There has been a lot happening since the signing of Ryan
Strome, so let’s take a look at some of the recent goings on in & around
Islanders’ Country. We’ve heard about
the improved ice surface at the Barclays Center, select Isles games airing on
one of WFAN’s 50,000 watt radio stations next season and a renewed enthusiasm
between Brett Yormark, the Brooklyn brass and the new Islanders ownership group
led by Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin.
Our New York Islanders training camp is in full swing and
the team has already played 3 preseason games. They had a 3-0 win (Prince,
Ho-Sang, Dal Colle with Berube & Gibson in net) and made things happen against
the Flyers on Monday. But since, have dropped
a pair of lackluster split squad games on Tuesday to the same Flyers (4-0 L) with
a prospect laydened roster and then to the rival Rangers (5-2 L, Chimera &
Leddy) on Tuesday due to a lackluster PP (0/6) and PK (1/3). Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd made their
Isles debut and some of the young guys have made a little noise on the
ice. Mathew Barzal, Josh Ho-Sang, Michael
Dal Colle, Anthony Beauvillier & Ryan Pulock got some looks in big moments
for the Islanders so far and have done some good things. I am particularly impressed with how well
Barzal has looked and find it encouraging that Ho-Sang has taken ownership of
his mistakes in camp last year and seems to be refocused and making an
impression. Seeing Ryan Strome and Shane
Prince move the puck well and drop the gloves this early in preseason is encouraging.
Especially since they are two of the guys the team needs to step up in place of
the missing Okposo, Nielsen and Martin. I
am anxious to see what D, Scott Mayfield can do with his time in camp and
although todays signing of Dennis Seidenberg adds veteran depth to the blue
line and it will certainly make winning a job very difficult for the spirited Mayfield.
Earlier today, Darren Dreger mentioned on twitter that Seidenberg (1 and
11 for 12 pts in 61 games last season with Boston) was likely to choose the
Islanders ahead of 7 other teams that were vying for his services. A little later, the Islanders added the
veteran D man on a one-way, 1 yr, $1M contract and a little more experience and
grit to their back end. While
Seidenberg, 35, has had some difficulties staying healthy over the last few
seasons, it a could be a great deal for New York, who may benefit from the Stanley
Cup winning familiarity between he and Boychuk from their time with the
Bruins. Seidenberg is currently playing
for Team Europe with the Isles goal-tending tandem in the 2016 World Cup of
Hockey finals against John Tavares and Team Canada. He has 224 points in 758 NHL games and has a
vast amount of International Olympic, World Championship and World Cup
experience on his hockey resume.
Arthur Staple mentioned, “With Seidenberg signing, Isles have
24 one-way contracts (including Grabo). Presuming Pulock sticks, someone has to
go before season starts.”
What's up next for Snow and Company?
Isles Notes:
Mikhail Grabovski (upper body, 3/16/16) has been placed
on IR while Steve Bernier, Connor Jones and Patrick Cullity all signed
professional tryouts (PTO's) on Monday.
Islanders John Tavares is pitted against Jaroslav Halak
(and Thomas Greiss) in the World Cup Finals.
Canada has a 1-0 lead in the best of 3 game series final. Tavares has a
goal and 4 assists in 5 games for Canada so far while Halak has a looked very good,
stopping 173 out of 190 shots faced with a .947 Sv% in 7 games.
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