Photos from Training Camp

Isles Down in OT 4-3

After another heartbreaking loss, Jack told Peter Ruttgaizer "It was a game of surges. They held zone time extensively down low.  But again, three  power play goals against and you're notgoing to win."

The power play was as Scotty Allen called it "fragile."  Peter asked how to fix that.

"We have to find a way to get back to our foundation."  He reiterated  "..three power play goals against."  as if he was just not believing it.  " We have to get back to basics and focus." They used to be 8th in the league in penalty kills.

When it came to the Isles own power play unit Jack said "Special teams are huge.  I'd have to watch again, but it was just 'ok' for me.  We passed up too many shots on our power play."

The Isles don't play again until Tuesday starting a string of games that don't really matter.  "We have to regroup and get back home.  We have a  day off tomorrow and get ready for Tuesday."

Rangers take the series this year 3 - 2 and even Butch complained that special teams have to be effective and they were  spending too much time in their own zone.   The Isles have let up 13 power play goals against in 11 games. Butch said there was no agrresive forechecking that allowed Richards to just walk down the ice.  Ouch.

Isles hung in there and didn't really give up but penalties killed them again.

With the roster someone different due to illness and injury the two stats the Isles usually lead in weren't there.  It was the Rangers who blocked 14 shots to the Isles 10 and who had 24 hits to the Isles 13.  See what happens when Matt Martin isn't there?

Howie Rose was adament when he said "It's painfully obvious they have got to find secondary scoring.  Whether it's underachieving among the incumbents... you cannot continue to put all the pressure on one line."  He will be writing that as a personal note to Garth Snow as advice for the off season.   "Try to get someone to score more goals."  Ya think?  He also said it was "remarkable that the Tavares line has held up and produced as much as they have."

That's true.  Some times know if you shut down that first line, the Isles are basically rendered helpless.

PA Parenteau sat in the dressing room when Stan Fishler asked him his thoughts on the game.  "I thought we fought pretty well.  They're a good hockey team, they're fast.  It could have gone either way.  We have to be more disciplined."  He said he couldn't say anything about Travis' penalty call.

Neither could Hamonic, who was at a loss for words for a few seconds.  "It's frustrating.  I thought we played a pretty good game.  Our PK wasn't where it should be."  Stan said it was a good effort and Travis snapped back.  "Do you get two points for a good effort?"  No you don't.  Travis doesn't think it was a good call in overtime, but didn't want to say anything that would get him in trouble. 

Frans was dripping sweat and rubbing his head,  "It was very tough.  I don't know; I mean they out worked us pretty hard today.  It's not good enough.  Special teams have to be way better."

So tonight the Isles went from clinging to playoff hopes to heading back to "fundamentals."

I'm going back to cleaning the kitchen. At least once that's done, I'm not disappointed.

Isles Hangin in Winnipeg

Photos & Videos: Active Weather - The Weather Network

Less snow in Winnipeg than I would have expected, but it is cold! The weather at 6 am this morning was -6 C.

The team was excited to get to Travis Hamonic's home town. According to Matt Martin's Twitter account, Travis was taking some heat about it. Guess Hamonic's Mom should set some extra plates for a home cooked meal.

Also learned from Twitter, Matt Martin was looking forward to spending some quality, on-the-town time with his friend Justin Augert. Make that his best friend according to his account. (Also learned from Matty's Twitter account, Nino Niederreiter drives dangerously. Or at least that's what Matty thinks.)

This will be Matt Moulson's first time in Winnipeg and long time Islander fan Billy Pollack is hoping to get his autograph along with those of some others. Billy has been an Islander fan for 24 years in Winterpeg. Not an easy task.

Heck, it's not an easy task 15 miles from the Coliseum.

The main website has a nice article on Travis's road to the Coliseum and you can also send your Isles holiday decoration photos to nyisocialmedia@gmail.com.

Well, it's the Monday before Christmas and I've still got a lot to do on my Christmas list. Sadly, hockey is way down on it. Let's see what else comes over the wire today from the Frozen North.

Have a great Monday.

So Close We Can Almost Feel It

Oh yeah! According to Brian Compton of NHL.com, we are about 51 days away from opening night 2011 for the NHL. According to Islander fans, Hockey season will start on Long Island when the kids get back to camp.

This year, camp starts on September 10th. Brace yourselves fans, that's only 25 days away. We're going to blink and the "boys will be back in town."

After only three days in camp, on Tuesday, September 13th, the Coliseum doors will open to the public and we'll get our first glimpse of the new season. For only $10 admission, which will go to the Islanders Children's Foundation, the Islander Rookie squad will take on Boston and for all intents-and-purposes, OUR SEASON STARTS! Oh, but if you're a season ticket holder, you can get free tickets, but you may want to make a donation anyway. Just a thought.

This year's charity Golf outing is Wednesday September 14th, if you are so inclined and capable of not only playing golf, but making the donation. I hear it's always a good time, even in the pouring rain.

The Islanders will head to Boston on Friday, September 23rd. I'll be at the Coliseum even thought the Isles will be at TD Bank Center. I'll be seeing Roger Daltry performing Tommy. You could be seeing Mark Streit make his debut. (Hey! it could happen!)

The only preseason game at the Coliseum will be that Saturday, September 24th against the NJ Devils. I'm pretty much guessing friend of the Isles @SpeakoftheDevs will be in attendance that night

But the yearly charity event that my favorite fans, the creators of MattMas, are waiting for is the day at Adventureland in Farmingdale. This year, it's Sunday, September 25th. Let's hope for perfect early fall weather -- and no puking on the tea cup ride.

So many questions will be answered in training camp this year. So many young players looking to make an impression. I'm thinking $5 says there may even be one or two camp invitees.

Are we ready for this? I certainly am!

Side note: Happy 21st Birthday Travis Hamonic. Have a beer...legally.

No Respect for the Young Isles

Because I can't get fined by the league, I'll take up the battle cry. Are the officials out to get the NY Islanders for some reason? I've spent time seething over three different games for bad calls or lack of calls which have effected the Islanders.

I've been angry over the lack of respect shown to Travis Hamonic and Matt Martin from the first being pushed by a referee to Martin's not being able to get any assistance when he didn't want to drop the gloves last Saturday. But the misconduct call on Frans Nielsen was just the cherry on the cake last night.

Be aware NHL Officials Association, I'm watching and taking names from here on in.

Report and rant at Hockeybuzz.com.

And hopefully this little episode of Jack's with Deb Placey from MSG won't cost him anything.

Isles SO Win in Ottawa 4 - 3

It was a good game for two teams who are struggling for points and facing injury problems. There were no scraps, no misconducts, no problems. But there was the classic voice of Jiggs McDonald, Grabners 25th goal and Josh Bailey's first in 22 games.

Post game report here at hockeybuzz.com.

I'll tell you though, I was actually nervous about having Lawson in net last night on his first day off the IR. He proved me wrong.

I'd also like to say that Travis Hamonic surprises me every game. The on-ice maturity this kid shows is just awesome to watch. When Garth Snow said that the development of Travis Hamonic and Andy McDonald into the Islanders top D pairing gave him the confidence to trade veteran James Wisniewski -- he meant it.

Home game Thursday. Be there and show your support for the team and the organization who has taken a lot of heat in the press recently.

48 Hrs Later: Isles Win in OT in Buffalo

So suspensions, fines and closing remarks by both the Islanders and the Penguins out of the way, the Islanders hit the ice against the Sabres at HSBC Arena.

Jack Hillen is not in the line-up for precautionary reasons. There had been rumor (that I got for a Penguins beat writer!) that Hillen may have exhibited concussion like symptons. I guess he was right.

With Matt Martin and Trevor Gillies now serving their League mandated suspensions, Tye Wishart and Rob Schremp were placed back in the line-up along with NON-disciplined Michael Haley.

Haley not only won over the Isles fans during his first NHL game, according to Rob Carlin, he won over his coach too.

Michael Grabner continuing his point streak gets the Islanders on the board before I can even sit down to watch the game. Maybe this is more than a "streak," maybe Michael Grabner is actually THAT good.

Hecht tied the game at one at 6:46 of the first as I personally felt that Mikko was too far outside the paint. I was corrected, supposedly the technical term is "he was too deep." Either way, he got beat.

The second goal Mikko let up was just a bad rebound and bad luck. Drew Stafford buried a rebound as Mikko could not get back into position to save it. No problem thought. John Tavares, who had been slow to get up after being knocked to the ice earlier in the first, snuck in and buried the puck deep in Millers net from a shot by Travis Hamonic with a PA Parenteau screen.

Stafford scorred his second of the game at 17:39 from an Ennis shot to put the Sabres up 3 - 2, again as Mikko was too far towards one post.

The Islanders go on the power play as Kaleta is called for charging on Travic Hamonic. Charging? He took Travis into the glass with his elbow and had to jump 4" off the ice. Only a two minute penalty was given to Kaleta. Let's see if the league has anything to say about that or since it's only 20-year-old Islander Travis Hamonic, does it note really matter? Not important right?

And this is the reason the Islanders feel they have to police themselves. If they are going to get no help from the league that is supposed to protect them, they have no choice but to stand up and take action.

Hamonic let Kaleta know what he thinks of him as he exited the penalty box as the period ended. The Islanders will have 31 seconds of power play time to begin the second with a fresh sheet of ice. Hopefully, they find the back of the net and get this evened up again.

Travis was given a ten minute game misconduct for letting Kaleta and the ref know what he thought. Still playing into the idea that the Islanders get no respect from anyone in the league.

As he had done the last time out, little Nathan Gerbe scored the Sabres 4th goal of the afternoon as he blew right past Milan Jurcina. That prompted Jack Capuano to make a change in net and 26-year-old Al Montoya, celebrating his birthday today, makes his Islander debut.

Wish they had just listened to me to begin with and let him start the game.

With PA Parenteau in the box late in the second, Jordan Leopold managed to get a stick up high on Josh Bailey and then hook Frans Nielsen just as he was about to shoot on Miller 6" from the net. Rather than a penalty shot for Frans, Leopold received 4 minutes in the box. That put the teams at 4 on 4 for a little over a minute before the Islanders would go on the power play for 2:34.

Al Montoya likes to control the puck until the D come and get it. Well... that's sure different!

Islanders 0 - 4 on the Power Play this afternoon. Matt Moulson was hit with a puck and had to leave the ice for a few minutes. Back on the bnech he still was doubled over until he could tak a regular shift. However, dumped on his butt in front of the net, he was slow to get up and had to skate off ice and out to the trainer's room.

Does this mean the only Islander Iron Man may break his game streak? I hope not. But he's in pain

Blake Comeau back in the line-up after being out since the last Penguins game with a concussion makes it 4 - 3 Buffalo with only 1:05 left of the 2nd.

Michael Grabner scores his second of the game to tie it up at 4 early in the third, but Meyers beats Al Montoya who was scrambling back into position after a flurry of activity in his crease. Buffalo 5 Isles 4.

Frans Nielsen was literally punched in the mouth by Morrison against the boards. No call. No whistle. Just Frans on his knees bleeding. Gee, I thought those sorts of players weren't allowed?

oh wait... It was an Islander that was hit. Carry on. No call.

Matt Moulson returned for the third, so that's a good thing.

Because as I'm told, if you can't score 5 on 3, you shouldn't be playing. So with the Sabres down two men, Jurcina ties the game at 5 with a one timer that leaves the Islanders still on the power play.

Ty Wishart scores his first NHL goal to put the Isles up 6 - 5, and the puck is retrieved for the kid from the net. But it too is a short lived lead as Drew Stafford scores his fourth hat trick of the season and the hats rain down on the ice.

Score stands at 6 - 6 with a little more than 6 minutes left of the third. Montoya is struggling with his rebound control. Is it a problem with equipment? Nerves? New team? Then again, Mikko was very shakey his first game.

The Islanders manage to hold on, even with a Sabres power play with less than two minutes left of the third. Travis Hamonic was called for something he didn't seem to agree with and Butch didn't blame him.

Isles killed off the penalty 15 seconds into OT. However, had it not been for the face-off win by Zenon Konopka, i think the game would have been over before the end of regulation.

As Howie Rose said on air, the Cinderella story continues as Michael Grabner wins the game in OT with a hat trick.

Sign him. Just sign him now.

You Call this SNOW? This is NOTHING!

Okay, I've complained a lot about the weather this winter here on Long Island and with today's additional sloppy, wet 3" of white stuff on the ground, this is a perfect day to post this entry about Travis Hamonic growing up in "Winterpeg."


It was a loss. It’s hard to talk to them when they lose. So I walked over to young Travis Hamonic while he was undressing and decided to ask him something different. Something that someone on Twitter had suggested I ask him. I asked about: “Winterpeg.”

Travis closed his eyes momentarily and smiled. “So how do our Long Island winters compare?” I asked him.

“They don’t really for the most part. In Winnepeg they got a snowstorm like the one we got at Christmas in October.“ and he laughed. Our Long Island winters pale in comparison to what Travis is used to. “You know growing up, there are a lot of memories when I was younger where I’d wear my hockey bag as a back pack. And my hockey sticks across the handlebars of my Ski-doo. We would Ski-doo up to 45 minutes up to a game. That was enjoyable Me and my buddies would all Ski-doo to our games.”

If that wasn’t enough, he would be able to skate to the local rink. “I have a lot of memories of me putting my skates on literally skating to the rink down the road. 15 minute skate instead of walking. From my door all the way to the rink, skate there for an hour and a half and skate all the way home. The roads were THAT icy.”

So the snow that we have which basically shut down so many businesses is nothing to Travis Hamonic. “No, this is nothing. I love to see the snow. I have a truck so I’m enjoying the snow. I love it.”

We, here on LI have no idea. We get six inches of snow and everything stops. Where Travis grew up, they learn to deal with it.

“In Winnipeg everyone is very winterized. They got the big trucks and the big SUVS for the most part. I grew up in a town of about 700 people, so there is one grader to plow all the roads so … a lot of times we had the plows in front of the quads and our own trucks and we’d kind of plow it ourselves.”

Hamonic and his siblings, he’s the youngest of four, have fond memories of winters and the friends that helped pass them. But there was one winter he remembers that was worse than most. “I remember we had a really bad flood in ‘97. It was the flood of the century. And I remember the amount of snow we had that year was ridiculous. I remember the cars were covered completely, peoples’ doors were buried in.”

Yikes! That’s a lot of snow! Knowing one of our other winter problems is loss of power, I didn’t know if the Great White North was better prepared for power outages.

“Power? Yeah, that happened on a regular basis. A dog could take a pee on a telephone pole and we’d lose power.” Okay, that made me crack up.

But it wasn’t all bad.

“No, we had snow mobiles, quads, ice shacks. I smile thinking about those days of my life. A lot of fun growing up.

"Roll In The Heavy Artillery" The Blue Jackets Are in Town

That "Heavy artillery" line is from the Columbus Blue Jackets website. I'll confess, the Blue Jackets are my second favorite team. Probably more for the city and the arena than what actually happens on the ice.

Four straight wins precede the Jackets as they head into Uniondale. They are riding a high right now and Rick Nash, the face of the franchise, has a six game point streak and made media rounds yesterday. On Monday he scored his 13th goal of the season in their 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators.

You know what happened Sunday to the NY Islanders. An overtime 2-1 loss was a better showing, but not the reward for the effort they put forth. Heavy artillery is indeed recommended for tonight.

With the loss of yet another Islanders defense man, young Travis Hamonic will be making his NHL debut tonight. Not exactly the ideal situation for the hot prospect that everyone has been waiting to see. But I'm sure he will give it his all and the bonus for Travis, he is very familiar with coach Jack Capuano.

The Blue Jackets have 26 points right now and they are rolling along. They want to roll over the struggling Islanders and hand them their 14th loss. I'm hoping the Hockey Gods see fit to put a wrench in that plan.

I am assuming that Rick DiPietro will be the goalie du jour. But Jack said he doesn't like to announce his goalie choice. Sounds familiar, right?

Let's see if the streak can end HERE and a new streak can begin. One that puts points on the board and no one else on the IR.

Game 2: A Better Showing

SB Nation's Lighthouse Hockey called this group of Isles prospects "Hatchlings." I thought that was truly funny, I'll just call them "rookies." Some of these young men have never played in an NHL arena, so these two exhibition games were very exciting for them.

When I spoke with Scott Gordon on Tuesday, before the games, he didn't expect big crowds for these games, but knew they would mean a lot to his young squad.

"You're playing on NHL ice and treated like an NHL player for a couple of days." Well, almost. They did take the bus to Boston, but everything else was NHL caliber. The estimated 7,000 tickets sold turned into over 11,000 on Wednesday and a whopping 14,180 on Thursday. Basically, as many patrons as you'll see at the Coliseum.

The Isles prospects seemed a little less anxious as pointed out in this quote from goal scorer Tony Romano in the Islanders post game report on their website:

“I felt like a lot of us were in our comfort zone tonight rather than last night,” said Romano. “I know myself, last night I was just a bit hesitant. Tonight I definitely felt like I was playing with a lot more urgency, using some more hockey sense and it definitely made a difference in my game.”

When I asked Scott Gordon what they would have to do to impress him, he told me "Just go out and play their game. We know mistakes are going to be made. They're not really a team. They haven't had the opportunity to play much together so I think that every player has their own special abilities and it's important that they show those. If you fight, you fight. If you score, you score."

Travis Hamonic showed his. As Lighthouse Hockey said "Hamonic will eat your children." Whoa! Okay then. Yes, the kid has grit and spunk -- and he got tossed out of last night's game because of the fight rule. But many of the rookies showed their "special abilities."

Kevin Poulin made some excellent saves and many noted the score would probably not have been kept so close if not for his heroics. Many of the names that have tested the waters on the Bridgeport squad stood out last night as well still trying to impress both Scott Gordon and Jack Capuano. With cut day looming large, the older prospects are hoping to make a line up somewhere within the organization.

The younger prospects will be heading back to their junior clubs, but this camp and these games gave them a good taste of what is to be expected of them. When I asked Gordon if he watches those who have returned more closely than the younger prospects, he said "Realistically, the guys that are going to go back to junior, we have a better idea of what they are doing and what their progress is. The guys that have the potential to make our team; whether it's a draft pick or a player from Bridgeport, we'll be more in-tune with those guys and watching them closer."
With rookie camp about to end and Training camp starting this afternoon, I wondered what Scott Gordon hopes to accomplish in his third year as head coach of the Islanders.

"Obviously, we improved from the first year, and we want to continue to improve. The whole process that we've gone through in the last two years is going in the right direction and you want to make sure we continue to go in that direction. I think a good measure for us will be the way we finish the year in the standings. The objective is for every team to make the playoffs and certainly you hate to think you went into the season not thinking you had a chance to win the Stanley Cup and hopefully our players feel that way."

I read that as heading into the season looking to create a positive attitude in the dressing room that will carry out to the ice.

Scott Gordon has his work cut out for him. While the Islanders improved by 18 points last season, their record must continue to improve whether they earn a playoff berth or not.

As far as this being the last year of Gordon's contract, I have read much speculation on whether he will be extended or if he will play out the remainder of the contract and not be renewed. If anyone remembers what Scott Gordon told the press when he was first hired as a rookie coach, he approaches his employment knowing that any day could be his last in this business. He just works his hardest and does his best.

The saying "The Best is yet to come" somehow comes to mind here.

Travis Hamonic Signs

So Welcome to Islanders Country, Travis. We've been waiting for you.

The NY Islanders are proud to announce the signing of 2008 draftee, Travis Hamonic to a 3-year entry-level contract.

They were so happy, they did it with an actual press release:

Hamonic completed his four-year junior hockey league career with the Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday as they were defeated by the Windsor Spitfires in the Memorial Cup Championship. The 6’2, 215 pound defenseman was named a 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup All-Star, totaling 11 points (four goals and seven assists) in 15 games.

Hamonic represented Team Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Saskatoon, SK. In six games, Hamonic scored a goal and two assists.

A native of St. Malo, MB, Hamonic played the majority of his junior hockey career with the Moose Jaw Warriors. In 171 games played with the Warriors, Hamonic tallied 28 goals and 76 assists for 104 points. He was traded from the Warriors to the Wheat Kings this season and played 10 regular season games with Brandon, registering five points (1 goal and 4 assists).

The jocking for defense positions out of camp is going to be interesting!

International Competition from a Corporate View

This may not be popular, nor do I think I agree with this idea whole-heartedly, but -- After hearing of the injuries to two NY Islanders prospects at the WJHC, I understand.

Of course, it is an honor to represent your country in International competition. There is a sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with the patriotism. However, for these young athletes (or the somewhat older ones that will compete in the Olympics) there are risks that come with the honor.

Such is the case of Calvin DeHaan who has missed a few games with Team Canada after suffering a possible concussion from a hit by Swiss player Mauro Jorg. Then Travis Hamonic was hit against the boards today by yet another Swiss player, suffered a separated shoulder and is out for the rest of the tournament. Canada lost the player but won the game.

How bad will these injuries ultimately be? Will it effect their long term development? De Haan is a prospect that the NY Islanders organization has been very impressed with and looking forward to joining the team. What if this injury is the precursor to a long term problem?

What if a hit along the boards was the end of some young player's career? It would also be the end of some long term plans for an organization.

This is one of the arguments that the NHL is using to determine their participation in the next Winter Olympics. As of now, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics are the last the NHL will actively participate in.

When the Team USA roster was announced, many team owners and GMs heard they would be lending some of their star players to the world stage and shutting down business. Besides the interruption in revenue stream, the additional risk of injury to these players weighs heavily on them.

When you own a business, you want to protect your assets. While I thoroughly enjoy the international competitions, if the NHL decides not to participate any longer, I would understand.

Part of me also wonders if the NY Islanders organization is not that upset that Brian Burke (Mr. "Garth Said No") has left Kyle Okposo off the Olympic roster. Kyle will no doubt be on USA Hockey team at some point in his career. It is inevitable.

Our only NY Islander representative on Team USA will be coach Scott Gordon. With luck, we won't lose him to injury during the tournament. Other than he may go deaf having to listen to John Tortorella's screaming. Scott, pack earplugs along with those sharp ties of yours. And Tums. I have a feeling you're going to need them.