Former Isles voices all over Stanley Cup coverage

Steve Mears, Joe Micheletti and Deb Placey all part of NHL Network coverage, as are former Islander players Kevin Weekes and Doug Weight.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=632787

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Kabanov #1 Star in Memorial Cup win

Isles prospect Kirill Kabanov was named the game's #1 star as Shawinigan stayed alive in the Memorial Cup:

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/jrhockey-buzzing-the-net/2012-mastercard-memorial-cup-three-stars-kirill-kabanov-014843140.html

Shawinigan plays in the semi-finals tonight, with the winner advancing to Sunday's final.  (Tonight's game will be shown in the US only on tape -- at 3pm Saturday)

Might be some other series still being played Friday and Sunday :)  In fact, I'll guarantee ... a game tonight.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Parenteau

PA Parenteau was a guest on L'antichambre (a French-language sports talk show) on RDS yesterday.

On the show's twitter feed last night (@antichambre ) , PA is quoted as saying that "there's not a huge difference in the numbers" but they're still "fairly far apart".  He added that he would be "nervous" if it reached July.

I had a bilingual friend in Montreal translate it for me to make sure that I wasn't changing the meaning.

If you understand French, you can enjoy the complete interview here: http://ac.rds.ca/

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Parise

Isles fans have such fond memories of Mike Milbury passing on Zach Parise in the 2003 Entry Draft to select Robert Nilsson.  (To be fair the Rangers had a shot too, and they selected Hugh Jessiman, who was even worse.)

Said Milbury early in the 2005-06 season (in a NY Times story by Jason Diamos), as both players were debuting in the NHL:  "''It was a controversial pick,'' Milbury acknowledged recently regarding his selection of Nilsson. ''A lot of people were saying we should have picked Parise. But Nilsson's upside is so substantial, we thought it was worth the risk.'' 

Even Parise was surprised at the time: "''We thought for sure that I would be going to the Islanders, and we were expecting it,'' the younger Parise said. ''But that's not the way it worked out. And I think it worked out a little better for me. There's no question.''

So, fast forward to spring, 2012.  Parise's Devils and the Rangers are in the Conference Finals with one guaranteed a chance at the Stanley Cup Final.

What could be worse from an Islander fan perspective? Oh, this. 
http://www.newsday.com/sports/columnists/arthur-staple/is-devils-parise-in-rangers-future-1.3724873

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

The Blood Rule

Blood – A player who is bleeding or who has visible blood on his
equipment or body shall be ruled off the ice at the next stoppage of
play. Such player shall not be permitted to return to play until the
bleeding has been stopped and the cut or abrasion covered (if
necessary). It is required that any affected equipment and/or uniform
be properly decontaminated or exchanged.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Bergevin joins the club

Former Islander Marc Bergevin will be introduced at 2pm today as the new General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens.

He becomes the sixth former Islander to currently serve as an NHL GM:

Scott Howson, Columbus: 18 games with Isles

Steve Tambellini, Edmonton: 107 games with Isles

Don Maloney, Phoenix: 91 games with Isles

Marc Bergevin, Montreal: 76 games with Isles

Garth Snow, Islanders: 127 games with Isles

Darcy Regier, Buffalo:  11 games with Isles

A 7th GM, Winnipeg's Kevin Chevaldayoff, was drafted by the Islanders but never appeared in the NHL due to injury.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Okposo scores winner, adds assist in USA Exhibition win

from usahockey <<The U.S. Men's National Team defeated Sweden 3-2 on Tuesday in its only tuneup game before the 2012 IIHF Men's World Championship, held in Helsinki, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden. Team USA opens play against France at 5:15 a.m. EDT on Friday.>>

Kyle Okposo scored the winning goal (which made it 3-0 US) after assisting on a Jim Slater goal earlier in the contest.  Okposo had 24 goals for the Isles this past season; only two Team USA teammates (Bobby Ryan and Max Pacioretty) had more

All Team USA games in the tourney will be shown on NBCSN; all but two of the games will be shown live (ironically the two not shown live are the game against Canada and the Gold Medal Game).

TV schedule from USAHockey:

Team USA 2012 IIHF World Men's Championship Schedule
May 4 - 20 • Helsinki, Finland & Stockholm, Sweden
 

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (EDT)	Television
Fri., May 4	France	Helsinki	5:15 a.m.	NBC Sports Network (Live)
Sat., May 5	Canada	Helsinki	12:00 p.m.	NBC Sports Network (Delay/10:30 p.m. ET)
Mon., May 7	Slovakia	Helsinki	1:15 p.m.	NBC Sports Network (Live)
Thurs., May 10	Belarus	Helsinki	9:15 a.m.	NBC Sports Network (Live)
Fri., May 11	Kazakhstan	Helsinki	9:15 a.m.	NBC Sports Network (Live)
Sun., May 13	Finland	Helsinki	9:15 a.m.	NBC Sports Network (Live)
Tues., May 15	Switzerland	Helsinki	1:15 p.m.	NBC Sports Network (Live)
Thurs., May 17	Quarterfinals	Helsinki	TBD	NBC Sports Network (Live)
Sat., May 19	Semifinals	Helsinki	TBD	NBC Sports Network (TBD)
Sun., May 20	Bronze-Medal Game	Helsinki	9:00 a.m.	NBC Sports Network (Live)
	Gold-Medal Game	Helsinki	1:30 p.m.	NBC Sports Network (Delay/9 p.m. ET)

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick