Islanders Illustrated, Episode IV (A New Hope?)

On the day the Islanders arrive in Moncton for training camp, we bring you the latest sampling of goings-on in Isles World...

Islanders Illustrated, Episode IV (A New Hope?)

I suppose we could play the "Who is Eric Cartman's Father?" game. Based on Episode IV of Islanders Illustrated, who is the Islanders' new hope? Is it Doug Weight? (Dramatic music.) Is it Josh Bailey? (More dramatic music.) Is it Corey Trivino? (Oh, the suspense!)

Well, truth be told, the episode didn't really make issue of that. It is, however, an easy way to segue into the topic of last night's show on MSG+. All three did in fact appear. Here are some highlights, meant to inform out-of-market readers and entice yet-to-view local ones.

Chris King had a sit-down with Doug Weight (#93 on your scoresheet, #39 in your DiPietropedoed hearts). The more I see of Weight, the more I want to see of Weight. This guy needs a big number to fit his personality. His comments about Bill Guerin's eyes and learning the ropes of the Islander-Ranger rivalry way back when were scene-stealers. What's 1940? What did Potvin do?

Next up was a look back at the prospect paintball tournament held earlier this summer. Two observations: 1) The slow-motion depiction of players diving for cover, while probably intended to comically invoke dramatic war movie scenes, struck me as a little loose in a time of actual war. 2) All of the prospects that were interviewed came across as impressively comfortable with themselves, their surroundings, and speaking on camera.

This episode's FYIslanders segment took place near the shoreline at Jones Beach (in fact, the whole episode was hosted from there by Shawna Ryan) with Steve Mears moderating discussion for Chris King and Billy Jaffe under a hot, summer sun (though with a strong, summer wind).

Mears is very good in this role; his speaking style and cadence are well suited for it. My ear is still adjusting to Steve's play-by-play, but I like the idea of a young announcer getting his start and having his voice become part of the team's history. I hope Steve turns out to be one of those guys. Of course, I'll be hearing him far less often now.

Speaking of announcers and history, it was only a little jarring when the prospects video montage that concluded Islanders Illustrated featured a clip of Joey MacDonald that was called by Jiggs McDonald. What an odd, coincidental juxtaposition of the old and the new. It did remind me that I hope we get a few more appearances by Jiggs this season.

It's also worth mentioning that Brendan Witt took the Professor baton from Kyle Okposo and gave a slightly sadistic, but informative, lesson on checking like only Brendan Witt could. He likes body checking.

The Islander Mania Moment featured Isleschick (Lisa) discussing the board's discussion of Jeff Tambellini. Ah, see, I knew I forgot one. Cue the dramatic music! Is it Jeff Tambellini?! (More dramatic music!)

Now to a few other things...

Islanders Point Blank

If Chris Botta's new Islanders Point Blank blog (site not yet active) is as promised, 24/7 coverage (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), then the Islanders community is in for a treat. Botta can do for the Islanders what Matt Cerrone has done for the Mets, but with the credibility and contacts in place from the very start.

The particulars of the arrangement—site sponsored by the team, full control to Chris, but is this a full-time paid job?—still seem a little fuzzy right now, but I'll leave the business arrangements up to them. It certainly sounds as if this blog will be Chris's main focus, though I imagine he will take on additional writing gigs. One thing's for certain—a plethora of high quality Islanders content is forthcoming. (I still maintain that ¡Three Amigos! ruined that word.)

Puck Daddy Preview

The Islanders got the Puck Daddy treatment today, with Sean Leahy of Going Five Hole doing the honors in Wyshynski's den. I like the high school yearbook format that Greg has implemented for these season previews, which are as comprehensive as any you'll find.

Sean's treatment of the Isles contains a lot of the same pessimism that you'll see in virtually every preview. He does recognize, though, that there are reasons for optimism and thinks they'll just take time to become potent. Of course, anyone who dares to do an overly optimistic preview of the Islanders risks ridicule or, worse, being completely ignored by the blogging community forever.

I'm not going to delve deeply into analyzing this preview—it is more thorough and informative than most and you can read it for yourself. However, I will say that I thought some of the report card grades were too harsh, particularly for defense, goaltending, and management.

Also, congrats to Islanders bloggers B.D. Gallof, Dee Karl, Michael Schuerlein, and Kevin Murphy for making it into the Puck Daddy preview!

Ned Harkness

Finally, I cannot conclude without mentioning the passing today of legendary college hockey coach Ned Harkness at the age of 89, on his birthday. Harkess coached RPI to the NCAA Championship in 1954 and led Cornell to titles in 1967 and 1970. I had the privilege of seeing Coach Harkness honored by 18,000 college hockey fans and the current Cornell and BU teams last fall during the Red Hot Hockey game held at Madison Square Garden.

Two-Minute Minors for 7/24/08

The Ducks have rewarded coach Randy Carlyle, who was entering the final year of his contract, with a two-year extension. So that's how that works. (See, if Ted had just won a Stanley Cup there would have been no problem!)

I stopped into the NHL Store on Sixth Avenue yesterday to see if there was any news about the arrival of third jerseys. A very friendly and enthusiastic salesperson told me that they should arrive in late August or early September with the rest of the fall line merchandise. I was not aware that the NHL had a fall line. Look out, Giorgio Armani.

Really, though, it's no shock that the league would refresh its merchandise in preparation for the new season. It was just funny to hear it put that way.

The salesperson also told me that the NHL Store staff is hoping that it gets to sell the new third jerseys at all. It seems that the league prefers to keep specialty items like third jerseys in the domain of individual team stores so that the teams benefit directly from the revenue. I was surprised to learn that the league's flagship merchandise store might not carry such highly anticipated products. However, it does make sense, especially for a team like the Islanders whose fan base is so concentrated geographically. Most Islanders fans will purchase the new third at the arena, at the team store at the Broadway Mall, or online. But if you were hoping to pick one up in Manhattan, you might be out of luck.

Speaking of Manhattan, I recently spotted a kid wearing a yellow Islanders baseball hat on W. 72nd Street. That pushes my ratio of Manhattan Islanders gear sightings per year over the 1.0 mark—4 sightings in three years! We now have three baseball hats and one ski cap.

In case you haven't adjusted your browsing habits to include the NYI Voices blog yet, Steve Mears reminds us that the Islanders are opening the season on the road once again. Someone should check the NHL bylaws for the rule that prohibits the Islanders from playing their season opener on home ice. I would have gotten around to posting this as the season drew closer, but since Steve brought it up already, let's update the numbers.

In 2008 the Islanders will open their season on the road for the 32nd time in 36 seasons. And just for emphasis, let's repeat another fact stated by Mears: the Islanders have opened the season in Los Angeles more times than they have opened it on Long Island.

Mariusz Czerkawski announced his retirement from hockey today. Hat Tip: Mirtle (1), (Lowtide, Polskie Radio), 12:17. Somehow that didn't hit me quite as hard in a "Wow, I'm old" sort of way as when Claudio Reyna announced his retirement from soccer recently. But Mariusz is only 36 and was playing to the tune of a point per game in the Swiss-A league the last two seasons.

It's hard to remember Czerkawski as anything more than the leading scorer on some horrible Islanders teams. At least he was the one guy you could look to for a little offensive excitement during those painful years. He did manage to stick around long enough to see the team turn a corner and reach the playoffs in 2001-02. Anyway, happy retirement, young man.

I'd review the second episode of Islanders Illustrated, but it's 7:57 and writing this has caused me to forget that it was on. I'll have to catch it next time around.