I didn’t get the opportunity to post up a preview for this, I got called into work on an emergency today and haven’t had much time. However, I just did a quick Islanders chat with The Hockey Guys on their radio show. Be sure to check out the site and the replay of the show when you get the chance.

Once it’s up I will post the link.

Big thanks to Anthony Curatolo, Brandon Augienello and Dustin Leed for having me on today, I look forward to appearing again!

Update!

You can listen to the show in the player below:

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In an attempt to give my blog a new element and “voice”, I have finally started a video stream. I have been meaning to do something like this for a long time, but like everything else I never got around to it.

As an iPhone user, applications such as USTREAM allow me to stream video LIVE or upload content while on the go – so I felt this was a great solution and opportunity for me.

My first video is off center, you can only see part of my face – but the content I felt was worth a listen. I am sure it will get better once I figure out how to hold my phone and record myself.

You can check out my USTREAM page here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/islesblogger

And here is the video:

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As many of you know, the last few weeks and even going back into September have been kind of crazy for me. There was a crazy period of work, my two-week trip to Europe and then last week I pretty much was car shopping all week until I picked it up this weekend.

Then we had the home opener, which I didn’t really get the chance to write about – bummer.

However, I have some exciting news regarding the ability to reach a larger audience. Last week I received an email from someone over at The Bleacher Report asking me if I would be interested in becoming the Featured Islanders Columnist over there. Curious, I inquired a little bit about what was expected and for more details. I was surprised to find out that the stories I write there will not only be on the Islanders and NHL section of that website, but because I am a featured columnist – they would be shown on NHL.com, the NHL’s newsletter, B/R’s newsletter, and some of B/R’s partner websites (CBSSports.com, SI.com and FoxSports.com).

Rest assured, I plan on doing some live blogs here and keeping the place updated more now that the season is upon us – Islesblogger isn’t going anywhere anytime soon! I will also continue to contribute to Lighthouse Hockey whenever Dom asks (speaking of Dom, I met him and his wife this past weekend at the home opener – great people!).

This is just another one of those opportunities for me to get my name out there and see where it takes me. I’ve been slipping lately, so maybe this will force me to write a bit more – being they would like three opinion pieces a week.

So, without further ado – I present to you my first Islanders article at The Bleacher Report in well over a year: Islanders Future Rest in The Hands of Their Youth

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It’s been a slow hockey week in regards to the New York Islanders. There hasn’t really been too much to recap that hasn’t been spoken about elsewhere already. I have not forgotten about the site, I’ve just been using the downtime to relax and catch up on some “house cleaning”.

If you haven’t notced already, the comment area of the site may look a bit different. I have never been happy with the format honestly, I was just too caught up in other things to bother changing it. The biggest change is the addition of Gravatars.

What is a gravatar?

A gravatar, or globally recognized avatar, is quite simply an image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things. Avatars help identify your posts on blogs and web forums, so why not on any site?

How do I get a gravatar?

Signing up for a Gravatar.com account is FREE, and all that’s required is your email address. Once you’ve signed up you can upload your avatar image and soon after you’ll start seeing it on gravatar enabled sites!

Obviously to make your image show up, you need to be registered, but the benefit is that it follows you around the web which is a plus. The only caveat is that you comment with the same email address that you register your avatar with – otherwise my default Isles logo will show up for every poster without a gravatar of their own.

I also made several smaller changes. The poster’s name was always after the time and date stamp. I corrected it and gave the author name it’s own line. I then changed the date format to the correct region – it’s a pet peeve of mine. I have some other plans for the site this week and I think I finally nailed down the gallery issue too.

Check out the new comment features and give them a whirl!

I should have two large posts up in the near future, one of which I have reserved for Lighthouse Hockey. Just a reminder too, Islesblogger will be live from Montreal for this years Entry Draft!!

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For the third season in a row, I have made my own holiday (and taken the day off from work) to celebrate one of the craziest days for the NHL – trade deadline day. Next to July 1st, which is the beginning of unrestricted free agency, we see plenty of player movement as teams dump players for picks and/or prospects or just players for players as other teams bulk up or re-tool heading into playoff season. It is truly an exciting day.

Last year, my first with Islesblogger and as a member of the Islanders Blog Box – I spent the entire day at Nassau Coliseum live blogging the events of the day. We were interviewed by Jim Baumbach of Newsday – whom live blogged our live blogging and even had a run in with several Pittsburgh players asking if we knew if any of them had been traded. However, because this year the Islanders do not have a game, it is impossible to be allowed access to the Blog Box for something similar. Obviously this is dissapointing – but I pledge to carry on from the comfort of my own home with access to the same Canadian television, the internet and hopefully better food then what will be available to the media and Islanders Point Blank who will be crammed into Room Six.

What’s even more exciting, is now that I have access to everything on SB Nation – I will be part of their deadline day special through Lighthouse Hockey! I will have a running post of any and all the large trades made by the Islanders and may do something similar for the division rivals. I will also have a few opinion peices in addition to updating everyone here on Islesblogger – it will be a lot of work, but Dom and I promise to bring to some great stuff tomorrow later today.

Stay tuned for the fun stuff! Remember, you can subscribe to my RSS FEED or EMAIL UPDATES as well as follow along on TWITTER if you will be stuck at work without constant access to the internet!

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Boy do I have some exciting news!

A few nights ago I received an email from James Mirtle over at From The Rink on SBN asking if I would like to contribute to Dominik Jansky’s Islanders blog Lighthouse Hockey. Apparently there was some talking back and forth during a meeting and my name came up as a possible contributor for Dom’s site. Trust me, if you have been over to LHH you know that Dom needs no help maintaining great content.

Mirtle has been blogging about the NHL and all things hockey for a few years now. When I first started out, he was one of the main bloggers that everyone looked to emulate. Over the summer SBN began a push to have a blogger representative for every team in the NHL – as I already mentioned Dominik jumped over to SBN to form Lighthouse Hockey to cover the Islanders. Dom is a die hard Islanders fan, only he lives out in the Mid-West and has a different perspective on things – often catching stuff even us die hard Long Islanders may miss.

Let me begin by saying this – Islesblogger is not going anywhere, I am not going to shut it down, forget my roots or walk away from my independence. I am just embracing an opportunity to contribute on an additional platform and have some fun in the process.

I am honored to be joined by such great company over on SBN, it will really open new possibilities – especially with all the great toys and stats available on the websites over there. Look for some joint content at both places, some exclusive content here as well as there and the best game day threads you can find.

Fans are also welcome to post Fan Shots, which is like a mini-blog right there for you to speak your own mind.

Check out Lighthouse Hockey and From The Rink when you get a chance!

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