I tried to get this out a bit sooner, but by now it’s all over the web.

The Islanders have assigned forward Kyle Okposo and defenseman Jack Hillen to their AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Hillen was on the clear day roster set a few weeks back, and according to Tom Liodice from The Tiger Track, Okposo was he was “in residence” and fit into the roster due to numerous injuries. In any case, Bridgeport’s playoff roster just got that much deeper.

I will touch on this more a little later when I get home from work. Here is the official release:

The New York Islanders have announced today that right wing Kyle Okposo and defenseman Jack Hillen have been reassigned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. Both players are scheduled to be in the line-up for the Sound Tigers this weekend when they open up their East Division semifinal series at the Nassau Coliseum versus the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. Game One is this Friday night, April 17th at 7:30 PM with Game Two scheduled for Saturday, April 18th at 7:00 PM. Tickets are currently on sale for both games at www.NewYorkIslanders.com.

Okposo played in 65 games for the Islanders this season and scored 18 goals with 21 assists for 39 points. He led all Islanders rookies and finished second on the team overall in scoring and led the team in goals scored. Okposo suited up in 35 games for the Sound Tigers in the 2007-08 season when he made his professional hockey debut and scored nine goals with 19 assists for 28 points. He was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Hillen played in 40 games for the Islanders this season scoring one goal with five assists for six points. He also played in 33 games for Bridgeport and scored three goals with 13 assists for 16 points. Hillen led all Sound Tigers defensemen in points per game with an average of 0.52. He was signed by the Islanders has an undrafted free agent on April 1, 2008.

In addition to logging onto www.NewYorkIslanders.com, tickets can also be purchased at the Islanders Team Stores at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville and the Westfield Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, the Nassau Coliseum Box Office, or by calling 1.800.882.ISLES, ext. 1. Ticket prices will range accordingly: $29 for lower VIP center seats, $19 for lower VIP corner and lower VIP end zone seats and $15 for upper bowl 300 level seats.

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Here’s something new and exciting. Tom Liodice and I are enroute to The Arena at Harbor Yard to catch the Bridgeport Sound Tigers take on the Springfield Falcons.

I have never been up to Bridgeport before, but I have seen the Sound Tigers a bunch – either way it will be a fun experience seeing them from the press box.

My seatmate in 309 – Anthony from Brooklyn – claims the food there is outstanding. Good thing I brought my appetite!

I am going to do my best at blogging during the game – but check out Tom’s live blog as he does it best.

More from the road – a route MANY of the players in the Islanders system have seen a bunch this season.

Update: 6:11pm

Ok, so road updates were pretty much pointless, unless you wanted to know about accidents and traffic on 95. However, Tom and I are now nestled comfortably in the press box here at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

My first impression of the arena was “Wow”. Although smallish, the place is brand spanking new and looks really nice (you know for an AHL arena I guess). I don’t really have anything to compare it to – just to be honest.

Upon arriving, I went and got my media pass and a USB thumb drive containing the game notes and media kit. At the Coliseum, you know – an NHL arena, the game notes are handed out in a very, very thick booklet. They should totally do what they do here for the BST.

As you can see from the picture above, the press box isn’t nearly as high as it would be normally in other arenas – the arena only has one lower bowl and then a level of skyboxes. We are located at the top of the seating area – which would be just a tad higher then where the blog box is located at the Coliseum. The view is really good from here – you still feel as if you are part of the action, although I am having a problem seeing the names on the back of the jerseys. Oh well, that’s what the numbers are for.

Gametime

About to see the Tigers skate out of a gigantic inflatable here – if anyone wants to know where the Islanders introduction video featuring players on a pirate ship went – it’s alive and well in Bridgeport.

Puck has been dropped here, Ryan Duncan is out on the ice for the Sound Tigers – apparently this kid is very talented, despite his listed size of 5’6″.

Sound Tigers get on the board first – Haley from Hennigar. The arena does something nice here, after a home team goal the house lights dim and they have a spotlight on the goalscorer. It was a really nice touch. The goal song – I have to add, is MUCH better than that of the Islanders. There is also something special about a tiger’s growl that does something for the soul.

Watching these future Islanders skate around here – something just occurred to me; this team is GOOD, no – GREAT! It makes you realize that the systems put into place on the Island and here in Bridgeport are really coming into their own. What’s important, at least in my eyes – is how you can plug players into the NHL lineup with relative ease (as we have seen, what – 1000 times?). I think all of the injures the Sound Tigers parent club suffered this year certainly jump started the rebuild process in a way.

7:28pm Tigers were shorthanded, but then Springfield took an offensive zone penalty to even it up, however, Lawson took a retaliatory and the Tigers still find themselves down a man.

7:35pm Lawson just did his best DiPietro impression and got caught out of position due to chasing down a loose puck – the game is all tied up at one a piece.

7:39pm Tigers power play coming up.

End of the first period and the score is still all knotted up at one. It’s been a while since I have seen an AHL game and it’s quite different. The pace is a lot slower than I am used to and it makes it seem like the players have an extra second to make a decision with the puck. It’s evident why players like Tambellini would really flourish here and have a problem adjusting to the NHL.

More after the break. Going to watch Tom do a radio spot.

Second Period

Second period underway here as the teams switch sides – the Tigers have been dominant at times, let’s see if they can keep sustained pressure on the Falcons this period and get the go-ahead goal.

8:04pm Sound Tigers headed back to the power play.

That was quick, Jon Sim pots a rebound in for a power play goal. Sim (16th of the season) from Lee and Iggulden.

8:06pm As I was typing, the Tigers scored again – 3-1 is the score. Lassard from Joensuu and Walter.

8:11pm Tigers shorthanded here – hooking.

And just like that, Springfield fires back and scores on the power play. 3-2 Bridgeport

8:13pm Even though I said I wasn’t going to “live blog” – Bridgeport is headed back on the power play.

8:18pm Abbreviated Bridgeport two man advantage here, which ends right now. Still a man up.

8:20pm Even though the Sound Tigers did not score on either of those power plays, there were TWO golden opportunities lost. The first was a redirection that hit the far side post after it trickled through the crease. The second, a chance on the doorstep that was misfired. Still have good pressure on Springfield at even strength.

8:27pm Callahan with speed breaks through – everyone and from behind the net throw it through traffic to Joensuu who promptly puts it in. Joensuu (20th) from Calahan

4-2 Sound Tigers

8:32pm Clearly the Falcons are playing on their heels as they have taken yet another penalty. Holding.

Well, there was a goal – but this time Springfield has converted on a shorthanded goal after Macdonald lost control of the puck at the Falcons blue line. It was a two on one going back and the perfect pass left Lawson pretty much helpless. 4-3

8:35pm One minute warning – final minute of the period.

Springfield almost stormed back to tie the game – they came close to scoring another shorthanded goal on the same Bridgeport power play. Springfield must have had some talking to by their bench boss, as they certainly responded after taking their latest penalty.

More after the break, going to try to get something to eat quick.

Third Period

Tom and I scoffed down two foot long hotdogs in record time – just to get back to the live action. I will touch on the concourse here in a second.

We are back underway. We were just handed an official attendance report for the evening – 3322 people are present on this rainy Friday – I believe this to be around 1200 less than the typical average for a game if my memory of the game notes is correct.

Back to the concourse – it’s a big difference from what we are used to at the Coliseum. Yes, there are less people – but it’s 50% wider than the old barn. Ingress and egress as well as general movement is a lot easier.

9:03pm Bridgeport is headed back to the power play, maybe this time they wont give up a shorthanded goal?

9:11pm Sound Tigers have taken another penalty, Springfield had pretty good pressure for a good part of the first half of this period too – going to be interesting.

9:19pm As the clock is under the five minute mark in the third period, both teams are playing a bit differently then they were before. Not much real pressure at each end, although there have been a few decent shots – not many scoring chances.

Final minute, empty net Springfield.

Time out Springfield – :37.6 remaining in the third period.

And that’s the game! Final score Bridgeport Soundtigers 4 Springfield Falcons 3

3rd Star: Nathan Lawson BST
2nd Star: Ryan Potulny SF
1st: Jesse Joensuu BST

At least two of the players I voted for were chosen! First time I ever picked the three stars of the game.

Gonna head downstairs tonight for the post game.

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I have no idea why I did not think of this sooner, maybe because I despise gimmicks – but like they say “sex sell” (although this has NOTHING to do with sex, but I digress). I would like to introduce something new to Islesblogger – it’s a weekly feature I call “Hot Headlines“. My goal is to provide you with a recap of the current week’s Islanders related headlines. Sometimes so much stuff happens during a week that I hate having to post a handful of times, especially when the subject has already been spoken about in numerous places around the blogosphere. In the way I play to present it, I will likely link to the original news (press release, newspaper or official team site) and a blog or two – then present my own take. Obviously, there will be times when an announcement or news story will be big enough to warrant it’s own post – but this way all the smaller items can be posted at once – or be recapped in one spot. I plan to speak to Dom over at Lighthouse Hockey, as we are still knocking around ideas on how to implement my content over there too.

Signings

As you may or may not have heard, the Islanders have signed defensive prospect Mark Katic to a three year entry level contract yesterday. Chris Botta had this story exclusively, which as we have come to know – has happened on numerous occasions this season.

Katic is a smallish defenseman (6’0″ and 190lbs) who was 13-41-54 in 63 games this season with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League, but with purported offensive upside. Katic will likely join the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the remainder of their season and playoffs.

My take on Katic: From the little bit of Katic I have read and seen, he is another defenseman who has the potential to fit the mold of the type of d-man who can thrive in Gordon’s system. With Campoli gone to Ottawa, it’s never a bad thing when you can stock up on defensive prospects.

Another signing fresh off the presses, the Islanders TODAY signed another Sarnia product in Justin DiBenedetto to an entry level three year deal. The 6’0″ 200lb DiBenedetto went 45-48-93 in 62 games this season, and finished FOURTH in scoring in the OHL. Once again, Chris Botta broke this news and goes into some detail regarding the player. DiBennedetto will also join the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the remainder of the season.

My take on DiBenedetto: Drafted in the 6th round of the 2008 entry draft, Justin was a linemate of number one overall draft pick Steve Stamkos on the Sarnia Sting. It was speculated at the time that DB’s great season last year was the result of playing with the OHL powerhouse of Stamkos – but this certainly wasn’t exactly the case being he had another terrific season. When Tom Liodice and I were at the draft last year in Ottawa and DiBennedetto’s name was announced – I remember having this exact discussion. It should be interesting to see how this player can perform at a higher level with some other skilled players.

Doug Weight was signed to a contract extension earlier in the week and I posted what I had thought about it as it happened. Since then, news has trickled out and there have been a great deal of quotes from Weight since then that have only made my opinion that much stronger.

Such as these from Greg Logan’s blog:

“I’m old school maybe to a fault, but I believe in having a team that does everything together, a team that will do anything for each other and just wants to succeed for each other,” said Weight, who has demonstrated vividly since his return to the lineup just how feisty a 38-year-old guy can be. “I think we’re building that here, and we’re getting past the cliché of the ‘young team’ and a ‘youth movement.’

“These are really good people, good guys that I really enjoy even in my old age. You know, I’ve got the wrong music playing in my car and I can’t stay out as late as they can, but it’s fun. You’ve got a guy like Kyle [Okposo], the way he’s played, and we’re going to get a key draft pick. We’ll see about the health of Ricky [DiPietro], and hopefully, we can turn things around that way. We’ve had some good play.

“Obviously, Mark [Streit] has been unbelievable. We’ve got one of the four or five best defensemen in the world on our team that can log minutes. That’s a strong opinion, but I’ve played with a lot of the best. I think we build around him, and we’re going to be a balanced team and I think we can be a playoff team.”

(*Emphasis added)

Injuries

Last week at home the Islanders lost one of their brighest stars this season in Kyle Okposo to a groin strain – it’s unlikely he will finish out 2008/2009 and with that, the potential to reach the 20 goal plateau.

Near the end of last week, Islanders forward Andy Hilbert suffered injured ribs and has been out ever since. Hilbert is a key minute cruncher and his strong presence on the penalty kill was sorely noticed during the 9-0 romping the Islanders received on Tuesday in Carolina. It’s just another tally in the long, long, long list of injuries suffered by this team in 2008/2009.

In other injury news (yea, there is more) forward Blake Comeau was lost after the first period in Carolina – the injury? A fractured wrist. Prognosis: Blake will miss the remainder of the season and likely will not be sent down to Bridgeport to help in their playoff games. Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse at this point….

Healed Injuries

In the past week, we have seen the return of three injured players: Doug Weight (multiple injuries, knee most notably), Sean Bergenheim (groin) and Mark Streit (groin). Two of the three players returned for the Carolina game and played significant minutes – obviously they were a step off – we will leave it at that.

Ex-Isled Bill Guerin talks Isles with Greg Logan

Greg Logan caught up with the recently departed ex-Islander and former captain Bill Guerin and got a beauty of a quote from him:

Guerin was pleased that close friend Doug Weight signed a one-year extension for $2 million with the Isles. “He likes playing there, he’s great with the young guys on the team, and they need somebody like him,” Guerin said. “He doesn’t want to move his family again.”

Occasionally, Guerin watches an Isles game, and he’s seen improvement, mentioning forwards Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau and defenseman Mark Streit as key pieces. Asked if he thinks they can turn it around anytime soon, especially if they draft goal scorer John Tavares, Guerin hesitated.

“Well, I don’t know the Tavares kid,” he said. “I don’t think he’s like Sid . . . If Ricky gets healthy and if they can get another guy on the back end, I don’t think they’re that far off. I don’t.”

Bill Guerin was a consummate and passionate captain for the New York Islanders – he was the first captain with a backbone for this organization in a long, long time. He brought respect to this organization at a level that it sorely needed, perhaps it jump started the rebuild in a sense. I am glad that the split was amicable and that he has no ill feelings – we need all the good talk from veterans as we can. Spread the word Billy, spread the word.

Scott Gordon named Team USA assistant

Again, this was something I touched on briefly this week, but Greg Logan and Chris Botta go into it in further detail. You can check out those articles here, here and here.

The Tampa Watch

Tonight is a tough night as a hockey fan, if Tampa gains points in Washinton – they cannot “clinch” the 30th spot. If the Islanders win tonight and Tampa loses – they make things that much tougher for themselves and the “best chance” at the number one draft pick – and John Tavares.

Current standings:

29: 66 pts 2 games remaining
30: 61 pts 3 games remaining

Watch the score live:

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Out with the old – in with the, well – Sound Tigers?

Having traded veteran Bill Guerin yesterday during the trade deadline, coupled with the fact that Brendan Witt is still serving his suspension, Nate Thompson not ready, Trent Hunter not ready and Thomas Pock also not ready – the Islanders have recalled four players from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Forward Jesse Joensuu who scored in his first NHL game on Monday gets another go, while forward Joel Rechlicz gets his first call up of the season. Defensemen Joe Callahan who has been impressive while up with the big club and Andrew MacDonald another impressive young d-man also get the call. So while the Islanders did not make too many trades yesterday – it sure might feel that way with so many new faces in the locker room tonight.

Here is the official press release:

The New York Islanders have recalled forwards Jesse Joensuu and Joel Rechlicz and defensemen Joe Callahan and Andrew MacDonald from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.

Joensuu (YOH-ehn-soo) made his NHL debut on Monday night against Colorado and scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot. In 56 games with Bridgeport this season, he has recorded 17 goals and 14 assists to rank fifth on the team with 31 points. Joensuu was drafted by the Islanders in the second round (60th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Rechlicz (REHK-lihj) has split time between Bridgeport (AHL) and Utah (ECHL) this season. He has seven penalty minutes in three games with Bridgeport and one assist to go along with 110 penalty minutes in 45 games with Utah. Rechlicz was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on May 6, 2008.

Callahan has one assist and a +2 rating in 13 games with the Islanders this season. In 42 games with Bridgeport, he has scored three goals and added six assists for nine points. Callahan was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on July 8, 2008.

MacDonald made his NHL debut on February 28th against Buffalo and has a +2 rating in two games. In 52 games with Bridgeport this season, he has six goals and 13 assists to lead all Sound Tigers’ defensemen with 19 points. He also represented the Sound Tigers in the AHL All-Star game as a member of Team Canada this season. MacDonald was drafted by the Islanders in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

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News has hit the wire that former Islanders forward Mark Parrish has been signed to a tryout contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Parrish will play 25 games with Bridgeport and could then be tendered offers from rival clubs – but it is a safe bet that he could land a spot with the New York Islanders.

Earlier this summer the Minnesota Wild bought out the remaining three-years of his contract (estimated worth around $9-million). I had mixed feelings when the buyout occurred, but apparently his offensive ability trailed off the last several years and no longer fit in with the Wild’s plans. Glad to see Parry is getting a chance to get his foot back in the door – although I wish he never left.

Should he be brought up to the Islanders at some point (after 25 games?) – he will retake his old office in front of opposing goaltenders and help on the power play. What about the youth movement? Well, Parrish isn’t exactly a senior citizen at 31-years old, but Mark Parrish isn’t the same player he was. However, if the Islanders can pick him up without losing a single prospect, player or pick – AND have a chance at dictating his salary, why wouldn’t you do it?

The Islanders lack goal scoring, plain and simple. They also need that front of the net presence that Parrish was known for in his time here. He won’t score 30 or 40 goals, but anything he pitches in is that much extra compared to what was there.

This is a low risk move and hard to fault.

It also adds a known player to your back pocket, once the trade deadline comes – he can be offered a contract when some of the veterans are moved.

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Between yesterday and today, the Islanders have stocked the farm system once again by signing a whole handful of players to two-way contracts, including a goaltender who allegedly broke all of Dubielewicz’s records at the University of Denver. In no particular order they have signed Mike Iggulden, Kurtis McLean, Chris Lee, Mitch Fritz, goaltender Peter Mannino, and Brett Skinner.

You can read about the signings at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers website, I don’t claim to be an expert at AHL players – that is Tom Liodice’s gig (but he is on vacation).

The cupboard, is no longer bear.

The Islanders have also posted a nice little article on 6 of the recent signings, you can check it out on the teams website.

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