The puck drops today for the beginning of the Islanders’ 2007-08 season, and it doesn’t come a moment too soon for fans who are anxious to find out if the surprise team of the Eastern Conference last season can bounce back from the disappointing loss of Ryan Smyth in free agency to contend for another playoff berth in Ted Nolan’s second season. The move from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Moncton, New Brunswick for training camp adds to the excitement because of the local support for Nolan, who re-started his coaching career two years ago by leading the Moncton Wildcats to the finals of Canada’s Memorial Cup.
The Isles’ arrival was the good news yesterday on the front page of the Moncton Times & Transcript right next to the tragic news of the funerals for three of the four local 16-year-old boys who died in a terrible traffic accident last Saturday. The fourth service will be held today in nearby Beresford, and the Islanders are exploring ways to make a goodwill gesture to aid a community in mourning.
For some, the opening of hockey season will provide an escape from their grief. Moncton has scheduled a Hockey Night in Downtown celebration tonight, featuring a parade led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police band and players from the Islanders as well as four local university and youth teams. On Saturday, there will be a Road Hockey Challenge for kids ages 5 to 10 to launch the opening of the season for the Wildcats, now coached by Danny Flynn, who was Nolan’s top assistant last season with the Islanders and previously in juniors with Moncton and Sault Ste. Marie.
So, the Islanders find themselves in a place loaded with fans who believe in Nolan’s ability to make a team more than the sum of its parts. Nolan and general manager Garth Snow emphasized their goal in free agency was to add players with character and grit to the foundation that was begun last season. The addition of Bill Guerin, who matched his age last season with 36 goals, as the captain to replace departed Alexei Yashin is a clear message the Islanders want players who aren’t afraid to get their nose dirty.
If Nolan is popular with the fans in Moncton and on the Island, it might be because he has their entertainment value in mind when it comes to the style of hockey he demands. “When you go into a battle, you want competitors,” Nolan said. “Long Island fans are very passionate, and they seem to enjoy a very competitive type of team. The fans are very important to us. We want to bring people in who are going to entertain the fans and make this a place where people want to come and be a part of it and not get cheated [in terms of effort] in coming to one of our games.”
The battles begin today in camp, and Nolan has a pretty good idea of the line combinations he wants to look at first. Starting out, the top line will put center Mike Comrie with right wing Guerin and veteran free agent Ruslan Fedotenko at left wing. Free agent center Josef Vasicek, who previously was known to Nolan as the first European captain of Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL, will be teamed with Miroslav Satan as his right wing. Free agent Jonathan Sim and young Jeff Tambellini both will get a shot at left wing on what Nolan hopes will be a scoring line.
The one line that remains intact from last season is the so-called “third line” with Mike Sillinger centering right wing Trent Hunter and left wing Andy Hilbert. They were the Isles' best two-way line last season, generally matched against the opponents’ top line while still managing a major contribution on offense. Veteran Richard Park, who spent most of his time as a penalty killer last season, will center the fourth line, which will include either Tambellini or Sim on one wing and either Chris Simon or Sean Bergenheim on the other wing. Simon, of course, will miss the first five games of the season to complete his suspension for a stick-swinging incident last season.
Veteran center Shawn Bates is said to be still recovering from the groin injury and hernia surgery that sidelined him at the end of last season. Snow said Bates won’t participate in practices until he’s 100 percent healthy. But two young centers who could get into the mix are Frans Nielsen, who played well in his brief time with the Isles last season, and Ben Walter, who was acquired from Boston after scoring 67 points for AHL Providence last season. So, if there are injuries or if Vasicek fails to live up to expectations, there is some depth at the center position.
Adding depth on defense was Snow’s other priority. The top six defensemen on paper are Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek, free agent Andy Sutton, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Bruno Gervais and Chris Campoli. Veteran Freddy Meyer returns, and Snow picked up Columbus free agent Aaron Johnson and offered a tryout to former Isle Bryan Berard, who was sidelined most of last season by back problems. Bridgeport’s Drew Fata also saw time with the Isles last season.
Rick DiPietro, of course, is the mainstay in goal with Wade Dubielewicz having earned the backup role with his stellar play down the stretch of the Islanders’ amazing playoff run. But Snow signed free agent Joey McDonald and has Mike Mole already in the organization. Veterans Mike Morrison and Maxime Ouellet also are in camp on a tryout basis.
One key element to watch throughout training camp and the exhibition season will be the performance of the defense. Nolan and new assistants Gerard Gallant and John Chabot have installed a new system and new goaltender coach Mike Dunham has worked out the communication system between the defense and DiPietro. “We’re not as big as certain teams, so, we have to rely on our positioning,” Nolan said. “We’re not as fast as certain teams, so, we have to rely on our puck movement. We designed a little bit different defensive scheme to compensate for things we’re lacking.”
Assistant Dan Lacroix also has a new role. Nolan said he will move upstairs to the pressbox to provide a live feed with his observations on how to make corrections during games.
Let the games begin.
Comments (33)
Great job Logan.....Good to see new people will need to be apporoved.
I think the problem is some already slipped through the cracks and constantly ruin the blog.
If you can find away to ban them, then all will be right again.
Nothing wrong with good hockey fans posting even if not fans of the Isles. The problem is the children that post all day under our names, fake names, and mean spirited names.
Hopefully things change.
These Lines Should be tried sometime in Camp:
Satan - Comrie - Guerin
Tambellini - Vasicek - Fedotenko
Bergenheim - Sillinger -
Hunter
for the fourth line - any trio of:
Park - Bates - Hilbert - Sim - Simon
Greg,
Thanks for the update!
Very interested in seeing who they end up cutting, who makes the team. Already we have a logjam of players for 3rd/4th line. Once Bates and SImon are back, its only worse. Then we have the defense... if Berard makes the team, who sits Campoli or Gervais?
LET'S GO ISLANDERS!
While Hilbert played OK on our most consistent line last year with Hunter and Sillinger I really dont think that he brought all that much to the team. At times itr seemed like he was almost alergic to scoring, constantly missing wide open nets or just whiffing on quality chances. I'd really like to see Bergie get a solid look to take that spot on the 3rd line with Hunter and Sillinger. He's a strong forechecker, is responsible in his own zone and has a scorers touch, not to mention he loves to take the body. A combo of 2 solid hitters in Hunter and Bergie on a line could lead to plenty of turnovers and offensive chances.
I hope Tambellini really makes a strong push for the left wing spot ont he 2nd line. They are saying hes in great physical condition as usual and he seems due to take the next step and develop into a legit NHL scorer.
The line Combinations I would like to see are:
Guerin, Comrie, Tank
Vasicek, Satan, Tambellini
Hunter, Sillinger, Bergie
Simon, Park, Sim/Hilbert
Unfortunately I dont see Bates playing a role with this club this year even though he is one of my favortie Islanders for obvious reasons. The groin injury is still not fully healed and in general, he just cant stay totally healthy and provide that consistent scoring. His penalty killing will be missed. The final forward on the 4th line should be a batlle between Hilbert and Sim, best camp wins.
D pairings:
Witt Martinek
Sutton Bergeron
Berard Campoli/Gervais
I think if berard is healthy he makes the squad becasue he is still a solid NHL player if not injured. Not sure where to go with Campoli or Gervais but I would lean towards Gervais because Teddy seems to like him more and I trust Teddy
For the first time I understand Snow's plan... same as last year. Sign the best he could get for short term deals and hope for the best. If it doesnt work out, all these guys are perfect trade bait come trade deadline and could yield top prospects and draft picks. It also allows them to have a lot of room for next years free agent class. Guys like Guerin, Comrie, Satan, Fedetenko, could fetch a nice ransom come trade deadline.
Or what happened last year could happen again and we get one of the bottom seeds and get knocked out in the first round. That seems to be the short of it.
Obviously gonna take some time for the team to fugure out who plays where, who plays best with who, what offensive and defensive schemes work best, etc., etc.
Remember last season's start? Oh and 3. So let's all not panic if there are some hiccups in the break-in period. The line up has question marks, but each of the new players have shown themselves to have good upsides.
As Greg said, "let the games begin"!!!
Why not us?
Ok, some thoughts on the lines ...
Tank-Comrie-Guerin ...I like it ...I think they'll gell and will all put up points
I think the second line should feature Tambellini ...the guys put up points in the AHL and played with heart in the nhl in his brief stints with the Isles. I don't know much about Sim other than what I've read, but at some point you have to give the young guys some opportunity to show what they can do - or not do for that matter.
Hilbert-Sillinger-Hunter ....love Hunter and Sillinger ...Hilbert I think should be moved to fourth line and then Bergie (depending on the type of camp he has) should be moved up to this line.
I think the 4th line should be Sim-Park-Hilbert
Here's where I have some issues with what I think will happen ...I don't think there are many spots for youth to play. I think that Simon will obviously make the team because of his ties to Nolan. And while the Isles do need some sort of an enforcer out there, do they really need to bring back Simon? Bates has been living off of that penalty shot goal for years, and should be dealt for anything - I like his hustle, but he's no more than a glorified 4th liner at this point.
I'm very curious to see if the young guys out play some of the vets whether or not Snow/Nolan will put them in the lineup with some minutes or will just give the vets some minutes regardless of the camp they have?
*If the Isles aren't in it in February please Garth ...don't make the same mistake twice - trade Satan and get as much youth as you can ...I think with the youth the Isles have in their system they're actually not as far away as some people think ...
Cannot wait for the season to start. Party on Garth!
Finaly! Can't wait for the season to strat! Go Isles.
P.S. Keep those Rags off our blog.
I can't wait to see the NYITV coverage of camp. Glad to see that the team has made the front page of the paper. Too bad they had to go to Canada for it. Tell us MORE, Greg... Tell us MORE! :o)
Our first line is the only one that looks half decent... Who cares though... Let the games begin... Can't wait to see the boys in those ugly jerseys...
Themass predicts: isles make big splash this year... Playoffs a definite...stamp that!
Never underestimate the ability of Ted Nolan to motivate his troops and get them playing solid hockey. I think the Islanders will play good hockey for stretches of the season because D.P. is a top flight goaltender when he's healthy but making the playoffs might be out of reach if the team doesn't gel immediately and get off to a good start. And under .500 start through the first two months of the season could spell doom for the Isles come Christmas time.
Please get rid of Shawn Bates.
What?
Any sign of Garth looking to make any more deals or acquisitions, or are they going to see what they have first and move from there?
Just wondering when we'll be able to view the comments? Any estimate?
Wow, I'm first. Just like the Islanders will be this year. Here's to a good year!
Now that the real season preparation is underway ( and the Rag children pretending to be Islander bloggers are back at school) let the real fans return to this site. Cincy, Steady, Mass and all the others, I think it's safe to go back in the water.
Greg: I'm hoping the signing of Campoli and the play of Bruno and Campy in last years playoffs means the Berard invitation is just a motivator and nothing more. The same holds true with the forwards; let's go with the potential of Tambellini, Neilson, etc forget the the thought of too many "grinders" or "Nolan type " players. You can't make a silf purse out of a sow's ear.
ba ba boo
GO ISLANDERS !!!
AAHHHHHH what a great day !
HOCKEY IS BACK !!!!!!!!!
Welcome back Greg !!!
Lets go Islanders (even with the ugly orange sleeves)!!!!!
Let the games begin is right.
Wow, I can't believe there aren't any other comments yet! Well, I'll lead off by saying I'm going into the season with a completely open mind and I'm going to focus on who we still have (and have added) and not who's gone. I'll still be following Lokomtiv Yaroslavl, though!
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR UPDATES FROM MONCTON.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT THE POSTS TO THIS BLOG WILL BE SCREENED. THE BOTTOM FEEDER RANGER FANS WERE BECOMING A PROBLEM AND WOULD HAVE ONLY GOTTEN WORSE AS THE DISAPOINING SEASON THEY WILL EXPERIENCE BEGINS AND THE ISLANDERS DOMINATION OF THEM CONTINUES THIS YEAR.
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER SEASON OF INSPIRED HOCKEY FROM THE ISLANDERS AND WILL ENJOY WATCHING THEM PROOVE THE SO CALLED EXPERTS WRONG AGAIN.
1st!!!!
I like the sound of the line combinations to open camp. I hope to see Satan click with Vasicek because he is a highly skilled big guy like Viktor Kozlov that could form some nice chemistry with Satan. We really need a big year out of Satan (35+ goals).
It will also be interesting to see how the defense plays out. Obviously Witt, Sutton, Martinek and Bergeron are the top four. I'd like to see what Berard has left because he is a skilled guy at the point.
Glad to see that hockey is back.
Finally... training camp begins.
Prdiction: Berard easily makes the team. I don't know who the odd man out is... but it will sort itself out.
Islanders gel quickly... a lot of guys with good attitudes with something to prove will find a way to step up.
DOC
Hey everyone...been a great summer, but a long one, hockey-wise. I can't wait to get the season started.
Also, I don't know if anyone else was in line for single-game tickets last week, but the crowd was pretty good. I have a feeling the attendance figures will be vastly improved this year (as they should, I never understood why people stayed away, aside from the obvious people who don't live around the Coliseum). I'm thrilled to be back living in NY and to be able to see a lot of games this year. Let's go Islanders!
Nice to finally have hockey started. I would really like to see Tamby get the second line with Vasicek and Satan. Having Berard back can only help the Islanders.
Anything yet?
When is bates supposed to be back