Now that the team has officially announced that Josh Bailey will remain with the team for the rest of the season, it was only natural for us to take a look at how he has progressed as a player over these nine games. For the past few days I have been going over all of his stats and compiled them into neat tables for easy reading. It is the first time that I am diving into the area of stats – and it’s pretty interesting seeing how shifts, shots and how a player is used changes from game to game.

In the table below, you can see that Scott Gordon grew comfortable with Bailey as he saw what he was capable of – which is a natural progression. He has increasingly been given more ice time, more shifts, longer shifts and ample time on the team’s top power play. Is it really any surprise that the team’s power play has been very solid when you look at how Bailey has played?

With every positive, the small negatives come to light as well. Showing the number of shots that Josh has taken during the last 9 games, it is evident that he needs to shoot more. It’s not like he doesn’t know this – as he pointed this out in an interview with Greg Logan this morning:

“Once they told me I was staying, they were just talking and one of the things I said is that I’m starting to get my confidence as a player,” Bailey said. “The first couple games, I wouldn’t want the puck as much, and I’d be quick to get rid of it. But now, I’m feeling, ‘Give me the puck.’ I’m ready to hold onto it a little more and try and do the plays that I would do last year and try and play my game a little more.”

With time comes confidence, especially now that he doesn’t have to fear making a mistake as much as he may have in the previous games. However, Bailey’s game is a passing game – he gets in a position to play set-up man more often than not, so a lack of shooting doesn’t mean it’s something completely negative. If you look at the amount of attempted/blocked shots and even misses – he is shooting the puck, but maybe gripping his stick a bit too tight. Again, with confidence and time Bailey will learn which shots will garner the highest yield. A great example of this was the shot he rang off the post the other night on the power play, he held onto the puck and got it on net. Hunter was there to knock in the rebound. It is plays like that which Bailey is doing more frequently, so it is only a matter of time before he notches his first NHL goal.

In the table below you can find Josh’s ice time broken down into the total time on ice, total of shifts, average shift time, power play, shorthanded and even strength usage.

One thing we can see through the shift table is that a coaches trust in a player is directly related to the amount of ice time they recieve, this is something we already knew – but it’s nice to see clear as day statistically. Josh began his first game with 12:30 of ice time, 3 of which were on the power play – not too shabby. As time progressed and he began to become an integral part of the power play, Josh’s time shot up to almost 20 minutes in Boston and close to 5 minutes on the power play. Compare this to other players, and Josh is logging the same minutes as Bill Guerin, Doug Weight and and Trent Hunter (just to name a few).

Now for a poll. I know there are many out there who feel that the Islanders are rushing Bailey and that he should have the opportunity to play down in Juniors and the WJC – but I feel that this situation is different than the way other prospects were dealt with. This is a different management system with different individuals looking after our young future Islanders. I also pose this question to you, what difference would another year in Juniors honestly make if Bailey is ready now. Sure, he can win the cup with the Spitfires – but winning and experiencing winning isn’t proven to build winning players or personalities. If a player is ready to play now and help now – isn’t that the best thing when rebuilding? Bailey is under the tutelage of some veterans and a bright young coach – a coach whom he will likely play under for the foreseeable future.

Vote on it!!

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Your comments are welcome, let’s hear why you chose one way or another!

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Just got word from the Islanders that 2008 First round draft pick Josh Bailey will remain with the club for the remainder of the season and play in his 10th game tonight versus Ottawa! Here is the press release:

The New York Islanders announced today that 2008 first round draft pick, center Josh Bailey, will remain with the Islanders for the 2008-09 season. Bailey, who was selected ninth overall this past June, has played in nine games and has recorded five points — all assists. Bailey, who signed a three-year contract with the Islanders on his 19th birthday on October 2nd, will play in his tenth game tonight versus the Ottawa Senators at the Nassau Coliseum.

“My goal ever since I was drafted was to make the team out of training camp and to stay with the Islanders for the entire season,” said Bailey. “I would like to thank (Islanders General Manager) Garth Snow and (Islanders Head Coach) Scott Gordon for the opportunity to play for the Islanders. I would also like to thank the entire Windsor Spitfires organization because I would not be where I am today without their help. I look forward to making Long Island my home.”

Said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow: “In a short time, Josh has met and exceeded all of our expectations of him both on and off the ice. We look forward to watching him continue his development this season as an Islander.”

Bailey made his NHL debut with the Islanders on November 11th versus the Philadelphia Flyers. He recorded his first NHL point, an assist, on November 13th at Ottawa. Bailey missed the first 14 games of the season with an injury.

Prior to being drafted by the Islanders, Bailey spent the previous three seasons with Windsor and Owen Sound of the OHL. In 191 career OHL games, Bailey scored 58 goals with 125 assists for 183 points.

It wasn’t really a surprise to me or anyone who has watched Bailey over the course of the past nine games, because he has been solid. Never rushes a decision with the puck, loves to work in the corners tight with opponents and makes tons of room for his forwards. It seems that opposing players go through fits trying to defend against him, often double and triple teaming him while he has the puck. He also loves to feather that soft pass through the seam right onto his teammates stick. There have been quite a few times where I had to do a double take when watching this guy play. Josh also have five points (0-5-5 in 9 games), five assists – so that is a real indication of what he does well with the puck. Even though he is still looking for his first NHL goal, it is fun seeing him play for our Islanders.

I know I was supposed to post a special on Bailey Thanksgiving day, a few things got in the way – so I will definately get it out there today. Unfortunately I have to run to out to work for an emergency – so I will post it when I get home!

Congrats Josh – I look forward to seeing you the rest of the season!

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One great thing about blogging, if you can’t think of a witty title for your post – pick a bunch of your main ideas or points and let it fly!

60 Minutes

No, not the TV show – we are talking a full 60 minutes of hockey. The Islanders squeaked by Montreal and got out of dodge with two points all without playing a full sixty. They cannot get away with stuff like that tonight against the Penguins. The Pens are sitting in fourth in the East with a record of 12-5-3, should the Islanders win tonight – it would bring their record to 9-9-2 – .500 for the first time all year (much to the surprise and angst of every analyst).

What the team needs to do (say it with me now), establish their forecheck, skate skate and skate some more, play gritty disciplined hockey, shutdown Crosby, Malkin and Satan, support Joey MacDonald and allow him to see shots and for Pete’s sake (Who is Pete anyway?) – take the biscuit to the basket! Not all impossible tasks, but they need to stay focused and knock off each of these tasks to succeed.

Freddy Meyer IV

Well what do you know, the Islanders revolving door has just swung inwards instead of outwards. Defenseman Freddy Meyer who went down with a sports hernia is ready to make his way back to the lineup for tonight’s matchup. Word from Greg Logan is that he will be paired with Campoli, Pock fresh off his five game suspension and Bruno Gervais will be the odd men out (aka – healthy scratches).

Coming Tomorrow

Coming tomorrow, (I don’t think I have ever done a “tomorrow” announcement before) but I will be posting a story I have been working on the past several days taking a look at Josh Bailey and why I feel the Islanders should keep him up with the team instead of returning him to juniors. Stay Tuned

As an added bonus I spent last night working on a nifty statistic table system so I can post stats at will without much hand coding!

Game Tracker

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This poor kid in Montreal tonight, it’s bad enough he scored on his own empty net during a delayed Islanders penalty (with about 4 minutes remaining in a 3-2 game) in which the Isles would go on to win 4-3 in a shootout, but now the video is already on Youtube.

Not only that, but some very angry Habs fans have already updated the guys Wikipedia page.

That was easily the strangest sequence of events I have seen in a long time, even better than Davison’s freaky 197 foot shorthanded goal last year. At least the bounces are going our way – it’s about time.

It’s too late to give a full recap – tomorrow is another day.

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Just got a press release on the status of Frans Neilsen – he is out 8-12 weeks with “Multiple leg injuries”.

This isn’t good, from what I could tell Frans suffered a possible knee injury and a nasty high ankle sprain. The injury bug strikes again.

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That revolving door the Islanders use really needs some maintenance after all the use it’s getting lately. With Franz Nielsen going down to injury last night, the Islanders have recalled center Jeremy Colliton from their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. It’s unfortunate that Nielsen was injured as he was playing some great hockey as of late and was beaming with confidence – hopefully he comes back soon.

In the meantime, I don’t even know if it’s worth dissecting last nights loss to the Devils. The team looked like they were off for a month instead of a few days. They came out flat, mentally unprepared and just unable to get anything going. The Devils were able to walk all over the team, set up in front of the MacDonald all game long and score via deflections and redirections at will. The Islanders need to recenter and find what got them fired up for Ottawa and Vancouver. Those teams were tough teams, there was no reason why they couldn’t come out of The Rock last night with two points if they continued their play.

The team faces a really tough team tonight in Buffalo, although the Sabres have struggled themselves at certain points this season as well. They have their identity again though, so the Islanders really need to come into this game with theirs – the Go-Go Gordons.

The Islanders need to set up their forecheck early, they need to send bodies to the net – just like the play when Bergenheim scored off of Sutton’s rebound. They need to jump all over loose pucks and go to the net – “Skate, Skate, Skate” like Weight says. Lastly, the defenders need to clear the crease out for MacDonald. Allow him to see everything and keep the opposition from getting sticks on shots or even off the defenders skates.

It sure would be nice to come out of this road trip with a few points, hopefully they can do something tonight. I won’t be around to watch the game though as I will be at the Beer Expo at Nassau Coliseum. I will follow the game as much as possible via the live tracker – I may comment from time to time on the post, should be a good night.

Live Tracker

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