Hey there Isles fans, it’s been a hot minute but I’m still here – despite a short break during the Isles off week and road trip.
Just to recap, the Islanders have lost the last three of four – music to the ears of anyone subscribing to the “Tank for Tavares” way of thinking (of which I am also a supporter – read on). I have to admit, the way the Islanders are doing things couldn’t be any more exciting for a fan. They are going out and battling hard in the face of adversity, they are not just rolling over and showing their soft bellies for all to see. No, instead this team is going out, working hard and really giving teams in the playoff race a hard time – perhaps even catching them off guard in most cases.
With all the injuries and some roster moves, young players have had no choice but to step in and play important roles. With that we have seen rapid development of Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Sean Bergenheim, Mike Iggulden, Jesse Joensuu, Josh Bailey (coming off his first two goal game) and Jeff Tambellini, strong play of Yann Danis, Peter Mannino, Nate Thompson, Joel Rechlicz, contract awarding play from Tim Jackman and of course the continued great defensive play of Jack Hillen, Bruno Gervais (wow has he stepped it up), Thomas Pock, and Norris nominee Mark Streit.
Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing the blossoming of something special here. These Islanders are the future and the future looks really good. I am not saying what we have now will get us a Stanley Cup next season, but Garth Snow has built a solid foundation on which to improve on as each season passes. Should the Islanders draft well in June (the hockey gods are smiling on that thought right now), the Islanders will once again be a respectable franchise – one that will hopefully be model franchise for future rebuilders.
Yes, our future looks bright – with all the political nonsense going on between the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County, we just may never get the chance to see that respectability in our own backyard.
Like everything else in life there is always that one minute detail that seems to muck things up.
Marc-Andre Bergeron and the Wild of Minny come to town tonight, they should be a tired team after playing the Rangers last night – a game in which they lost 2-1.
“Look who’s back…” 🙂
>>you are witnessing the blossoming of something special here. These Islanders are the future and the future looks really good
Man, I hope so. I actually haven’t been troubled by this season much at all, because at least there’s a plan and you can see the pieces fermenting a little. I’m curious to learn when in the future I’ll get impatient again, heh.
1) Best part of the recent surge is who is pushing it along; the younger players! That said don’t get too excited about this team just yet. Lots of work to be done.
2) If they get one of the two big guys in June they should follow that up with persuing two very talented/young UFA’s this summer. Mikes Cammalleri and Komasarek. Both will be 26 and their teams probably don’t have the cap space to retain them.
3) So by the combination of:
a) maturation of this years group,
b) bring back a healthy DiPietro,
c)signing these two,
d)getting the high draft pick The team can instantly say they are a playoff contender