Isles lease until 2030

It doesn't mean anything until TOH approves it, but the County is entering into a lease agreement that would keep the Isles here until at least 2030.

What is not mentioned is whether there is any kind of language that would allow the Isles to terminate the current lease earlier than 2015 if Ms.. Murray et al. don't grant the necessary approvals.

<<New lease for Lighthouse at Nassau Coliseum
Wed, Sep 30, 2009

 
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi will join Charles Wang and Scott Rechler of the Lighthouse Development Group Thursday to announce an agreement to enter into a "sports-based transaction" and ground lease for 77 acres at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.
The deal includes an extension of the New York Islanders' commitment to play at the Coliseum through July 31, 2030, according to a statement from the county. It also provides the land for the developers' $3.7 billion mixed-use community now awaiting approvals from the Town of Hempstead.

Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray had asked Wang for a long-term commitment to keep the Islanders here, which may be a motivating factor for signing the new lease.

County spokesman Bruce Nyman said the legislature can't act on the new lease until Hempstead approves the zoning for the Lighthouse project.

"We simply wanted to be prepared," Nyman said. "The minute the town drops the puck, we want to have our sticks ready."
Under the existing lease with Spectacor Management Group, Nassau maintains the building but allows SMG to keep most of the concession and parking revenues. The original 30-year lease for the Coliseum was signed in 1979. In 1986, the lease agreement was extended until July, 31, 2015.

>>

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Fw: New unis for Sound Tigers... coming soon to Long Island, too!

Link to new unis:  http://image.cdnl3.xosnetwork.com/pics/671/YV/YVDTWZMJDDZILFN.20090929223308.jpg
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Eric Hornick <forever1940@yahoo.com>
To: islanderfans@yahoogroups.com; IslesList <isles-list@replayer.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 2:47:03 PM
Subject: New unis for Sound Tigers... coming soon to Long Island, too!

connpost.com
<<Sound Tigers dip into Isles' past for new uniforms
By Michael Fornabaio
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 09/29/2009 11:45:19 PM EDT

BRIDGEPORT -- While the Bridgeport Sound Tigers develop for the New York Islanders' future, they'll look like past Islanders.
The Sound Tigers will wear uniforms this year that resemble those of the Islanders' 1980 Stanley Cup dynasty. The blue sweater is the Islanders' current, "throwback" third jersey with different crests and patches.

These sweaters don't exactly match any of the old Islanders uniforms, but the style evokes the Islanders' original colors from the 1970s and '80s, with royal blue instead of the darker blue the Islanders have worn since the mid-1990s and Bridgeport has worn since 2006.
Captain Mark Wotton modeled the blue sweater Tuesday night. Pascal Morency wore a white replica jersey; the team's home-game jerseys hadn't arrived yet.

"I won't speak for Pascal, but some of us were born in the '70s," joked Wotton, 35, whose sweater was complete with captain's 'C' in white and white block lettering for his name on the back, the same kind of trim that adorned Denis Potvin's sweaters.

"These are the colors of the Islanders that left a great tradition. It's just an honor to wear these colors."

The Islanders, limited by NHL policy on uniform changes, plan to use these styles full-time next season, but Sound Tigers president Howard Saffan said it was important for Bridgeport to establish this new-yet-old identity right away.

"The American Hockey League is more flexible in these matters," he said. The team submitted

the plan to Reebok, the AHL's equipment supplier, last October and got approval for this season.

"You'll be seeing these jerseys for a very long time."

Which 20 players will fill out those sweaters for opening night Saturday night remains to be determined.

The Islanders finished their preseason Tuesday night with a game in Newark, N.J., against the Devils; Tomas Marcinko was a late call-up to play in that game.

Several cuts are expected Wednesday. Competition appeared to get a bit tighter when the Islanders claimed skilled forward Rob Schremp off waivers from Edmonton at noon Tuesday, but Newsday reported that Jeremy Reich, one player on the bubble, suffered a broken wrist in a first-period fight Tuesday night.

Defenseman Mark Flood (lower body) has been out of practice since arriving in Bridgeport last week. Forward Greg Mauldin sat out Tuesday as a precaution after feeling a twinge in Monday's practice.
>>
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

New unis for Sound Tigers... coming soon to Long Island, too!

connpost.com
<<Sound Tigers dip into Isles' past for new uniforms
By Michael Fornabaio
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 09/29/2009 11:45:19 PM EDT

BRIDGEPORT -- While the Bridgeport Sound Tigers develop for the New York Islanders' future, they'll look like past Islanders.
The Sound Tigers will wear uniforms this year that resemble those of the Islanders' 1980 Stanley Cup dynasty. The blue sweater is the Islanders' current, "throwback" third jersey with different crests and patches.

These sweaters don't exactly match any of the old Islanders uniforms, but the style evokes the Islanders' original colors from the 1970s and '80s, with royal blue instead of the darker blue the Islanders have worn since the mid-1990s and Bridgeport has worn since 2006.
Captain Mark Wotton modeled the blue sweater Tuesday night. Pascal Morency wore a white replica jersey; the team's home-game jerseys hadn't arrived yet.

"I won't speak for Pascal, but some of us were born in the '70s," joked Wotton, 35, whose sweater was complete with captain's 'C' in white and white block lettering for his name on the back, the same kind of trim that adorned Denis Potvin's sweaters.

"These are the colors of the Islanders that left a great tradition. It's just an honor to wear these colors."

The Islanders, limited by NHL policy on uniform changes, plan to use these styles full-time next season, but Sound Tigers president Howard Saffan said it was important for Bridgeport to establish this new-yet-old identity right away.

"The American Hockey League is more flexible in these matters," he said. The team submitted

the plan to Reebok, the AHL's equipment supplier, last October and got approval for this season.

"You'll be seeing these jerseys for a very long time."

Which 20 players will fill out those sweaters for opening night Saturday night remains to be determined.

The Islanders finished their preseason Tuesday night with a game in Newark, N.J., against the Devils; Tomas Marcinko was a late call-up to play in that game.

Several cuts are expected Wednesday. Competition appeared to get a bit tighter when the Islanders claimed skilled forward Rob Schremp off waivers from Edmonton at noon Tuesday, but Newsday reported that Jeremy Reich, one player on the bubble, suffered a broken wrist in a first-period fight Tuesday night.

Defenseman Mark Flood (lower body) has been out of practice since arriving in Bridgeport last week. Forward Greg Mauldin sat out Tuesday as a precaution after feeling a twinge in Monday's practice.
>>
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Devils 4, Isles 2

The Isles ended the pre-season with a 4-2 loss in New Jersey, before an announced crowd of just over 10,000.

Mark Streit and Jack Hillen had power-play goals for the Isles, who outshot NJ 21-20.  Zajac and Parise each had a goal and an assist for the Devils.

The game was marked by a series of fights, including three involving Joel Rechlicz.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Final pre-season game tonight -- Web-only

If you can't wait the 96 hours until Opening Night, tonight's game in NJ is being web-cast by the Devils on WFAN.com
Matt Loughlin and Sherry Ross will have the call.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Schremp

With the Isles claiming of Robbie Schremp, he will be on the 23-man roster (required by 3pm Wednesday).

Otherwise, they'd have to offfer him back to Edmonton for nothing.

http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=2046955

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Center Ice

Looks like there will be an extended preview of Center Ice (at least on US Digital Cable).  The preview wil run from Oct 2 -24.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Okposo tweets

"did some skating this morning. feeling better and better each day. have gotten advice from many people not to rush too quickly.'
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

John Tavares: Babysitter?

Nice piece by Botta for Fanhouse.  If it was good enough for Sid the Kid, it's good enough for Tavares.

<<Weight Makes Tavares Feel at Home
Posted Sep 25, 2009 4:30PM By Christopher Botta

Doug Weight, his wife Allison and their three children live on the North Shore of Long Island. For the next month or so, the NHL veteran and his family will be joined in their house by a teenager: 2009 first overall pick John Tavares.

"They've made me feel right at home," said Tavares. "Some home-cooked meals, a nice family to be with. It really was a kind gesture by Doug and his wife."

Weight roomed with Tavares when the Islanders spent the first 10 days of training camp in Saskatoon. The 38-year-old Weight and 19-year-old Tavares struck a friendship almost immediately. When Weight heard that his young teammate was delayed from moving into the place he rented, he got the green light from Allison and extended the invitation.

The veteran center also remembered the leadership he received as a young player with the Oliers. This was a chance to pay it forward.
"Kelly Buchberger and his family took me into their home in Edmonton when I started there," said Weight. "Their kindness had a big impact on me and helped me with being able to focus on the game. Kelly was so good to me, I stayed the entire season. Every month I'd tell him, 'No really, I'm looking for a place. I'll be out of here any day now.' The truth was, I didn't want to go anywhere else."

Weight was very happy when Tavares accepted his offer. "You never know how a young man like John is going to react," said Weight. "I didn't want him to move in just because he thought it might hurt our feelings if he said no. But when I asked him at the end of camp in Saskatoon, he was genuinely excited about it. I don't think he wanted to stay in a hotel during his first month in the NHL. He was so appreciative. That made me feel good."

So on Thursday night, the teammates picked up Weight's children at their after-school activities and went home to grill some steaks. "A night like that, just relaxing with friends and having a great meal, I can't thank Doug and his family enough," said Tavares. Said Weight, "John's a big part of our franchise, but he's just a terrific, humble kid. Allison and I want him to feel comfortable. And besides, my kids love having John around."

Hmmm ... is it possible the cagey veteran has an ulterior motive?

"Well," said Weight with a laugh, "John doesn't know this yet, but he's going to be doing some babysitting. There's also a lot of youth hockey and soccer practices he'll need to be at."

>>
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

ex-Isles radio

I haven't seen the Isles announce it anywhere but since Chris Botta mentioned it on PB, I'm happy to note that Chris King will have a presence on Isles radio this year.  Chris will "host" (and engineer) the radio portion of the simulcast.  He'll be on site at the Coliseum and in the studio for road games.  He'll also get to call play-by-play of the 2 games that are being nationally televised by Versus.  (Ironically, both are in Philadelphia)

As we noted earlier, Steve Mears has gone "from worst to first" and is working for the Penguins.  He will host a show that will air on Penguins.com and on HD-radio in Pittburgh beginning October 1.  He's also had the opportunity to call a handful of Penguins pre-season games, the last of which is tonight in Columbus (penguins.com if you'd like to check it out).  Mike Lange, who has called Penguins games since 1975, remains the regular play-by-play voice of the Pens. 

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Tavares in lineup

Expect to find Tavares with Matt Moulson and Trevor Smith tonight.  Not exactly like Bossy joining Trottier and Gillies.

Moulson and Smith btw have identical NHL career numbers: 1-0-1 in 7 games.

Biron expected to play the entire game for Isles, while Yann Danis will get the start for the Devils.

While the Isles are ending their busy stretch -- this is the 7th game in 10 days, covering 6 cities, 3 provinces and 2 states, the Devils haven't played in a week.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Isles 3, Edmonton 1

Isles sweep the Alberta teams in Saskatoon this weekend!  Martinek, Bailey, and MOulson had the Islander goals.  Strong effort by Martin Biron.

The Isles improve to 2-2-1 in the pre-season.  Next up: the Kings in Kansas City on Tuesday.
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Isles 3, Edmonton 0 (2nd period)

Game is live on:
http://oilers.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=616&id=46895

Tavares just set up Matt Moulson for a pp goal.  Bailey and Martinek have the other Isles tallies.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Game archive of Okposo hit

http://flames.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp   Select game archive -- the hit is just after the 1 hour 24 minute mark.

Clearly a thunderous hit -- it comes just a few minutes after Matt Moulson scored to give the Isles a 3-1 lead. There's also a big hit in the Flames zone in the moments right before.

The "broadcast" is actually Flames radio with the scoreboard video pumped in.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Okposo

Isles announced "minor concussion" "clear to travel to Saskatoon".

Putting someone on a plane right after a minor concussion????  Why not spend the night in Calgary-- just to be sure?

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Newsday story

<<
Okposo carted off on stretcher in Isles' loss
September 18, 2009 By KATIE STRANG  caitlin.strang@newsday.com

CALGARY, Alberta - In a sobering moment for the Islanders last night, forward Kyle Okposo was carted off the ice on a stretcher after he suffered an apparent head injury during the second period of the Islanders' 5-4 shootout loss to the Flames.

Okposo, who was leveled by a vicious open-ice hit by Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf, was motionless for several minutes as he was attended to by the team's medical staff. He eventually was lifted onto a stretcher and carted off the ice.

He was seen moving his hands and talking as he was put in an ambulance and taken to the hospital.

Okposo skated out of the Islanders' zone with the puck near the right boards. Then Phaneuf blindsided Okposo in the neutral zone; Phaneuf crossed over from his right defense position and knocked him to the ice as his shoulder connected with Okposo's head.

The hit, clearly questionable given that Okposo was in a defenseless position, incited a heated scuffle between the two teams and even prompted both goaltenders - Martin Biron and Miikka Kiprusoff - to skate to center ice.
Islanders prospect Pascal Morency immediately jumped over the bench after the hit and tried to get to Phaneuf. Morency received a double-minor and a game misconduct.

Phaneuf, who refused to drop the gloves, got two minutes for roughing. He didn't receive a penalty for the hit on Okposo. Biron and Kiprusoff received two minutes each for leaving the crease.

Several Islanders were upset that after hitting Okposo, Phaneuf refused to engage them.

"I don't know he's going to put a guy on the stretcher like that and not step up to the challenge," Blake Comeau said.
 
"From my point of view, it looks like he left his feet when he went to hit him," Biron said, "and did it in a way that the league is trying to prevent."

Biron added, "We have a long memory, and we'll see them Saturday in Saskatoon. If you're going to play that way, you have to respond when challenged."

While last night's incident was by far the most troubling this preseason, the Islanders already have been the victim of some bad luck on the injury front. Doug Weight and Sean Bergenheim suffered groin strains in Wednesday's preseason game against Edmonton and are listed as day-to-day. Frans Nielsen, who injured his right knee during practice Tuesday, has flown to New York to undergo an evaluation on the knee.>>

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Okposo

Flames radio:

Okposo apparently ok--meet up with team at airport to fly back to Saskatoon.

Haven't they ever heard of Ryan Church?

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Flames 5, Isles 4 (Shootout)

Flames win the game in a shootout after Jokinen's pp goal waved off at OT buzzer.  Theo Fleury (yes, him) had the only goal of the shootout.

Big story of course is the condition of Kyle Okposo -- haven't seen anything further but the hit he took was one for the ages.

Kevin Poulin played the 2nd half of the game in goal (replacing Biron) and apparently played very well.  He'll spend this season in the QMJHL.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Link to Phaneuf hit on Okposo

http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2009/09/17/kyle-okposo-taken-off-on-stretcher-after-devastating-hit-from-di/
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Okposo carted off on stretcher!

From Katie Strang's tweets: (most recent on top)

* Jokinen hacks away at a loose puck in the crease for a PP goal that pulls the Flames within one3 minutes ago from web     
* Both goalies 2 min for leaving the crease4 minutes ago from web     
* Pretty sure Morency jumped the bench to fight; he got a double-minor and a game misconduct4 minutes ago from web     
* On stretcher now getting carted off the ice, Biron skated with him as he left the ice6 minutes ago from web     
* Even Martin Biron came to center ice to fight...huge scuffle on the ice10 minutes ago from web     
* Very scary moment: Kyle Okposo jsust got leveled in open ice by Dion Phaneuf. He's on his back now and they are bringing out the stretcher 

Isles lead 3-2 in 2nd.  As far as I can tell, game is only available in Calgary area on flames.com

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Extended area telecast schedule

If you live in one of those areas that only gets some of the Islander games (upstate NY being the primary area), here are the 41 games that will be seen in your area.

Sat 3-Oct Pittsburgh at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Thu 8-Oct ISLANDERS at Ottawa 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Sat 10-Oct ISLANDERS at Boston 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Fri 16-Oct ISLANDERS at Buffalo 7:30 7:00 MSG Plus 2
Sat 17-Oct San Jose at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Fri 30-Oct ISLANDERS at Washington 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Sat 31-Oct Buffalo at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Wed 4-Nov ISLANDERS at Buffalo 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Fri 6-Nov ISLANDERS at New Jersey 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Wed 11-Nov ISLANDERS at Washington 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Fri 13-Nov ISLANDERS at Carolina 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Sat 14-Nov ISLANDERS at Florida 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Fri 20-Nov ISLANDERS at Minnesota 8:00 7:30 MSG Plus
Sat 21-Nov ISLANDERS at St. Louis 8:00 7:30 MSG Plus
Thu 3-Dec ISLANDERS at Atlanta 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Sat 5-Dec ISLANDERS at Tampa Bay 7:30 7:00 MSG Plus 2
Wed 9-Dec ISLANDERS at Toronto 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Wed 16-Dec ISLANDERS at NY Rangers 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Sat 19-Dec Montreal at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Mon 21-Dec Tampa Bay at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Sat 26-Dec ISLANDERS at NY Rangers 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Tue 29-Dec Columbus at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Wed 6-Jan ISLANDERS at Colorado 9:00 8:30 MSG Plus
Fri 8-Jan ISLANDERS at Dallas 8:30 8:00 MSG Plus
Sat 9-Jan ISLANDERS at Phoenix 8:00 7:30 MSG Plus 2
Sat 16-Jan Buffalo at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Sun 31-Jan ISLANDERS at Florida 5:00 4:30 MSG Plus 2
Sat 6-Feb Carolina at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Tue 9-Feb Nashville at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Wed 10-Feb ISLANDERS at Pittsburgh 7:30 7:00 MSG Plus 2
Tue 2-Mar Chicago at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Sat 13-Mar New Jersey at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Wed 24-Mar ISLANDERS at NY Rangers 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Thu 25-Mar Calgary at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Sat 27-Mar ISLANDERS at Columbus 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus 2
Tue 6-Apr Montreal at ISLANDERS 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Thu 8-Apr ISLANDERS at Pittsburgh 7:30 7:00 MSG Plus
Sat 10-Apr ISLANDERS at New Jersey 7:00 6:30 MSG Plus
Sun 11-Apr Pittsburgh at ISLANDERS 5:00 4:30 MSG Plus 2

Those who are used to seeing every game will still get every game, 80 regular season (2 games on Versus) plus next Wednesday's pre-season games.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

The dreaded injury bug

Both Sean Bergenheim and Doug Weight suffered groin injuries last night and will, according to Scott Gordon's post-game (nyi.com), each miss a few days.

Apparently both suffered the injury in the first period and "tried to fight through it", leading one to wonder if they could have aggravated the injury further later in the game.

Weight played only two shifts in the final 9 minutes of the first period, but appeared to play regularly in the second period--garnering over 8 minures of ice-time.  He played the first 35 seconds of the third period before leaving the game.

Bergenheim also played more in the second period than in the first, and was on the ice when the period ended--yet he didn't play at all in the third period.

With Frans Nielsen already back in NY, the Isles have suffered injuries to three veteran forwards already-- and it's still 16 days until Opening Night.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Tavares debut

There is a link on NYI.com set-up for tonight's webcast from Edmonton.

Game time is 9:00 ET.
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

ex-Isle O'Marra looks to re-start career

This part of the Smyth trade has worked out so far for the Isles --- O'Marra has really struggled...

O'Marra's stock takes a tumble
 
Former first-round draft picks hopes to revive career after two dismal seasons
 
By Jim Matheson, Edmonton JournalSeptember 16, 2009
 
How did it get so far off the rails for Ryan O'Marra, who played in two world junior hockey championships for Canada, the last one with current Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews as his linemate?

How did a kid who was traded for Ryan Smyth and was supposed to have lots of game in junior and wore the "C" on his jersey, get to where he was scratched for 20 games last season with the Springfield Falcons in the American Hockey League?

What happened to the 15th player taken in the 2005 NHL draft, nine spots ahead of St. Louis Blues forward T. J. Oshie--who might make the 2010 U. S. Olympic team--and 10 before the Edmonton Oilers called out the name of O'Marra's world junior teammate Andrew Cogliano? How did it get to where he scored one goal in 62 games with the Falcons?

He's big (207 pounds), has fairly nice hands and never had a reputation in junior as a guy who avoided traffic, yet he has three goals and 18 points in 93 AHL games.

While the Oilers see O'Marra as a shutdown-type centre with some edge (he had 149 penalty minutes one season in junior), you still have to score a little. Three goals and 19 points are the kind of numbers sluggers put up.
O'Marra, who turned 22 in June, has so much ground to cover, there are no guarantees he'll even play in Springfield because the Falcons have lots of forwards. He may have to play in Stockton in the East Coast Hockey League.
"I have to kick my career back into gear ... it's been two dismal seasons," said O'Marra. "I have a chance to make a new first impression with a different set of coaches here, and even though Rob Daum came in halfway through last year, it's nice to have a clean slate there(Springfield) to show a different side of me."

How bad was it for O'Marra last year?Defenceman Bryan Young, the ultimate stay-at-home guy who may play in tonight's exhibition game against the New York Islanders, had three goals. Tough guy Guillaume Lefebvre scored four goals and had more points (13-10), playing eight more games (70 to 62).

Were there nights when he wanted to bang his head on the crossbar because he was so flummoxed with the puck on his stick?

"Yeah, when I missed three open nets in the span of three games. ... I was snakebit like I've never been in my entire life," said O'Marra, who actually had four goals in only eight games with Bridgeport, the Islanders'AHL farm club, in 2006 after his OHL junior season ended in Erie.

Obviously, this isn't where O'Marra thought he'd be today? How did it get to this?

"You ask that question a lot," he admitted. "I try not to think about it too much. It's very disheartening. I'm just trying to keep my head down and work hard. I'm only 22 years old. I'm trying to focus on having a good season and, hopefully, things will fall into place."

The Oilers asked for forward Kyle Okposo in the deal for Smyth but got a firm no, so went for the package of Robert Nilsson, a first-round draft (they took defenceman Alex Plante) and O'Marra. They didn't consider O'Marra a stocking stuffer in the package. He was good, but they have never given him any special treatment because of who he was.

"They made it very clear to me that it didn't matter if I was a first-round pick ... they made a point of telling me I wouldn't be getting anything (different treatment than other kids)," said O'Marra. "It didn't matter to them that I was traded for Ryan Smyth. That's the way this organization works. Players earn their ice-time. I don't, but hopefully this year I do."

"In world juniors, I played more of a defensive, physical role ... that's the aspect the Oilers liked the most. They asked me to do that at the next level, and that's the American Hockey League. Rightly or wrongly, I haven't earned the right to play on a nightly basis," said O'Marra.

O'Marra was also a linemate of Cogliano's when he played in the world junior championship in Vancouver and Sweden.

"That seems like a long time ago,'" he said, wistfully.

>>

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Rechlicz loses it in rookie game

He seemed like such a nice guy when he visited my son's camp this summer :)

<<Islanders rookies handle Huskies in exhibition play
Darren Zary, Saskatchewan News Network; Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, September 16, 2009

An exhibition contest -- part of the New York Islanders' training camp this week in Saskatoon -- saw a collection of rusty blades converge on the Art Hauser Centre.

While Steven DaSilva put on a goal-scoring clinic through 40 minutes for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, the Islanders rookies replied with a deadly power play on their way to a 5-3 victory here Tuesday night before a crowd of 2,402 fans.

"We came out a little shaky," said U of S forward Brad Erickson, his team's honourary captain. "We didn't know what to expect, but it ended up OK."

Three straight power-play goals by the Isles proved to the difference. And more.

"Their speed and support for the puck was far better than us," said U of S head coach Dave Adolph. "There were lots of situations where we got exposed ... The tempo was far better than the past two weeks of practice."

Many of the Huskies, like the Islanders rookies, were seeing their first action of the pre-season. Saskatchewan battled hard for two periods and kept within striking distance of New York, which finally pulled away in the third.
Slovak Tomas Marcinko had one goal and two assists for the Isles, who outshot the Dogs 39-26.

"It was a really good game," said Marcinko. "It had a fast pace. Guys played well. Those guys from the university have a really good team. It was really hard to play against them. We're glad that we won."

New York opened the scoring when Tony Romano finished off a two-on-one break with linemate Pascal Morency after U of S rookie D-man Brett Ward got caught up ice in the neutral zone. Romano had three whacks at the puck before getting it past U of S netminder Jeff Harvey at 4:03 of the first period.

The Dogs answered at 15:22 of the period on a dandy one-timer by Canadian Interuniversity Sport MVP DaSilva, whose blast picked the top right-hand corner after a feed from Chad Greenan during a two-man advantage. DaSilva's goal came four minutes after Islander enforcer Joel Rechlicz -- who had 68 penalty minutes in just 17 NHL games last season -- lost it on DaSilva in the corner.

Rechlicz received an interference penalty, a five-minute cross-checking major and a game misconduct when the ice chips settled.

At the end of the first period, more fireworks erupted. Myles Zimmer of the Huskies fought Mark Katic before young U of S rookie Cody Hobbs took on Islanders winger Michael Haley.

"The first period, we didn't know what to expect and it took us some time to get involved, get to the way we wanted to play," said DaSilva. "There was some stuff in the first period we tried to move on from. The second and third were more of an actual hockey game."

Just 23 seconds into the second frame, the Isles jumped ahead 2-1 on a shorthanded marker by Tyler Haskins, who beat Harvey up high during a partial breakaway.

DaSilva once again answered for Saskatchewan, pouncing on a turnover by a New York defender before streaking in from the right side and rifling a shot high to the stick side.

With D-man Jesse Zetariuk sitting in the penalty box, the Isles capitalized with a late power-play goal to go up 3-2. A weak shot from New York blue-liner Anton Klementyev fluttered by Harvey after slightly changing direction off a sliding Huskie player.

In the third, Matt Martin and Marcinko added power-play goals before Brennan Bosch answered for Saskatchewan, also with a man-advantage.

As expected, John Tavares was not in the Isles' lineup. However, fellow NHL draft first-rounder Calvin de Haan was.
>>

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Tavares to debut tonight

Katie Straing reporting that Tavares will make his debut against the Oilers tonight in Edmonton.
The Oilers are streaming the game; remains to be seen wether it will be available in NY area.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Pre-Season Webcasts

The Isles will play 4 more games in Western Canada this week, beginning tomorrow night in Edmonton.

The Oilers will be streaming that game (as well as their game vs. the Isles in Saskatoon) on their website:
oilers.nhl.com   

The website notes that the stream is only available in Western Canada, but tonight's game against Calgary is available on LI.

The Flames will also stream their game in Calgary against the Isles on Thursday night.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Can't tell the players without a scorecard

Here's the Islander training camp roster:

1 G Mikko Koskinen
2 D Mark Streit
3 D Calvin de Haan
4 D Mark Flood
7 RW Trent Hunter
8 D Bruno Gervais
10 RW Richard Park
11 C Nate Thompson
12 C Josh Bailey
15 LW Jeff Tambellini
16 LW Jon Sim
17 C Jeremy Reich
20 LW Sean Bergenheim
21 RW Kyle Okposo
24 D Radek Martinek
25 D Andy Sutton
26 LW Matt Moulson
27 C Greg Moore
28 RW Tim Jackman
30 G Dwayne Roloson
32 D Brendan Witt
33 G Scott Munroe
36 D Travis Hamonic
38 D Jack Hillen
39 G Rick DiPietro
40 RW Joel Rechlicz
41 RW Robin Figren
42 D Brett Westgarth
43 D Martin Biron
44 D Freddy Meyer
45 RW Tyler Haskins
46 LW Matt Martin
47 D Andrew MacDonald
48 LW Anton Klementyev
49 D Jyri Niemi
50 C/RW Tomas Marcinko
51 C Frans Nielsen
52 G Nathan Lawson
53 C Casey Cizikas
54 RW Tony Romano
55 RW Pascal Morency
56 D Dustin Kohn
57 RW Blake Comeau
58 LW Jesse Joensuu
59 C/LW Micheal Haley
60 G Kevin Poulin
61 D Jared Spurgeon
62 RW Greg Mauldin
67 LW Sean Bentivoglio
68 LW Bobby Hughes
70 D Jan Piskacek
71 D Mark Katic
77 D Trevor Smith
81 LW Justin DiBenedetto
91 C John Tavares
93 C Doug Weight

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Pre-season TV

Tonight's game is airing on a 30 minute tape-delay due to the Blue Jays game (really!) It's a Rogers SportsNet production.

I can confirm that we are televising the home pre-season game next Wednesday night vs. New Jersey.  That game will air on MSG+.

Somebody asked me this morning whether it is the first time the Isles have ever telecast a pre-season game (in past years, several games against the Rangers have been telecast, but they were Ranger telecasts).

There has definitely been one -- in 1995, I worked an Isle-Ranger pre-season game (Howie's first Islander telecast).  That might be the most recent one.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

TV info (update)

(Not sure why it's not in my channel guide -- something must have happened that has now been agreed to.   The conflict in Canada is due to a Blue Jays telecast)
 
 
UNIONDALE, NY - The New York Islanders announced today that MSG Plus will broadcast the New York Islanders vs. Vancouver Canucks pre-season game on Monday, September 14. The game, which is part of the NHL's Kraft Hockeyville 2009 festivities, will be on a 30 minute delayed broadcast beginning at 10:30 pm. (Eastern Time).

"Hockeyville is an opportunity for the Islanders to be showcased on an international stage in a very unique setting", said Chris Dey, President, New York Islanders. "We are honored that the NHL chose us to be a part of the event, which should be a very memorable time for the fans in Terrace. We've definitely had increased interest from the media and excitement from the fan base as we approach the home opener on October 3rd."

Kraft Hockeyville 2009 started out as a national search for Canada's most spirited hockey town. Communities across Canada were invited to submit a short essay with supporting photos that depicted their hometown pride and passion for hockey.

The 30 minute delay is to accommodate Canadian Broadcasting programming conflicts. 
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Isles TV info

The telecast schedule is on the MSG website.

Once again, all 82 Islander games will be telecast -- 62 on MSG+, 18 on MSG+2, and 2 games on Versus.  There will be a pre-game show before 77 of the 80 local telecasts, skipping only the three games out west next March.

Also, it appears that we will also televise the Isles-Devils game from the Coliseum on September 23rd.  It's the only home pre-season game.

It also appears that MSG+ will not have the Hockeyville game Monday-- not sure why.  NHL Network will televise.  I'll try to confirm this.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Isles-Canucks

A hockey historian named Joe Pelletier asked me for some Isles-Canucks info for his preview of Hockeyville.

You can find it here: http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2009/09/canucks-vs-islanders-history.html

He also has a piece on Ken Morrow
http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2009/09/shoebox-memories-ken-morrow.html

and on Terrace BC's own Wade Flaherty:

http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2009/09/shoebox-memories-wade-flaherty.html

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Broadcasters for Isles-Canucks

While you will be able to see the game on MSG+ Monday night from Hockeyville, you won't see Howie and Billy.

It's an NHL Network production, with the announcers coming from Western Canada.  The game will also air on NHL Network throughout the US and on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada.

John Shorthouse and John Garrett will call the action.  Shorthouse is the voice of the Canucks (on both TV and radio) while Garrett has worked on both Canucks and Flames games in recent years.

If the name John Garrett sounds familiar to Islander fans, it may be because he was involved in one of the oddest moments in Coliseum and All Star history.  Garrett played in the 1983 All-Star Game, and played well.  So well that during the third period he was voted the game's MVP; however Wayne Gretzky then went on to have a 4-goal game and they re-voted the MVP Award to give it to the Great One.

Here's how Garrett tells the story (from the Canucks website):

<<My opportunity to play in the NHL game came back in 1983 when Richard Brodeur was injured three days before the actual All-Star game. There was no other representative from the Canucks that year. Since Richard couldn't make it to Long Island for the game, the powers at the time decided they would simply send the other Canuck goalie. That was me.

The Oilers were just coming into their own and had a mess of players on the Campbell Conference squad including Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Glen Anderson. Along with Denis Savard, Brian Sutter and Lanny MacDonald, it was a pretty solid group.

The Wales Conference was represented by Mike Bossy, Brian Trottier, Denis Potvin, Peter Stastny and Larry Robinson. Talk about a thrill – especially for a kid from a small Air Force town in rural Ontario.

Call-it divine inspiration, blind luck, or whatever suits you, but I managed to shine in that game (a 9-3 Campbell Conference victory).

The Wales Conference had hammered us in the second period. I had managed to hold the fort and thought I was a lock for MVP honours - and the brand new car that came with it.

As my Campbell teammate Lanny McDonald famously put it: "I think John was up to the glove compartment, a horn and two tires when Wayne Gretzky took over."

Gretzky potted a record-setting four goals in the final ten minutes of the third period to steal the keys out of my pocket. Though I can think of worse fates than getting upstaged by Wayne Gretzky and a record-setting performance.
>>

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Steve Mears to host Penguins Live

Congrats to former Islander voice Steve Mears, who's landed a role with the Pittsburgh Penguins, his hometown team.
First show debuts on Sunday.

<<Pittsburgh Penguins to Launch HD Radio Channel Oct. 1
Friday, 09.11.2009 / 12:16 PM
The Pittsburgh Penguins will break new ground on Thursday, Oct. 1, becoming the first team in the National Hockey League to launch an exclusive HD radio channel.

"Pittsburgh Penguins Radio on 105.9 HD2" will feature unique Penguins content on a daily basis and also offer special NHL programming.  It will be streamed here on www.pittsburghpenguins.com.

The new venture is a joint effort between the Penguins and 105.9 The X (WXDX-FM), the team's radio flagship station.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for the Penguins and our partners at The X to take advantage of new technology and deliver fresh programming to the greatest fans in hockey," said Dave Soltesz, the Penguins' senior vice president of corporate sales. "We've already got an exceptional radio broadcast, with Mike Lange and Phil Bourque calling all of our regular season and playoff games on The X. The new HD channel will enable us to provide additional unique content about the Penguins and the NHL during the day."

The HD channel will feature Pittsburgh area native Steve Mears as host of a daily show, "Penguins Live," from 9:30 a.m.- 12 noon each weekday during the season. Mears, 29, spent the last three seasons as the radio play-by-play voice for the New York Islanders. A native of Murrysville and a graduate of Franklin Regional High School, Mears grew up as a Penguins fan, idolizing Mario Lemieux and Mike Lange.

"As a lifelong Penguins fan, the opportunity to come home, work for the organization and help create this new HD channel is a dream come true," Mears said.

Mears will be joined by Pittsburgh radio personality Tom Grimm, who also will produce "Penguins Live."

In addition to "Penguins Live," the new HD channel also carry "NHL Live" from New York each weekday from 12 noon-2 p.m. Pittsburgh radio sports personality Mark Madden will then do one hour of exclusive Penguins and NHL-themed content from 2-3 p.m.

The daily programming will begin with the "Daily Players' Playlist," from 9-9:30 a.m., featuring Penguins' players favorite songs.

The six-hour block (9 a.m-3 p.m.) will then be repeated during the day and evening.

Although the full lineup won't launch until Oct. 1, fans will be able to hear special limited broadcasts during training camp. Mears and Grimm will debut a preview edition of "Penguins Live" from Mellon Arena on Sunday, Sept. 13 from 10.a.m.-12 noon.
>>

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

A laugh from our favorite foe...

I giggled a bit this afternoon, when I found out that a local team was following my "tweets".

Official NY
Rangers (thenyrangers) is now following your tweets on Twitter.
A little information about Official NY Rangers:
5340 followers
607 tweets
following 1950 people
(You can too, they're listed under ehornick, but I have no idea how many of these that I will do...)

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.