMG’s original BS lease right?

The second school of thought on this idea is that its a potential disaster that will turn an already sketchy neighborhood into Detroit from Robocop 3.

Of course the likely hood of any of this coming to fruition is very low. This still doesn’t address the  traffic problem, which has been the largest issue since day one.  And final approval still lays in the same hands it always has.  Instead of wasting their time with the Shinnecocks, I’d rather the Islanders be talking to the Apaches on how to deal with our rivals.

Lundqvist learns an important lesson about indian giving

"Nice playoff push Rangers! Enjoy picking 10th"

The New York Islanders are entering what should be the second half of their rebuild process.  Last years first overall pick John Tavares has lead the team in points, and many of the young core are really starting to come into their own.  So while this summer is the perfect time to bulk up on a few experienced free agents to flesh out the team, we also have the luxury of another early draft pick.  The Islanders 5th overall pick will mostly go to one of 5 talented young prospects.  Lets review (in no particular order).

Brett Connolly is the most skilled forward that might be left by pick 5.  With only 16 games played this season and 19 points, hes could be one of those high risk/high reward players that have worked out so well for the Islanders (see, Yashin, DiPietro).  The good new is though he was injured most of this past season, he appears to be in good health now, after recently playing for Canada in the U18 World Championship.  Although he didn’t do anything spectacular for Team Canada, we’ll let it slid.  A healthy Connolly on a line with Tavares, Okposo, or Cuomo would be a check and mate.

Scouts are reporting Cam Fowler as the quickest and most skilled defenseman in the draft, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was the first D-man chosen.  But if he does last till pick 5, he’d fill a huge whole in the defense until the likes of Harmonic and de Hann are brought up.  Fowler has the pure speed and puck handling Gordon’s system depends on.  Downsides? At 6’2″ 195 pounds hes decent sized but he doesnt use it. His play is far from that of the physical D-man some say we need.

Erik Gudbranson is this writer’s personal choice for 5th overall. With only a 1 inch height edge over Fowler, and about the same weight, Gudbrason knows how to throw his body around.  He’s a big, physical defensemen with enough skill to make him worth the high pick.  He has an uncanny ability to own the ice around the net.  Figure a slightly younger, slightly smaller, and slightly less douchey Chara.  Hes also not afraid to drop the gloves, but hes not a fight-a-game player either, like the Islander’s recently resigned Gillies.

Nino at the U20, being rudely interrupted.

Nino Niederreiter was a Swiss hero this year at the U20 World Champs, scoring both the game tying and winning goals in an upset against Russia (USA later won the tourney, duh)  Hes a low risk, highly skilled, top 6 forward.  He posted 60 points in 65 games this past season with the Portland Winterhawks.  Many scouts say physically, hes NHL ready.  And some call him the best Swiss prospect of all time.  OF ALL TIME!

Whats with all the 6’2″, 190 pound defense men in this years draft?  Brandon Gormley is a 3rd that fits the bill.  Hes a 2-way d-man thats strong in all facets of the game.  Solid passing, puck handling, confidence, shutdown, battle, positioning, smart, good hygiene, goes to bed early, sends his grandma flowers on special occasions, etc.  He’s probably one of the best over all players listed here.  At the same time, he doesn’t offer the bang! pow! kaboom! of some of the other options.

Obvious omissions? We’ll yea, I left out the Russians.  Because, come on.

This week- The Destruction of the First Death Star

Yes Luongo was onboard the first Death Star, employed by the Empire to stop the pesky Rebel Alliance. He was supposed to be the last line of defense in the trench, the protector of the exhaust vent. Roberto got caught out of position however, and Luke fired off an odd angle shot top shelf to put away the Empire.

Luongo lets in another soft goal.

An actual Bruins player

As I sit here writing this, my Sabres are 1 game away from ending their very promising 2009- 2010 NHL season. A team that was never given a chance by most writers and analysts because their roster held no superstars or household names. Even the Sabres Vezina nominated Silver medal Olympic MVP, Ryan Miller, was unrecognized until his outstanding play in the Olympics amde him a US hero. For Sabre fans Miller has been their MVP for years and has always played that way, but with the teams non playoff seasons the last two years, no one else seemed to notice. So how is that my 3rd place Buffalo team finds it self fighting off elimination against a team that truthfully doesn’t belong in the playoffs?

The Sabres were the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference finishing the season with 100 points. They did this with a balanced team of young players that have grown together through the farm system, and by rolling four lines all with the ability to score.  They were without a 30 goal scorer and a forward that scored over 70 points, but they did have 4 forwards net over 20 goals. Yet, they find themselves in a hole in these playoffs being outscored by the Boston Bruins, who ranked 30th in the league in scoring. What gives?

First, I have to aknoweledge the fact that historically the Sabres get screwed in the playoffs. I remember watching the Stanley Cup finals in 1999, fighting to stay up through three 20 minute overtime periods to see who would win the game. It was a must win game 6 for the Sabres, being that they were down 3-2 in the series. It was getting late and I was only in 7th grade and had school the next day, I had to call it a night. When I woke up next morning I was heartbroken to discover that the Dallas Stars were the Stanley Cup champions. Even worse was the game winning goal. Brett Hull was the hero, scoring on a controversial call that that many Sabre fans to this day believe should have not been awarded. Hull had his foot in the crease before gaining possession of the puck. Throughout the season, the NHL had consistantly ruled this as a no goal. However during the finals the NHL allowed the goal, and then changed the rule the next year.

Which brings me to the current Playoff series. I hate to use this as an excuse, but I have never seen such bad officiating determined the outcome of a game. Game 4 was atrocious. The Sabres were winning 2-0 going into the 3rd period, but the ref awarded Boston with a few questionable penalties. One of these powerplays resulted in a goal, and it completely took the Sabres out of the game. Once again, I really do not wan to use that as an excuse, but it does seem to me like the refs have been playing favorites.

What really needs to be adressed is the Defense. The Sabres have scored the first goal in all 4 games this series. They should not be throwing away games like they did last night, and I mostly blame the defense. The defense is a huge improvement from what it was last year and had an amazing regular season. They have even made some tremendous plays in the playoffs, but they seem to be too tired, and are guilty of giving the puck away far too often in their defensive zone. You can’t win hockey games like that.

Of course this could be overlooked if the Sabres Offense wasn’t having such a hard time lighting the lamp. I credit part of this to Bostons rookie netminder Tukka Rask, who has been outstanding. In addition to Rask, Boston plays a very defense oriented style of hockey and their players know how to shutdown opposing players.  Even so, the Sabres are not playing a full 60 minutes of hockey. They have started out flying in the first, establishing a great forecheck and winning the battles along the boards in the offensive zone. They seem to be having problems however with putting bodies in front of the net that can get to rebounds. The Sabres forwards, for the most part, are very light small skilled players, who utilize speed over strength. The worst part is, the big body they have to make a presence in front of the net is hurt. Thomas Vanek has had tons of success putting home rebounds by standing in front of the net, but he was injured in the first period of game two by a blatant hack to his knee. The penalty was called, but I thought such an action should have resulted in a suspension. Vanek also is the key to the Sabres power play, which when they do get the occassional call in their favor, has not been able to produce.

All of this just makes me frustrated, because if this team can’t win now, I’m not sure if they will within this decade. This team is run by an owner who bought the team to make a profit, and GM’s that fail to use what money they have, on big name players. Since the lockout, I have had to witness many of the Sabres stars leave the team due to free agency. Daniel Briere and Chris Drury went in the summer after they had brought the Sabre’s within one game of another Stanley Cup finals. The following summer I watched some of the Sabres better young defenseman leave. From that moment on, it was back to phase 1. Back to a GM whose confident in the talent of his farm system. While the Sabres truthfully do posess an impressive farm system, the players are either not yet NHL ready, or need a star player to guide and mentor them.

So if my Sabres lose tomorrow to the Bruins, what do I have to look forward too? The NHL draft, where one of the 2 prized skilled forwards will be picked 1st overall by the Bruins. Oh, the irony.

Essentially whats gonna happen at the draft