The New York Islanders
officially announced the hiring of Scott Gomez as an assistant coach. Gomez
will join Doug Weight’s evolving staff along with newcomer, Luke Richardson to
try and help the Isles find an improved approach to their game. Gomez and
Weight were teammates for Team USA at the World Cup and Olympics in 2004 and
2006. Gomez was rumored to be on the Isles radar for an assistant’s spot over
the last several weeks and has apparently wanted to make the transition from a
successful career on the ice to behind the bench for the last few years.
"You're
not playing much at the end there, but you're still helping the young guys and
giving back what was given to me by all the great vets I had," Gomez said.
"I worked for the NHL Network, NBC, did some TV and they were wonderful to
me, it was great, but at the end of the day, I still have that passion and I
wanted to get into coaching."
Isles fans are
well acquainted with the play-making skills of Scott Gomez since his break out
seasons with New Jersey after a Rookie of the Year award, All-Star appearances,
a Calder Memorial Trophy, along with assisting in a 2000 and 2003 Stanley Cup
win. The 37-year-old Gomez played 1,079 NHL games with the Devils, NYR, MTL,
SJS, FLA, STL and Ottawa during an impressive 16 year NHL career and hopes to
bring his knowledge and know-how to the Islanders bench and help players
develop and improve to reach their full potential.
"Scott
brings an immense amount of hockey knowledge to our coaching staff,"
Weight said. "His offensive instincts, expertise on the power-play and the
way he could control the game with his skating and smarts, are all key elements
that we want implemented into our group. He played in the league as recently as
the 2015-16 season so he can relate to today's NHL player in an effort to bring
out the best in each member of the team."
Per Arthur
Staple, “If/when #Isles
add Kelly Buchberger to staff, will have four coaches with over 1,000 NHL games
played. Can't imagine that's happened before.”
More insight from Gomez himself in the "The Player's Tribute" can be found here.
Kieffer Bellows
left BU to sign with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. Bellows was the Isles
1st round pick,19th overall selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and is a highly
thought-of prospect that New York hopes will help fill out an improving group
of elite young forwards. Bellows was also a member of the United States
Development team, where he helped Team USA defeat Canada for the gold in the 2017
tournament.
Elite Prospects
describes Kieffer Bellows as a “skilled power forward who can dominate games.
Possesses high end puckhandling ability as well as a crisp, accurate release on
his shot.” He is known for being a tenacious, competitive and physical presence
on the ice. Bellows is a methodical checker and strong skater who is hard to
deter from his pursuit of the puck. So basically, as a complete prospect, Bellows
has a nose for the net and the tools to score goals in bunches.
“We’re very
fortunate that Kieffer has chosen to come to the Winterhawks this season,” said
Winterhawks Vice President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Johnston in a
press conference Tuesday. “He has an impressive resume as a player, but also is
learning how to win. Kieffer has a good scoring touch, and comes from great
bloodlines with the NHL experience of his father, Brian Bellows, who won both a
Stanley Cup and a Memorial Cup.”
Kieffer Bellows
is the son of former NHL RW, Brian Bellows who played from 1980-1999 with
Minnesota, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Anaheim and Washington in 1200 games.
“I’m very
honored and privileged to be a part of this organization,” said Bellows
Tuesday. “I can’t thank my mom and dad enough for helping me get to this point
in my life. I’m very excited to help this team as much as I can.” Bellows is
obviously excited to show what he can do in the Canadian Juniors with Portland,
under the close watch of Islanders brass.
Isles Notes:
“The New York
Islanders will not play four regular season games at the renovated Nassau Coliseum next season, despite an agreement to do so by developer Bruce Ratner
in his 2013 lease with the county, according to National Hockey League Deputy
Commissioner Bill Daly,” per Newsday.
Calvin de Haan
collects a silver medal at the IIHF Worlds. Dennis Seidenberg awarded the best
Defensemen of the tournament.
Arthur Staple
on Kovalchuk possibility, “if the trade cost is minor — and I could see the
Isles insisting that Mikhail Grabovski’s cap hit go the other way — I would
think the Isles have some interest.”
Matthew Barzal
and the Western Hockey League Champion Seattle Thunderbirds were eliminated
from the Memorial Cup following a 7-0 tournament ending loss vs. Saint John.
Barzal helped the T-Birds to a memorable Western Conference Championship and their best
season in team history.
Barzal on JT, "I
learned a little bit from John Tavares when I was down there, just watching how
he leads, by example."
NHL Notes:
Available 2017 Summer
Free Agents List.
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