Islanders Sign Poulin

From Islanders Authorized

The Islanders have agreed to terms on a three-year entry level contract with goaltender Kevin Poulin. 

Poulin is coming off his fourth and final season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Victoriaville Tigers.  He posted a 35-16-0 record this season, a 2.63 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.  In 169 games, Poulin finished with a 81-65-0 record over his career.  The Montreal, QC native joined the Sound Tigers at the end of his 2008-09 junior season and served as the back-up net-minder to Nathan Lawson and Peter Mannino in the final games of the AHL season.  Poulin was drafted by the Islanders in the fifth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft (126th overall).

There is a lot of hype with Poulin. Where he ends up playing at the beginning of the season remains to be seen. It's always nice to see a low draft pick come in and add depth to the organization, so Kudos goes to the scouting staff once again. This also takes care of Ridderwall not signing with the Isles. Poulin and  Koskinen will be a nice tandem if not this year, then in the near future. More to come on future draft pick signings.

Islanders Moves, & "News"

So there have been some minor news since the playoffs began, so I'll briefly touch on a few noteworthy moves/news and add a comment or two on each.

The Islanders officially came to terms with defense prospect Calvin de Haan on a three-year entry level contract.  The Islanders picked de Haan with the 12th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

This is somewhat significant, considering he was making a case for the Islanders to keep him with the big club at the start of last season. I do believe however, with the depth on defense, that de Haan needs a perfect camp to make the team this year. A year or two of AHL grooming will be very beneficial for both parties.


Goaltending prospect Stefan Ridderwall turned down the Islanders' offer for next season, which means that the Islanders will not retain his rights as of the June 1st deadline.  Ridderwall has agreed to play with Djurgarden IF Stockholm to become the team's starting goaltender next season.

Not really surprised here. Ridderwall really wasn't on the radar until this year when he began to show significant improvement in net. If he does improve and then decides to become and NHL goaltender, he would probably be too expensive to be an Islanders backup anyways. Best of luck to him.

Final thought: Okay, so I've been  reading a lot about the Islanders possibly moving to Queens and the Wilpons (New York Mets owners) are involved. Here is a small take on my part: The Islanders still have a lease with Nassau County until 2015. So for now, I'm taking this news as a strategy to get Kate Murray and Co. to get there act together and get ANYTHING done. I just read that Bud Selig, MLB commissioner, has no problem with the Wilpons getting involved with the Islanders. For now, it's just news worth reading, but it's just preliminary. Five years is a long time, however, if Charles Wang can get a great deal that could allow him to recoup close to 200+ million dollars in loses, then he should seriously consider talking with the Wilpons.

Gillies Signs Extension

Per Katie Strang via Twitter:

Isles sign enforcer Trevor Gillies to a one-year contract extension .

Toughness is needed on this Islanders team, and this is the first good step in the right direction. Still more toughness is needed, however signing Gillies now was a good move for the Isles.

Rakhshani & Kessel Named All-Americans

From Islanders Authorized: Islander prospects Rhett Rakhshani and Blake Kessel have been named All-Americans for the 2009-10 college hockey season. 

Rakhshani, who will play in Game 1 of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers opening round series of the Calder Cup Playoffs Wednesday against the Hershey Bears, was named a West First Team All-American.  The Huntington Beach, California native finished his fourth and final year at Denver University with 21 goals and 29 assists for 50 points.  Kessel completed his sophomore year with the New Hampshire Wildcats, scoring 38 points (10 goals and 28 assists).  The Verona, Wisconsin native was named an East Second Team All-American.


Good news for Islanders fans and the organization. More news to come as the day moves along, but you can now add Kessel to the plethora of defensive prospects who are prospering in there respective clubs.

Islanders Year In Review

Now that the draft lottery has concluded, it is time to take a quick look back at the 2009-2010 New York Islanders. If there is one word to now describe the young Islanders it is promise. There were quite a few breakout years for a some players, and a big reality check for a few of the veterans. But before I move along, if you do not recall what I was hoping from this team in August, please read here first before continuing.

Now that you have a general idea, you should know that I was quite satisfied with the end performance of the Islanders over an 82 game span. We saw players like Matt Moulson, and Rob Schremp come from the AHL purgatory to blossom into quality NHL players, improving the club. We saw the development of Blake Comeau, Josh Bailey and Frans Neilsen this year with the hopes that they can be more consistent next year. Fans got to witness a real star in the making in John Tavares. The Islanders also got major contributions from their farm system of defenseman. One of which, Andrew MacDonald, got a nice contract extension. The Islanders received great goaltending from Dwayne Roloson, and a solid end of the year work from Marty Biron, allowing Rick Dipietro time to heal his injured knee and getting himself ready for the next season. Fans needed to see some kind of overall improvement from the organization and they got it.

As for the veterans, some were already filtered out as the season progressed, but players like Martinek, Weight, Witt, and Sim may have a difficult time getting their jobs back with the Islanders. It is a simple addition by subtraction with these players removed. Richard Park may get another deal, but if he doesn't he was probably the most dedicated veteran on the squad (Weight is a close second). 

With the fifth overall pick now belonging to the Islanders, much needed younger talent can be acquired and Snow and Co. could possibly get more than one first round pick (think 2008: Josh Bailey). The Islanders currently hold two third round picks, and two second round picks so expect the Islanders to be busy on draft day to be sure.

But what should fans do now? If they are truly looking at this year as a rebuild/development team this year, then they need to pay attention to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. There could be a number of players who want to prove to Scott Gordon, Garth Snow, and Charles Wang that they finally belong in the NHL. The Islanders future does depend on the Sound Tigers and if there was ever a time to see how progress has been made, now is the time to watch.

Final Thoughts: Watch playoff hockey for possible free agents, watch the Sound Tigers for the Islanders future call-ups. As we move along up until the draft, there will be more stories coming out and as fans enjoy their summer, they will be able to see a clearer picture of the Islanders future once the draft is complete and the free agents have been signed. Believe me when I tell you though, the future does look promising.

Islanders get the 5th overall pick at this years lottery. More to come tonight as I write about the season on a whole for the Isles.

Coming up tomorrow, my end of the year review along with news and notes about current Islanders and the draft lottery.

With Columbus gaining a point, if the Islanders lose out, the worst they can finish is 5th overall, which means lottery. More to come this weekend. Stay tuned.

Per Katie Strang: Josh Bailey is out 4-6 weeks with facial fractures, an injury suffered as he was crushed into the boards by Alexei Ponikarovski.

Moulson, Okposo and Bailey score Islander goals in 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders final home game is Sunday at 5 p.m. vs. Pittsburgh.

Blake Comeau is out for the rest of the season with a broken foot. Good season for Blake & fans should expect the same production from him next year.

What To Make Of The Islanders Playing Spoilers

With the Islanders playing on a mission to make other teams miserable, they may have scored enough points to eliminate themselves from the top three picks in this years draft. Taking into account that the Florida teams are "not playing well," and Toronto has all but secured second place in the draft for Boston, it would probably take three straight loses by the Islanders to finish in the top 4-5 for a lottery. Many fans are hoping that the Islanders lose the rest of the way to secure a top pick. That wish may not be granted.

I myself, due to the sudden rash of injuries the Islanders were sustaining and trade(s), after the Olympic break, believed that a top 3 pick was inevitable, but that all changed when players like Blake Comeau, Sean Bergenheim, and Martin Biron get hot and the young Islanders core refuse to quit on the season. But should fans be happy or sad about the recent winning ways and possibly losing that perennial top pick? This is where faith in there general manager comes into play.

Since sticking to his game plan, Garth Snow has improved the organization with some quality picks, and some great "where did he come from" free agent signings.  Let's face it, losing defenseman left and right this season, only to bring up players from Bridgeport and still continue to win is a huge plus and credit should go to everyone involved in the development of these player. Snow realizes what is needed, but we as fans need to be patient and see what the next three games brings to the Islanders. I think most fans will enjoy a top 4 pick, but If fans do have trust in Snow, then they should really cheer for there team to spoil Pittsburgh and New Jersey's chances of clinching the division.  The Islanders do need another top pick for this organization, no question. However, for the immediate future of this team, Snow must look towards the free agent market to improve on this club.

For now, enjoy the last three games and when the dust has settled and the season is over, then fans can begin the process of taking Snow's job away from him and proclaiming themselves as the greatest GM to ever live when the lottery begins on Tuesday, that is of course if the Islanders are in the lottery,

 

I have been reading than assistant GM Ryan Jankowski is at the Windsor-Plymouth series in the OHL to scout Hall, Seguin, and Fowler.

I have been reading than assistant GM Ryan Jankowski is at the Windsor-Plymouth series in the OHL to scout Hall, Seguin, and Fowler.

Islanders News & Notes

Here is a quick look at what has recently happened with your favorite teams along with my thoughts to each.

The Islanders finally beat the Flyers 6-4 last night. With the win, the Islanders improved to 74 points and also snapped a 15 game losing streak against Philly.

My Thoughts: This was a big moral win for the Islanders, not only did they take care of the monkey on their backs, they literally halted any progress the Flyers could make in gaining points for their playoff push. Blake Comeau scored 2 more goals bringing up his total to 16. Fans should hope for more from him next year as his confidence improves. Kudos to Andrew MacDonald for coming back early from injury and playing he amount of time that he has.

Bridgeport just got better when the Islanders signed 2006 fourth round pick Rhett Rakhshani to a two-year entry level deal on Wednesday.

The Islanders tried to sign Rakhshani last year but opted to play for the University of Denver. With this addition, the Sound Tigers should make a bigger push for the playoffs. If/when they do, they'll be adding Josh Bailey, Dylan Reese, and Andrew MacDonald to the playoff roster. I'll touch more on this later, but if you're really into the rebuild, you need to pay attention to Bridgeport.

The Islanders are still on pace for a top 3 pick in this years draft with almost all non-playoff teams winnnig last night.

The remaining 5 games for the Islanders will be against playoff teams, two against Pittsburgh, one against Ottawa, Montreal and New Jersey.  To be honest, if the Islanders get two more points, I would consider that a good way to end the season with 76 points. Most of these teams will not play the way  Philly did and they know what will happen if they do. All of those teams should bring their "A" game against the Isles especially when the playoffs are so close.


Rick DiPietro will miss the rest of the season to reduce the swelling in his knee.

Personally, he is my favorite player....for now, but I was against him playing as many games as he did, but he has time to heal and he should start as Rolosons backup for next season. But more on that when the season is over.

 

Myth Vs Fact for Islanders Fans

For the last few weeks I have not had the opportunity to blog, but I have been able to read many others and quite frankly a lot of material that is out there is just plain fiction, or for the purpose of this blog a myth. Here are four myths that have occurred in the month of March followed by the facts I will provide.

Myth #1: As of March 22nd, the Isles were still in the playoff race.

FACT: The Islanders have been out of the playoff race since my last blog on march 11th when Rob Schremp was out for the rest of the year. You could even go back before that when the Islanders lost MacDonald for most of the season and Captain Doug Weight chose to have season ending surgery on his shoulder. Folks when your Captain leaves, it's over.

Myth #2: The Islanders will tank the rest of the season.

FACT: Have you seen the injury list lately? Bruno Gervais is the latest casualty. Bridgeport is bone dry on defenseman and will have trouble making the playoffs themselves because of all the injuries. The Islanders will not have to tank, they'll play hard until the end, but with the injuries piling up, don't be surprised if the Islanders fall to last in the East. Remember my preseason prediction: If the Islanders aren't injured they won't be in last place. Well....let the lottery begin.

Myth #3: Islanders will not land Hall, Seguin, of Fowler.
 
FACT: The Islanders have been in the lottery running for the last 6 weeks (call it 8 if you want to count the Olympic break). Most would say that the Islanders were still in the playoff hunt by then. This is true, but so was everyone else, so at that time everyone was in it for the three future stars. Due to the injuries of this team, the Islanders may land any three players. In all honesty, it will depend on where they land when the lottery is over. If things go from bad to worse, look for the Islanders to pick no worse than third. Make no mistake, one of them will be an Islander.


Myth #4: Islanders will not compete for a playoff spot next year.


FACT: Garth Snow expects his team to make the playoffs next year and many fans/bloggers/media will not drink the "Kool-Aid" that Snow is giving out. Make no mistake fans, the Islanders will be MUCH better than this years squad simply with the method of addition by subtraction, a solid draft pick and around 31 million dollars to spend on the free agent market. Last year the Islanders made it to Nov/Dec before fans started talking about the draft. This year it's March to start talking about the big three. By this time next year fans will be talking playoffs back at the Coliseum.


My final thoughts:  For the remainder of this year I will see how many points the Islanders can pile up. I had set a goal of 80 points at the beginning of the year. They may not get there due to certain bad luck, but the closer they get, the more excited Islanders fans should be for next year knowing what they know now after reading this blog.



 

Schremp, Islanders Season Is Over

From Islanders Authorized:

The Islanders have just announced that center Rob Schremp will miss the remainder of the season after injuring his right knee in the first period of the team's game last night against the Philadelphia Flyers.  Schremp has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus and will need surgery. 

Paul Thoughts: Losing Schremp, MacDonald, and Sutton will not help the Islanders make the playoffs this year. I'm sorry, but the team currently does not have the the talent, nor size to gain the needed points to even make a case for the playoffs. I still believe the Islanders can finish the season with more than 70 points and that the ultimate goal should be 80 points. However, with the recent improvements of Carolina and Toronto, along with a very difficult looking schedule,  look for those teams to possibly move further ahead of the Islanders. For most fans, the Islanders will be picking between the 2nd-5th overall pick. For now what most fans should be watching is how the younger players finish this season. They must finish strong in order for them to be able to look towards their future.

Biron Expected Trade

From Dan Martin of the NY Post:

"There was a lot of stress leading up [to the deadline] and so much buildup," Biron said after practice yesterday at the Coliseum, where the Islanders will play host to seventh-place Boston today (2:00, MSG Plus, WHLI 1100 AM). "But nothing happened. I talked to [Snow] and Coach [Scott] Gordon and some guys and it's done and that's the way it is. We're all adults. You have conversations and express your displeasure . . . and now it's over. We're all professionals. Was it hard? It was hard. You move forward. You can't live in the past."- Martin Biron

To be honest, Biron should have been traded at the deadline, regardless of whether or not the Islanders are in the playoff hunt or not (they're not by the way....more later). Dwayne Roloson is more than capable of finishing the season by him self and the backup will only get 2-3 starts for the remainder of the season. Plus if DP does come back before the season ends, be sure or it, he will get the starts over Biron. Biron has been nothing but professional and I truly hope he finds a better situation next year on another team.

Three Goalie Problem On Long Island?

So Newsday comes out with a report that a few Islanders players were not happy they still have three goaltenders on that team. To quote:

Look at where we were at, we had a playoff spot. Then we went on a losing streak and now we're on the outside looking in.

Can someone please tell me how that quote has anything to do with having three goalies? So because there is an extra player on the bench or in the seats elsewhere, that's the reason for a losing streak? Cry me a river! Can someone in the organization please change that players diaper, give him a fresh bottle and put him back in the play pen.

Now this next quote has a little more merit:

You just can't have three goaltenders. It's not great for anyone.

That's usually true, most teams don't. However, to my knowledge, It was Roloson and DiPietro playing a span of fourteen games without Biron rotating.  So there were still only two goaltenders actually playing. Biron knew it was going to happen, but he was still getting paid and knew (at that time) he would probably be traded later. So let's really take a look at that fourteen game span shall we:

The first 7 games the Islanders went 5-2.  The following 7 games was the season killing losing streak. So what happened?  Both goalies started 7 games, DP giving up a total of 17 goals, Roloson gave up 22.  The offense scored a total of 24 goals the first 7 games, while giving up 17 goals as a team. However while on the seven game losing streak, the Islanders only scored NINE goals, while giving up 27!!!!

This is a TEAM problem. DP more than held his own and both goalies were stuck with a team that had a bad scoring slump and porous defense.  To think that there were players who thought that having three goalies on the same team in the same arena was a factor for a losing streak and ending any kind of playoff chances is absolutely gutless and clueless. When you have kids who are not even old enough to legally drink and over the hill players who cannot contribute offensively and defensively, it is a team problem and any of the goaltenders can only save a team so much so often.


Here is my problem with the three goalies. If you notice, DiPietro and Roloson both played the same amount of games. If Roloson has been called the MVP of the team this year, you do NOT play a goalie who has not played in over a year the same amount of games in that span as your team MVP. That is a management (Owner, GM, and Coach)  error. Period. Had Dipietro played maybe 3-4 games out of the 14, the Islanders would still lose as many games because the scoring is just not there, and the defense can't clear the crease or the puck.

Final thought on DP: For those who want management to buy out DP's contract. Don't bother. First and foremost, the seven games DP started, he only gave up 17 goals, do the math and it's a little over 2 goals a game. It was management (Owner, GM, and Coach) who allowed Dipietro to play those many games over their "MVP." He shouldn't have, but Dipietro did prove he can still play short term. What management should have done was treat him as a backup and then who knows, maybe a trade could have happened and the team could have moved on. I'll leave that to the conspiracy theorists.   For now fans and the team still only have two goalies, but if management wants to showcase DiPietro, there is no way of a buyout.

As for the whiners who complained to Newsday: SHUT UP AND PLAY YOUR OWN GAME. BE GRATEFUL YOU'RE STILL PLAYING BECAUSE WHEN THE TEAM DOES IMPROVE, YOU WON'T BE THERE!

Prospect Watch: Blake Kessel

 

Height: 6' 1" Weight: 210 Shoots: Right Born: Apr 13, 1989  (Age 20) Birthplace: Madison, WI, United States

Drafted: NYI / 2007 NHL Entry Draft

Round: 6th (166th overall) 

UPDATE 2.13.10  

This has been a breakout season for Kessel. After a steady, but unspectacular freshman campaign last year, Kessel is starting to show the offensive flair that made him the highest scoring defenseman in the USHL two seasons ago. The 6’2, 205 lb blueliner has already doubled his offensive production from last year, and has emerged as an integral part of a young New Hampshire team. He currently has six goals and 22 assists through 24 games, making him the second highest scoring defenseman in the nation. Kessel's strong performance up to this point has helped the Wildcats take first place in their conference, and recently earned him the honor of being named a semi-finalist for the Walter Brown Award, given to the best American-born college hockey player from New England.

Paul's thoughts: Blake Kessel is a a late-bloomer, but turned into a solid Division I prospect while playing in the United States Hockey League. Blake has good size, while holding his own from the physical standpoint. He's also emerging as a very good puck-moving defenseman. I believe Kessel may need some seasoning in Bridgeport, but should be up in the NHL within the next two-three years.


Stats for 2010

2008-09	U. of New Hampshire	NCAA	37	6	7	13
2009-10	U. of New Hampshire	NCAA	31	7	25	32