The Islanders in Prime Time

Due to recent events, there has been even more discussion than usual about the marketing of the Islanders and the team's presence in the media. While there is still much work to be done in those areas, I'm happy to report a spike in Islander presence in an unusual place (if you can call two instances a spike). Twice in the last couple of months, characters on network comedies airing in prime time sported Islanders sweaters. Here is your visual evidence:



















Parker Posey dons a Brenday Witt jersey in the Fox comedy The Return of Jezebel James

















Dean Winters as Dennis Duffy in NBC's 30 Rock


While I don't know who is responsible for these occurrences, I tend to doubt that the organization itself was behind such product placement. More likely, it was a well-placed fan on the writing staff who deftly incorporated the blue and orange into the script.

There are some unfortunate aspects of these Islanders merch appearances. Fox cancelled The Return of Jezebel James after only three episodes. However, as of today, you can still view the episodes on Fox.com. The image above is from Episode 2. The scene begins at the 12:40 mark and Parker Posey wears the jersey for the entirety of the scene, which lasts about 4:45.

As for 30 Rock, the Islanders fan character, Dennis Duffy, is variously despicable, low brow, and a knucklehead. I'm sure that on closer examination he has redeeming qualities, too, but overall it's difficult to be proud of him as being representative of Islanders fans. But it is a funny show and the exposure itself is fun as well. You can view this episode here on NBC.com. Select Episode 215 ("Cooter") and find the scene that begins at the 10:43 mark.

By the way, Dennis was revealed to be an Islanders fan in an earlier episode, as discussed on the HF Boards. The dialogue in that episode associates the Islanders with frequent losing. And Dennis is portrayed as a loser.

Hmph. On second thought, maybe the hockeyphile writer on the 30 Rock staff isn't an Islanders fan.

The Beat Goes On?

It has been a spring of uncertainty for the members of the NYI Blog Box.

As the regular season drew to a close with hopes of an extension into the playoffs long since evaporated, we wondered collectively what our fate would be as credentialed bloggers.

Had we served out a one-year term in this new media experiment? Would we all be asked back next season for another go round? Were there some criteria by which some of us would return and others would be blogectomied?

These questions were answered, rather emphatically I'm told, during a pre-game meeting on April 1 (fingers crossed?). At this gathering, the Islanders' media relations staff informed those bloggers present that the Blog Box is ongoing and, as charter members, we may continue to take part in it.

Sold.

And so we moved on with nary a thought to the health of the Blog Box.

That it is until today when Greg Logan of Newsday reported that Chris Botta, the club's VP of Media Relations, had resigned.

I believe Mr. Botta has credited Corey Witt with the genesis of the Blog Box. But make no mistake--without Mr. Botta's support and championing of the endeavor, there would not be a Blog Box.

To most, the resignation was startling. It was unexpected and puzzling. Here was a man who had served his hometown team for 20 years and survived the tumult that has engulfed one of the most unstable franchises in sports. He called working for the Islanders his dream job.

Mr. Botta had served in his current role for the past nine years. He had far more to do than serve as a liaison between the team and the press. He had to make sure the press was even there.

When members of the media treated the Islanders unfairly, Mr. Botta was the first to speak up and he did so with vigor. And tact.

It is very easy to speculate about why a man would leave his dream job after 20 years at a time when the job may have been as exciting as it has ever been. I could give you a list of possible reasons that range from the mundane to the maddening.

If you are interested in such buzz, you know where to look and you have probably found it already. The more maddening buzz is fairly loud and probably with good reason. For his part, Mr. Botta only told Logan that he chose to leave for personal reasons and it was time to end an incredible ride.

I think, for now, the best thing for me to do is to thank Mr. Botta for serving the Islanders community so admirably. I wish him the best of luck in pursuing his next professional challenge. And I hope that he has left under circumstances that permit him to continue supporting the Islanders.

As for the Blog Box? The latest word is that we have nothing to worry about. This new form of beat will go on.

And if something should change between now and October, you can be sure that we'll still be here, credentialed or not.

Looking Back: David Volek

Ask Islanders fans what their favorite moment as a fan of the team is and you will get a wide variety of responses. The history of the team is rich enough that there are wealth of legitimate candidates from which to choose as one's top moment. In my experience, the determining factor in this choice is age.

First, you have the old timers who have followed the team since its inception. They are the ones with the toughest job simply because they have seen so much. If these fans are fixated on the early days, as is their right, they might go for the symbolic choice of Ed Westfall's first goal in franchise history against the Atlanta Flames on October 7, 1972.

Perhaps others would prefer to mark the moment that the team arrived as a legitimate contender in the league: J.P. Parise's goal at :11 of overtime on April 11, 1975 that eliminated the Rangers and gave the Islander their first playoff series win.

I imagine, however, that most would select Bobby Ny's goal at 7:11 of overtime in Game 7 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals. Nystrom's goal, in addition to setting the course for the defining era in the history of franchise, is the first of these moments that I consider to be cross-generational. Fans like myself who were too young to witness the early years are fortunate to count the greatest era of the Islanders as our introduction to the team.

Getting just a little younger, you might see a fan point to the Easter Epic and Pat LaFontaine's goal at 8:47 of the fourth overtime to defeat the Washington Capitals in the 1987 Patrick Division Semifinals.

And the newest generation of Islander fans? They seem to gravitate toward Shawn Bates's penalty shot goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Well, that was a brief, but fun, trip down memory lane. Ah, but something is missing you say? Yes, we have left out an era. Let's fill in that gap.

For a certain generation of Islanders fans, the greatest moment they witnessed in the history of the franchise was produced by David Volek.

On May 14, 1993, the Islanders faced the heavily favored, two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Patrick Division Final. The Isles coughed up a late 3-1 lead and the game headed to overtime. At 5:16 of the extra session, Volek took a feed from Ray Ferraro on an odd-man rush and one-timed a slap shot past Tom Barrasso to put the Isles in the Conference Final.

For all intents and purposes, Volek's NHL career has been reduced to that one great moment. One almost never hears him spoken of in any other context. I didn't even recall that Ferraro set up Volek on the Isles' second goal that night, too. So let's at least take the time to look back at a little bit more of the story.

Volek was a 10th round draft choice of the Islanders, 208th overall, in 1984. He couldn't have been anything more than a speculative pick at the time, as were nearly all Eastern Bloc draft choices. The Islanders had no way of knowing if Volek would ever step foot in North America.

In the summer of 1988, Volek received permission to visit his parents in West Germany. On July 25, with the help of agent Rich Winter, the Czech star and his fiancee defected to Canada. By the end of the summer, he was an Islander.

For the next four seasons, Volek was a productive forward. He made the All-Rookie Team in 1988-89 on the strength of 25 goals and 34 assists. He followed up that 59-point rookie campaign with seasons of 39, 56, and 60 points while spending time on both wings.

By the magical 1992-93 season, the Islanders had grown quite deep at forward, featuring Pierre Turgeon, Steve Thomas, Derek King, Benoit Hogue, and Ferraro. Volek found himself with fewer quality minutes and was also significantly limited by injuries for the first time. At one point, he requested a trade. It didn't come and his production diminished to 13-8-21 in 56 games.

Volek did not even play in the playoffs that year until Game 3 of the Pittsburgh series due to a sore back. Yet, there he was soaring down the wing alongside Ferraro with a chance to etch his name on a little piece of hockey history. Call it "The Shot Heard 'Round the Northeast." And a generation of Islanders fans had their all-time greatest moment.

One year later, Volek's NHL career was over. He had not yet reached his 28th birthday. A herniated disk ended his 1993-94 season early with only 5 goals and 9 assists to show for 32 games. He attempted or rehab the injury but retired in September 1994.

Volek did make a brief return to his Czech club, Sparta Praha, during the 1995-96 following surgery. He was able to play only five games. Over the next ten years, Volek spent time as a European scout for the Sabres. He became an assistant coach with Sparta Praha before the 2005 season, but he's not currently listed as such on their official site.

As we learned this past season, the Islanders will be hosting an annual alumni weekend to honor different teams over the course of the franchise's history. I have to believe that the 1993 Conference Finalists will be fairly high on the list of groups to invite. Perhaps, then, we will see David Volek on the Coliseum ice one more time.

The drama of his greatest moment, the brevity of his promising career, and the speed of his demise only serve to make him a more intriguing figure.



Thanks once again to hockeydb.com, islesinfo.com, and HockeyDraftCentral.com for serving as sources for this article.

Looking Back: Mikko Makela

I was going to title this post "Remembering: Mikko Makela," but then I thought people might think he had died. Mikko is very much alive and well. Anyway, with little news of note from the Islanders (Tomas Marcinko notwithstanding), I thought it might be time to take a look back at Islanders of the past to see where their careers took them and, if possible, where they are today. If the off-season drags on for as long as it feels like it's going to right now, perhaps this will be a regular feature.

So, why Mikko Makela? For me, he played a very important, though unfulfilled role in my life as an Islanders fan. He was a bridge from the Cup teams to the modern era. However, there was more to it than that.

As it became more and more obvious that Mike Bossy's angry back would prevent him from putting the proper exclamation points on his Hall-of-Fame career, I had an opening to fill—albeit with sorrow and reluctance. You see, Mikko Makela was also the heir-apparent to the role of my favorite Islander. Hoo boy.

Those were big skates to fill. Bossy wasn't just my favorite Islander, he was my favorite athlete. The fact that he actually was a legend in everybody else's eyes, too, certainly wasn't going to make it easy on the next guy.

But there was something about Mikko. He and Bossy were similar in stature, though give the edge in size to the young Finn. More importantly, Makela had a sniper's touch. He was a goal scorer with a quick and accurate shot. Who better to follow in the strides of the greatest sniper of them all? It also didn't hurt that his name was fun to say.

In my eyes, the defining moment for Makela as an Islander came in the 1987 Patrick Division Final against the Philadelphia Flyers. With the Isles having lost the first game at the Spectrum, Game 2 was winding down with the teams tied 2-2. The Isles received a golden opportunity when the Flyers were called for too many men in the final minute.

In what felt like the stuff of legends at the time, Makela snuck a well-placed shot by Ron Hextall with three seconds left in regulation to send the Isles back home with a split. (For a trip back in time—21 years ago tomorrow—read a recap here.) The momentum was shortlived as the Flyers took Game 3 by the score of 4-1 and went on to win the series in seven games.

Overall, Makela shone brightly and briefly for the Islanders. He played on Long Island for four seasons before being traded to the L.A. Kings for Ken Baumgartner and Hubie McDonough part way into his fifth season in November 1989.

That 1986-87 season was a major step forward for Makela, as he tallied 24 goals and 33 assists for 57 points. He followed that season up with a true breakout year in 1987-88 when he put up impressive totals of 36-40-76. Makela led the Islanders in shooting percentage on more than occasion and even found himself among the league leaders in that category.

It all went south quickly. Makela never again scored more than 45 points in an NHL season. He was out of the league by the start of the 1991-92 season except for an 11-game cameo with the Boston Bruins after the lockout in 1994-95. Surrounding that stint, he did achieve some success playing in Finland, Sweden, and Germany. He retired as a player in 1999.

In the years since his playing days ended, Makela has stayed in the hockey scene, perhaps in ways you wouldn't have imagined. He served as an assistant coach for Lethbridge of the WHL (where he met his wife while competing in the 1987 Canada Cup) for the first few months of the 2002-03 season before taking over as head coach in December 2002. He remained in that position until January 2004. Makela also spent time as a junior coach and GM in Finland.

In 2007, Makela established Mikko Makela's Hockey Program, a hockey skills and strength and conditioning development program also based in Lethbridge. He serves as owner/director/instructor for the program, which has four other staff members.

My hopes that Mikko would become the Islanders' next perennial 50-goal scorer never were realized. Despite that disappointment, I do have fond memories of rooting for him and was pleased to find him still involved in the game.

hockeydb.com, islesinfo.com, and HockeyDraftCentral.com served as additional sources for this article.

Instituting the Golden Rule for Web 2.0 and Beyond

I'm primarily an Islanders writer. Since joining Bleacher Report, I've been excited about the idea of tackling other areas, particularly the Mets, MLB at large, fantasy sports, and perhaps a few others. I've been wading into those waters slowly (they're still a bit nippy this time of year). In the meantime, the hockey season, by strict definition, is over.

That's not to say that the Stanley Cup Playoffs won't provide appropriate material for posts to Islanders Outsider. We'll see what unfolds. Otherwise, the offseason is spent wondering where the next story will come from. Today, it comes from my Blog Box colleague, Dee Karl, of The 7th Woman.

Over the weekend, she posted an article on Bleacher Report about Sean Avery's latest foray into the absurd. She was fully aware when she posted it that the article could cause a firestorm. The number of article views and comments clearly indicates that the storm's arrival was swift and surly.

I have an opinion on what Avery did (unsportsmanlike, clownish), as well as an opinion on Dee's contribution to the story (a valid statement of one person's reaction). This story isn't about those things. It's about the comments that readers attached to Dee's article, and how they finally tipped me over the edge to write about the disintegration of decency online.

My greatest, and perhaps only, discouragement to applying for a position in the Blog Box was years of reading Internet message boards and blog comments. I deplore the base level of cynicism, hate, and childishness that flows so frequently online to such a degree that I hesitated to participate in anything even remotely related to it. I'm glad I overcame that hesitation. But the ugliness is still there. And it really makes me wonder...

How can there be so many people out there who are so comfortable with disparagement and denigration as tools of debate?

Do they hope to gain in the argument from the use of vulgarity and name calling?

And, if not, what do they gain? Is it a feeling of triumph, pleasure, or joy at having verbally thrashed someone with little chance of reprisal?

How did we arrive at a place where a significant portion of our population engages in this shade of communication?

This is not a call for censorship, by the way. I'm not offended outright by language. It's the sentiment behind it. The question here isn't, "What gives people the right?" It's, "What gives them the motivation?"

Was this negative energy sitting latent all those years before widespread Internet access was available? Or were people regularly so unkind to each other and I just didn't notice?

We are in the midst of an attack-oriented era of entertainment. You can see its underpinnings in the comments on Dee's article. Some of the commenters are so focused on the attack that they have not even noticed that the author is a woman, despite a prominent byline and picture. Others point to her bias as a justification for telling her to give up writing or that she's not really a hockey fan. This was quite obviously an editorial piece. Having a bias is not grounds for being discredited.

Here's an anticipated reaction to what I'm saying: "If you don't like the comments, don't read them and you won't have anything to complain about."

Here's my pre-emptive response: "If you don't like the article, don't insult the writer and your criticisms will carry more weight."

The truth is that the offending responses in this case weren't all that bad on the spectrum of nastiness. But this easy willingness to launch personal attacks happens all over. Just a few days ago, Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog, one of the most popular and successful sports blogs out there, was forced to hold comments in limbo because the integrity of the site was being damaged by offensive remarks. Here's some of what Matt had to say about it:

…thanks to recent activity in Comment’s Section of MetsBlog.com, i fear my blog will soon be known as the place for angry, violent, fringe fans who are only interested in spewing hate and venom…

…so far, a small, but very loud group of fans have essentially hijacked this site’s comment’s section with mean, disrespectful and angry banter…

Can't we do better than that? It doesn't have to be about raising the level of discourse (but it can be). It is about opening the issue of why anger, hate, and disrespect are acceptable forms of entertainment and social interaction.

Some of you will agree that this is important, and some will argue that you have the right to say whatever you want and take satisfaction in it. If it's true that some people really get enjoyment out of such an approach, then there's not much I can say except that I don't get it any more than I get Sean Avery.

Perhaps that's as far as it goes. I still think a little good nature goes a long way.

Garth Snow's Vote of Confidence for Ted Nolan

When I saw the headline of Greg Logan's article in today's Newsday, I thought, "Ah, there it is: a vote of confidence for the coach." Surely, I was about to read quotes from GM Garth Snow that would settle the rumblings about Ted Nolan's suddenly murky future with the Islanders. Truth be told, said murkiness was speculation and analysis fueled by Nolan's worry over entering the final year of his contract without an extension having been discussed.

I never took seriously the notion that Nolan might not return for the 2008-09 campaign. That would require a catastrophic disagreement over Nolan's ability to coach effectively on the final year of his deal, or a personality conflict involving that dangerous word, respect.

Either way, it just seems unlikely. Both men were granted an opportunity that likely wasn't going to come from another team anytime soon. They will give this opportunity their best shot.

So, considering that Nolan is as good an option as anyone to helm the bench, and that he deserves to continue as coach, a vote of confidence at this juncture was a wise next step in the transition to next season.

The only issue is, after reading the article, I can't quite classify the remarks made by Snow as a vote of confidence. Instead, let's call them a note of confidence.

Snow characterized his relationship with Nolan as "good, great." In response to a question on the circumstances under which Nolan wouldn't be coaching the Islanders next year, Snow said, "I don't see any reason. He's our coach."

It wasn't exactly, "Ted Nolan is a terrific coach and remains a critical component for the future success of our organization." It was, however, a solid enough statement that things behind the scenes have not gone terribly awry.

Snow goes on to describe his vision of developing a winning team, which centers around an injection of youth. This could be a potential source of friction between the coach and GM (with Jeff Tambellini as the poster boy), but Snow believes that any disagreements they have are part of a healthy working relationship.

I would certainly like to see this duo succeed together. And, yes, no small part of that is the chance to see one guy who was ridiculed and another who was blackballed come out on top. They also happen to be easy to root for. I'm also a believer that Nolan's talent as a coach should be equally effective with youthful players as it is with veterans.

Speaking of easy to root for, Logan's blog had a surprising revelation about Wade Dubielewicz. Logan used his blog to publish a slew of information that didn't fit in the original Snow article. Snow revealed that a contributing factor to Nolan's heavy use of Rick DiPietro early in the season was that Dubielewicz didn't report to camp in great shape.

Dubie has never seemed like type of guy to slack off over the summer because he finally scored his first one-way deal. Whatever caused him to lack fitness, his subsequent high quality of play in the second half may not be enough to overcome the perception that he let the team down early on. In that light, the signing of Joey MacDonald takes on new meaning.

For what it's worth, Snow said that the future of Dubie as an Islander could still go either way. I've seen all I need to see to be satisfied with him backing up DiPietro again next year.

Wang Speaks Out on Contracts, Coach

Charles Wang spent the last days of his hockey club's season opening up to the media about the status of his head coach. On one occasion, he said exactly the right things. On another, his words may have been better left unsaid.

During the broadcast of last Thursday's home finale, Wang appeared in a taped interview with play-by-play man Howie Rose. Among other topics, the owner of the Islanders opened up on his feelings about the season, the progress of the Lighthouse Project, and the team's development philosophy.

When asked about the uncertainty surrounding head coach Ted Nolan as he enters the final year of his three-year contract, Wang held fast to his beliefs. He told Rose that Nolan's contract situation was an internal matter that he was not inclined to discuss in public.

Regarding the question of whether Nolan should receive an extension before his current deal runs out, or at least an indication that an extension may be forthcoming, Wang firmly stated that all contracts have a final year; if not, there's no point in having a contract.

Wang is correct in taking both of these positions. While the media may feel it is their job to ask these questions, ownership and management are under no obligation to answer them. Discussing such matters publicly undermines the internal processes that a club uses to evaluate its staff. When you consider that Nolan has an entire year left on his contract, expecting Wang to comment on a possible extension now is unrealistic.

Furthermore, the expectation of an extension at this point is premature. Yes, Wang could add a perceived measure of stability to the Islanders by signing Nolan on for two to three more years right now. However, it is not unreasonable for an employer to require an employee to fulfill his commitment before receiving another contract.

The argument for extending now is that Nolan enters the 2008-09 season as a lame duck. If this were any other coach, that might be a problem. But when NHL players are surveyed, Nolan's name often lands at or near the top of the list of coaches for whom they would most like to play. Nolan is not likely to lose the locker room simply because his status for the following season is unsettled.

If there is a worry, it is that the pressure of trying to earn his keep will affect his decision making. The decisions of a coach may very greatly depending on whose future is foremost in his mind: the organization's or his own.

In his term with the Islanders, Nolan has presented himself with impeccable professionalism. He has also earned a reputation for sticking with veterans to a fault. It is on this issue where Wang took his misstep. In talking to Greg Logan of Newsday, who was instrumental in sparking the public discussion of the coach's future, Wang called for Nolan to learn from his mistakes:

The best thing about this non-playoff season, in Wang's view, was the prospects' performance. "If you look at what has happened - and it certainly has changed in the last two months or so - they've proven him wrong," the owner said of Nolan.

"We all may have a predetermined way of looking at something. But what we should do after the season is look in the mirror and say, 'What have I learned from this thing?'"

Wang's point about Nolan being wrong has merit, but stating it in public seems like an unusual way to foster harmony within the organization.

Logan also noted that Nolan has expressed concern about the team's commitment to him by leaving him with only a year and no promises beyond that. Of course, Nolan should remember that it was Wang who surprisingly dismissed Peter Laviolette after the 2002-03 season when Laviolette seemed to have all the security he needed. Thus, a perceived measure of stability may still suffer from the harshness of reality.

In the end, Nolan certainly deserves the chance to return for the final year of his contract and demonstrate why his term should continue. The Islanders, in turn, reserve the right to a longer period of evaluation before they make decisions about leadership that will be in place for the 2009-10 season.

Jack Hillen Makes His NHL Debut for the Islanders

I'll say this: for two games that have no playoff implications for the Islanders, this home-and-home with the Rangers to close out the season has a surprising and worthwhile amount of buzz for the Long Island faithful.

First off, we have the NHL debut of defenseman Jack Hillen, straight from being eliminated from the NCAA tournament as a member of the WCHA's Colorado College Tigers. Unlike Kyle Okposo, Hillen has four years of college hockey under his breezers. Also unlike Okposo, Hillen was an undrafted free agent, so none of that pesky first-round draft choice pedigree stuff to live up to. What he does come with is a track record of continuous improvement that was appealing enough to spark a competition for his services.

When I found out that Hillen had signed with the Isles, I was immediately pleased that the team had added a solid prospect in an area in which it lacks depth. But it's awfully funny how surprising news such as this can make you react as you being to gather facts about the player. Here's a sample of my reactions:

Fact: An offensive-minded defenseman.
Reaction: Excellent! They are in desperate need of a power play quarterback!

Fact: Doesn't like to take slap shots from the point on the power play.
Reaction: What?! *confusion* You can't run the power play without a slap shot!

Fact: Has a knack for getting his wrist shot through from the point.
Reaction: Phew. I'll take it. I've seen enough point shots not get anywhere near the net this year.

Fact: Highest scoring defenseman in Division I this year.
Reaction: Excellent! I think I'm currently the highest scoring defenseman on the Isles. Or maybe it's Schuerlein.

Fact: Scored 37 points on 6 goals and 31 assists this year.
Reaction: Hmm...that certainly demonstrates a knack for creating offense, but only six goals? Wouldn't the dominant offensive defenseman in the NCAA put a few more pucks in the net? That's what we're looking for. Oh, yeah, he doesn't have a cannon. On the other hand, six goals in 41 games projects to 12 over an NHL-length season. Not quite Mike Green numbers, but at least we're in the ballpark. And if he really is as good of a puck mover as they say he is...

And more of that. But it's at this point that I rein it in and say: He's only 22, the idea that he'll step in next year and lead the power play is pie-in-the-sky thinking at this point, and let's just be excited about getting a look for two games. The Islanders did a good job in locating a needed asset and securing it. I'm just looking forward to watching what the future may bring. In April 2008 (and at lots of other times, unfortunately), that's what it means to be an Islanders fan.

The other sources of buzz? Finishing the season with back-to-backs against the rival Rangers still means something even if the Islanders only have pride for which to play. At stake? Bragging rights to end the season, and the Metro Ice Challenge. Perhaps one day the Metro Ice Challenge will equal the Mayor's Trophy game in luster. Then again, that one went on a good ten years after anyone stopped caring about it. At least this one involves games that actually count. If a sponsorship must be involved, maybe next year it can be the Bloomberg Mayor's Metro Ice Challenge. Of course, this competition involves only one team that plays in New York City. Foiled. That's what happens sometimes when you write out loud.

Finally, then, there is the question of where the Isles will finish in the standings and how much of a shot they will have at the #1 pick in the draft. I wonder how the top prospects of the past two years feel knowing that this year's draft lottery is getting the Crosby treatment, while theirs was broadcast to the world using one of those horns from the Ricola commercials.

It's not in my nature to root for the Islanders to lose, and I wish they were going into this home-and-home with a more accomplished lineup. But I am not above rooting for the teams the Islanders are jockeying for position with to win, just in case the Isles do come out with a couple of victories themselves.

This Is Not Normal

It seems a little odd to cover these games as though they were normal. They are anything but normal. Of the twenty players who dressed for Saturday night's game against the Flyers, only eight of them were what I consider to be established NHLers. That includes Sean Bergenheim, who didn't play in the NHL last year, and Wade Dubielewicz, who is in his first season as a full-time NHLer.

Here are my criteria: If you spent time in the minor leagues this season, and you weren't there on a conditioning stint, then you are not an established NHLer. If you spent time as a healthy scratch this season, and have not played at least three full seasons in the league, then you are not an established NHLer. Take a look at this lineup:

Bergenheim-Vasicek-Guerin
Satan-Nielsen-Hunter
Comeau-Park-Okposo
Jackman-Colliton-Regier

Spiller-Martinek
Meyer-Davison
Berard-Johnson

Dubielewicz
Mole

Have you ever seen anything like that? Then throw in the fact that Spiller, Regier, and Jackman have been pulling double duty, and it's amazing this team isn't getting its doors blown off. It's a testament to the players, to Ted Nolan and his coaching staff, and to Jack Capuano and his staff. With nothing to play for but the play itself, most of these guys are putting their best forward. That doesn't mean it wasn't a weird night. And, unfortunately, their best foot probably won't be enough most of the time. Here are some notes (not all of them are weird):

Before the game started, two young teenagers stood next to the Blog Box glancing repeatedly toward us. Finally, they moved closer and announced that one of them was a Kyle Okposo lookalike and they were going to go around claiming that he was Kyle's little brother. I regret not taking a picture. He actually did look like him.

Mike Mole is wearing #60 with the Isles. It looked like there was a spring training castoff on the bench. Or Scott Schoeneweis. Mole wore #30 with the Grizzlies where, incidentally, Kevin Colley is an assistant coach.

The Islanders got a break in that Vinnie Prospal was scratched with an illness, and Marty Biron was rested after playing in the 5-4 shootout loss to the Devils the night before. That's Marty Biron, he of the 6-0 record, 1.50 GAA, and .952 save percentage against the Isles this year. So much for breaks.

Trent Hunter's 28 assists this season are a career high. So maybe we shouldn't put a cap on his offensive potential just yet. Of course, 25 goals and 30 assists would look a lot better.

Despite the fourth line being made up of weary commuters, Nolan rolled them right out there early in the first--within the first three minutes. Ice time was fairly evenly distributed in the first, as only one penalty was called. The fourth line would be used much more sparingly the remainder of the game.

Okposo ends up in places with shots on the power play where I'm not used to seeing this team end up with shots from. If that makes sense.

The Flyers' shots-on-goal total seemed to rise as if each shot were being counted as two. I had intended to ask Dubie whether he really felt under seige or if most of the shots were actually quite harmless. He confirmed the latter in response to a Greg Logan question while acknowledging that the Flyers did really take over the game after the Isles controlled the first period and mounted a 2-0 lead in the second.

Frans Nielsen's goal to regain the lead at 3-2 was a beauty of a wrister, placed perfectly over Antero Nittymaki's glove.

I really wanted to claim that Briere's shootout winner was illegal because he stopped his forward momentum, but I don't think the evidence holds up. I wonder if he purposely used that move to counteract Dubie's famed poke check.

The post-game scene included young players hustling to get dressed and packed for the trip back to Bridgeport, where they would play their fifth game in five nights on Sunday. One of them (name withheld to protect his identity) sat in his stall all ready to go in his overcoat and ski cap while wolfing down a piece of pizza. You gotta eat when you can. Another went over this week's schedule of Islanders games, because it's hard to know where you are and where you have to be when you're playing for two teams simultaneously. And for the first time all year, I had to work to figure out which faces went with which names. The names are all very familiar, of course. But it's a little jarring when you suddenly see several faces in the locker room that you've never seen up close before. I never imagined I'd be in that situation. I'm sure the situation is a little weird for them too.

Confusion Says

I'm confused.

The season fell apart. A multitude of injuries to key players left a team that was already a marginal contender for the playoffs with no chance to compete for a spot. Players brought in last summer to fortify the lineup either failed to make enough of an impact or simply did not live up to expectations. The Islanders will finish under .500 and be done in early April. I'm supposed to be depressed, disillusioned, and disheartened. Why, then, am I excited? Why am I still enjoying being a fan right now? Why am I still hopeful? Let me count the ways.

1. The season's demise, though punctuated by two extended losing streaks, was somewhat gradual. That was easier to handle emotionally than staying in contention until the end and then falling short dramatically.
2. Instead of being overwhelmed, the young enforcements from the AHL are playing as though they intend to impact not only next year's Islanders' roster, but next year's Islanders' opponents.
3. Some of the veterans are playing as though they realize they need to keep up with the kids or risk being left in the spray. I'd prefer if everyone were motivated intrinsically every game, but that's not realistic. This will do because it's important to maintain a positive culture in the locker room when jobs are on the line instead of disintegrating into an Us vs. Them mentality. Of course, guys like Hunter, Guerin, and Comrie have the security of deals for next year. But they seem to realize that their own success is only part of the answer. As a result, the team doesn't look as though it's just playing out the string of a losing season.
   
4. In just four games, Kyle Okposo looks to be a bona fide difference-maker--not just a guy who scores a huge/pretty goal every 10-15 games, but a guy who makes opposing defenses say, "Uh, oh" several times a night. Islander Frontier had some good descriptions of this kind of ability in the last two paragraphs here.
   
5. As told to John Jeansonne of Newsday, Blake Comeau feels like an NHL player now. He certainly plays like one.
6. The schedules have aligned in such a way that the top prospects are getting a chance to get their skates wet in the NHL while still having a chance to make a playoff run in the AHL. Bridgeport has done a fantastic job of holding the ship together while it's lineup was squeezed like a Valencia juicing orange. Or sucked dry like the cup holding an apple pie a la mode milkshake from Ronnybrook Dairy Farm. I don't know, you make the call. Both are refreshing and delicious. Either way, it would be great to see the call-ups return to Bridgeport after next Friday and lead the Sound Tigers on a run deep into the playoffs.
7. I no longer view Bergenheim, Comeau, Okposo, Tambellini, Colliton, Regier, and others as individual prospects, one or two of whom might become regulars. A few of them will likely drop out of the picture for one reason or another, but I can't remember a time in recent history when I was so excited about a group of young players (Dalgarno-McInnis?). And it's not a case of them filling in admirably and doing the best they can with marginal ability under trying circumstances. They look like legitimate pieces of a group that wants to be the next generation of Islanders. Yes, I'm desperately trying to avoid using the word "core."
8. It's so easy to root for Wade Dubielewicz.
9. The draft lottery: It's time for the Islanders to get a super-stud. With this draft and this finish in the standings, it should be harder to make a mistake. They need to draft a guy who can come in as an 18- or 19-year-old and set the barn on fire with prowess, drive, and intensity. Other teams have done it. It's time to make them envious.
10. Who says a list has to have ten items?

Now, one thing I'm already nervous about: The free agency period. A lot depends on which players are re-signed, but July 1 will once again be a measuring stick of how players and agents perceive the state of the Islanders.

Daily Double

It's rare that I get to watch my two favorite hockey teams play simultaneously. So tonight was a pretty good way to spend an evening. In the right sight line, I had Islanders-Devils on the TV. In the left sight line, Cornell-Harvard in the semifinals of the ECAC Hockey Championship live via B2TV.com ($8.00 for the single game pass). The results were a mixed bag.

Cornell was the visiting team in the ECAC tournament game contested at the Times Union Center in Albany. I clicked on the "visitors" link hoping to hear a Big Red broadcast. Instead, I got the Crimson announcers. Thinking the site had possibly reversed the links, I fired off a quick e-mail to customer service asking if it were possible to access the Cornell broadcast without having to purchase another pass. B2TV Networks impressed me with an almost immediate reply that consisted solely of a link. The fact that the link included "harvard" in its address wasn't promising, however. Indeed, I was once again fed the broadcast in a darker shade of red. At that point, it wasn't worth pursuing anymore as I had two hockey games to watch and only two eyes!

The webcast, while not superclear, was high enough quality to be enjoyable to watch. The audio was often a second or two ahead of the video. I'm only pointing all of this out because B2TV also webcasts minor league hockey games, including those of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. So, if the Sound Tigers find themselves involved in critical games over the next few weeks (a likely event), you may have the option of watching the game in the comfort of your own home.

As for the game, Cornell fell victim to a couple of lapses in discipline and was unable to contain the Harvard power play. The Crimson scored two quick goals with the man advantage on consecutive opportunities in the second period. Cornell responded quickly after the second goal to cut the lead in half with a power-play marker of its own.

In the third period, Cornell really took the play to its arch rival. The Big Red dominated possession and fired 16 shots on goal. Unfortunately, tonight's version of the Big Red looked a little like the Islanders in that it struggled mightily to finish its scoring chances. Still trailing 2-1 with just under three minutes left, Cornell took its sixth minor of the game. Harvard scored its third power-play goal in six chances to put the game away. Cornell was unable to cut into the margin with a 6-on-4 advantage in the waning minutes.

Harvard's Doug Rogers, a fourth-round draft choice of the Islanders in 2006, picked up an assist on the second Crimson goal and took five shots. Rogers stands second on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 20 assists in 34 games. He is a +15.

Cornell's season ends at 18-14-3 with no chance for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. [Note: Cornell defeated Colgate 4-2 in Saturday's consolation game.] The Big Red can be optimistic about the years to come. This year's top two scorers, Colin Greening (Ottawa) and Riley Nash (Edmonton), are a sophomore and a freshman, respectively. Assuming they don't leave early, they should be fun to watch for a few more years. Starting goaltender Ben Scrivens is also a sophomore. The team will lose only four seniors.

Fortunately, the Cornell game ended just in time for me to focus on a helmetless Kyle Okposo ripping an off-balance one-timer past Martin Brodeur to give the Isles a 2-1 lead over the Devils with 2:35 remaining. The power play goal, off a Richard Park feed, was Okposo's first in the NHL and his second point, after an assist on a Blake Comeau tally earlier in the evening. Wade Dubielewicz stood, well, tall in the face of a strong Devils attack. Dubie continues to state his case for being a legitimate NHL netminder who can be relied upon in any situation.

Bryan Berard recorded two assists, including the secondary on Okposo's goal. Trent Hunter sealed the fight-filled game with a rare Islanders empty-net goal. Bill Guerin, Matt Spiller, and Josef Vasicek all took fighting majors, as Ted Nolan got his wish for a more spirited performance. Spiller was the unfortunate recipient of an Arron Asham knockout punch to the cheek that drew blood.

The win by the Islanders and the performance by Okposo were a nice salve to the wound that was the Cornell loss. A double-victory would have been nice. But, for a hockey fan, it was still a pretty good way to spend an evening.

Hippy-Dippy Flaky-Shaky Fun-in-the-Sun...

...Rickless wonders

Ai-yi-yipee-yipee-yi-yi-ay
Going west of Mississippi got a faulty kind of hippy
And you don't risk the franchise and you don't want to panic
If the young kid wants to drop his pads on down

(Thanks, and apologies, to Dar Williams)

This one's for you, Ken D! My thoughts? At least Rick doesn't have any more hips to injure.

Seriously, though, I know there's a wide range of feelings about the latest catastrophe to befall the Isles. It's completely reasonable to be worried about whether DiPietro is going to get anywhere near playing 13 more years after breaking down two years in a row at the tender age of 26. His fun-in-the-sun months will once again be spent in intense physical rehabilitation. Rick knows no other way but intense, which he demonstrated by entering the 2007-08 season in stellar condition.

I can't get caught up in worrying about what's going to be eight years from now. Here's what I know: Over the first three and half months of this season, DiPietro played the best hockey of his career and inspired new levels of confidence in large portions of the fan base on a repaired hip. That hip, as far as we know, remains fine. The other hip, which dragged DiPietro down from All-Star to sub-par will now be similarly repaired. I am hopeful that this one will come back just as strong as the other one.

Is playing goalie in the NHL too much stress for two surgically repaired hips? It's certainly possible. For now, I am choosing to be optimistic. I am relieved to believe once again that the DiPietro we saw in the first half is the real deal, and the one we saw in the second half was sorely compromised. There is precedent for elite athletes to come back from significant surgeries and go on to have uninterrupted, successful careers. Since we don't have much of a choice, let's hitch our wagon to that idea. Because, as I said, it's not as though he can freshly injure another hip (although a three-hipped goalie would really be something). The fixed one held up. If he re-injures one of them, yeah, then I'll be very concerned. Otherwise, Rick can simply look forward to when his hips can vote in 2025 and 2026.

By the way, I don't know why the writer(s) at Rotoworld sometimes refer to DiPietro as "Dippy," but I wish they would stop. It is not an acceptable alternative to DP or Dipi. I also acknowledge that there are more complex issues surrounding this injury, such as the potential disaster of the contract, how much Rick should really play during the season, and whether the team handled the injury properly. We have plenty of time to kick those around.

Okposo In, Outsider Out

I'll be sitting in my apartment as the Islanders take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tonight is the NHL debut of Kyle Okposo, and I have elected not to witness it in person. This season has seen several must-be-there events at the Coliseum: the home opener, the first tilt with the Rangers, the return of Al Arbour to the bench, the celebration of the Core of the Four, to name a few. I have made it a point to be there for these special circumstances, but on this night, other circumstances win out.

Going to the game on a weeknight requires taking the car to work, and paying for parking in midtown, or else I'd never make it out to Long Island in time. Then there's driving back to NYC after the game and not walking through the door until after 11:30, at which time there's zero chance I would start writing about the game. First of all, I would be up way too late. Secondly, you don't come home to your wife just prior to midnight on a Tuesday and disappear to blog about hockey. That's not something you learn; it's just something you know. There are also responsibilities and family matters to which I want to attend. That being said, it was no one's choice but my own to watch this one from my living room. Years from now, will I regret not being able to say that I was there for Kyle Okposo's first NHL game? Perhaps. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. The last thing Kyle needs is more hype, to which I am adding simply by talking about it.

Ah, yes. Hype. Here are the most recent headlines from my Google Reader feed of newyorkislanders.com:

Kyle Debuts Against Toronto
ITV: Okposo Raw
ITV: Okposo Practices
Kyle's First Skate
Get VIP Parking and 12.5% Off for '08-'09!
Expert Opinion: Okposo Debut
Okposo to Make NHL Debut on Tuesday
Kyle on the Isle
Coach Capuano on Kyle
Montreal 3, Islanders 0
Isles Skate into Montreal
MC and KO
KO Parallel Parks!

I had to have a little fun with it. So, nine out of the 12 real news stories from the Islanders have featured Okposo. That's a lot of attention for a guy whose career to this point has a pedigree equivalent to that of Scott Scissons. (Poor Scissons--we should really all leave him alone already.) Chris Botta made some valid points in his blog entry addressing this issue. The Islanders are to be applauded (and have been) for the unprecedented access to the team they have given to fans. It's kind of silly to expect them to stop now. I'm not sure where promotion crosses the line to hype, and it probably doesn't matter because they blur well before and well after the line.

What all of the attention does point to is how starved the organization and the fans are for a dynamic home-grown skater to become a cornerstone of the franchise. It reminds me of the mid- to late-90s, when a similar hunger drove me to find a Web site, before such types of sites were ubiquitous, where I could follow J.P. Dumont playing for the Val-d'Or Foreurs in real time because his exploits were the only thing to be really excited about. That site was simply a fan page run by a young woman up in Quebec who would post the scoring summaries in basic HTML. I found myself checking it every night the Foreurs had a game.

How much information do we need about Kyle? Did the Blackhawks market Kane and Toews like this, following nearly their every move? How about Peter Mueller in Phoenix? In today's Globe and Mail, Ted Nolan called this an important day for the franchise, and said that the organization should take care not to over-hype it or under-hype it. My preference would be for no hype. Let Kyle be the humble kid who needs to earn his spot, as well as the attention and adulation. If he merits those things, they will come. And so will the spoils of marketing him.

In the short term, I can't imagine that some extra tickets sold and a few additional headlines are going to make much of a difference. The revenue and the attention they generate will go away in a hurry if Kyle is not ready to demonstrate the kind of play that warrants the spotlight. At present, he is still just a first-round draft pick. So, yes, a spotlight introduction would be too much. It's wonderful to hear repeatedly that Kyle the person is everything we want him to be. Just let him play and allow the rest to come naturally.

Now, how soon before we can get one of those Ovech-kams or Mal-kams focused solely on Kyle?

Seriously?

"In attempting to free himself, Pronger carelessly and recklessly brought his foot down," said Colin Campbell, NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations.

So, Chris Simon is a deviant who needs counseling, but we're more than happy to offer an excuse for Chris Pronger. Colin Campbell's statement, especially the first five words, says to me that Pronger was suspended for eight games because Campbell had no choice at this point, but he's not happy about it. If you're going to suspend him, just levy the punishment. Don't start offering explanations now that they serve you. Or just admit that you made a mistake the first time. Enjoy the playoffs, Mr. Pronger.

Here's a post from Battle of California, another blog that is crediting the Internet for forcing the NHL to reverse its course on disciplining Pronger.

And I still can't get over the notion that the original video was too grainy for the the league to take action. It's not as though the Simon video was crystal clear. The mess of bodies and legs in that one made it confusing at best. But you could basically figure out what happened, just as you could in this case.

The Power of the Blogosphere

I didn't have time to write about the Chris Pronger stomping incident last night, but my intention was to put up the video and the requisite "You've Got To Be Kidding Me" post today because I thought the issue deserved as much exposure as possible. Well, I have to commend the bloggers of the hockey world and a fair amount of mainstream media writers. In the past 24 hours, the hypocrisy, favoritism, and lack of credibility and accountability in the NHL's department of discipline has received top-story attention all over the place. Islanders VP of Media Relations Chris Botta has weighed in on the matter twice on his blog.

I find it hard to believe that the NHL would revisit the incident because better footage became available. It's a convenient line for the league to put out. But the idea that the original evidence wasn't clear enough to justify a punishment is hard to stomach. The first video was certainly clear enough to launch an outcry from fans and bloggers. And that, my friends, is where we can rejoice in the power of the masses. There was a time when a fan's ability to protest an injustice was limited to call-in radio shows and letters that most likely would never be addressed. Now, of course, those same protests resonate on the Internet where hundreds of writers may call attention to them and thousands of readers will echo their voices. I have no way of knowing if pressure from the blogosphere and other online sources will ultimately be responsible for a do-over. It's shameful that the NHL would need such goading to get this right.

Okposo Net asks of Colin Campbell, "...if the above video isn't evidence enough to suspend Pronger, then it would be nice if you could go public and explain specifically why that is not the case (not that most people will buy it, but at least you're taking some responsibility)." It would be nice, but the NHL has built not explaining itself into its disciplinary process. I understand how not explaining every punishment or lack of punishment prevents the league from tripping over its own words. But building in a lack of accountability surely does not support the integrity of the process and it undermines the credibility of the league. Pronger's rap sheet and most recent offense align perfectly with the precedent that the league has already set for these matters. He is due for 20 games. If he gets anything, I doubt it will be more than five to seven.

As for the double standard being applied in relation to the Islanders, we will likely get nowhere by claiming an institutional bias. All we can do is continue to point out loudly the glaring incidents such as this. Did you notice how Garnet Exelby quietly got away without further punishment for forcefully raising his stick to Blake Comeau's nether regions? It was not an egregious, violent act, but we know that an injury is not required for disciplinary measures to be handed down. As a completely unnecessary and non game-related stick foul, the act deserved at least a symbolic suspension of one game--set the precedent that even thinking about that type of behavior will not be tolerated.

Botta postulates that maybe it is the name on the back of the sweater. What he can't say as a representative of an NHL team is that maybe it's also the logo on the front.