SB Nation User Blog: Dominik

"Yann Danis is a goaltender with five years’ experience on the professional level," said Devils’ Lou...

Dominik — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:59:53 -0000

"Yann Danis is a goaltender with five years’ experience on the professional level," said Devils’ Lou Lamoriello. "He will give us depth at that position as we head into training camp."

Lou Lamoriello overflowing with praise for ex-Islander Danis. The Devils don't say what terms were, so it's not yet clear if he's a two-way deal (likely) or a cheap benchwarmer for Brodeur.

Danis was excellent at times last season but finished poorly. Be fun to see if he can handle sporadic playing time.

Tavares makes Islanders prospect camp a hot 'ticket'

Dominik — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:16:57 -0000

More photos » by John Dunn - AP

Josh Bailey is a promising 1st-round pick -- but he's not the reason the Islanders are issuing wristbands for Sunday's public mini-camp.

Browse more photos »

Due to capacity limitations and the overwhelming level of interest, a limited number of wristbands will be issued to fans for admission into the Prospect Mini-Camp open practice at Islanders Iceworks in Syosset on July 12th. Wristbands will be issued starting at 9:00am and fans are encouraged to arrive early as admission will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans must have a wristband in order to gain access to the rink to watch the open practice.

Additional parking is available at the Syosset Long Island Railroad station just east of the practice facility.

>>Islanders press release

Welcome to The John Tavares Effect. It's likely too late to alter plans now, but it makes you wish the club had decided to open more than Sunday's practice to the public, since they're now worried that demand will exceed capacity. (No, "worry" isn't quite the right word there.)

Some teams make nearly their entire camp open to the public, and this one, coming immediately after drafting first overall, would have been a great opportunity for the Islanders to do so. But I bet the entire organization is just getting a handle on how big of an impact Tavares and positive Lighthouse Project news will have on attention to the team.

If you're lucky enough to go, remember: Once the novelty of seeing Tavares wears off, there are plenty of other prospects with much less certain futures to watch.

Islanders prospect camp opens; Tavares turns water to wine

Dominik — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:26:37 -0000

More photos » by John Dunn - AP

"Oh, and one more thing: You gotta make this loaf of bread feed 5,000, okay?"

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The focus unavoidably will be on No. 1 overall draft pick John Tavares as he straps on his skates for the first time as an Islander when minicamp for rookies and prospects begins Friday at Iceworks.

But he will be surrounded by nearly all of the organization's top prospects for the franchise rebuilding plan that began a year ago. Of the 20 players selected by the Islanders in the past two drafts, 17 are scheduled to attend.

>>Greg Logan, Newsday

Logan's lede is pretty much how I feel: I'm never much for prospect camps -- so much going on, so much diversion and potential to read too much into a mere scrimmage -- so I usually prefer a whole staff of observers to distill what, if anything, can be learned.

But like Logan, I'm not so much interested in Tavares this weekend -- we know he's pretty good and headed to the NHL, and something tells me we'll learn everything down to his skate size over the years. Rather, I want a window on the progress of the other Islanders prospects, the ones around whom questions and hopes swirl. And boy, are there a lot of them. From the new goalies to the long-developing Finn and Swedes, let's see where they are.

For camp roster, all-encompassing camp coverage, Tavares bits and other Islanders blog/news, check the links after the jump.

Camp Links

The Islanders official site pledges to have up-to-date coverage.
I imagine Logan will be on top of things at Newsday's On the Islanders Beat.
Chris Botta had the only published list of attendees I've seen.
If you're into rankings, Botta also has his own lists of Top 10 prospects in Bridgeport and elsewhere.

Never sure how often to stress this, but I'm a long-distance Islanders fan, so the above (and anyone else I find) will be my eyes and ears for this weekend. The Sunday session is open to the public, but there's been word that season ticket holders can make arrangements if they call.

Other Islanders Links

Ha! As predicted, Tavares's arrival actually got the Daily News to do an Islanders story.
An excellent Tavares Q&A at USA Today: "After the draft, there were a few requests." No kidding.
Islesblogger Mike weighs in on the most recent AHL signings, including one whose Ranger taint is offset by his Maine (Garth Snow's hood) background.
Lighthouse Activisim 101: The public comment period is opening. Nick tells you how to weigh in on the project with the Town of Hempstead, as does 7th Woman.

We'll be keeping tabs on mini-camp and other news here, but we'll also move back into summer mode with more Islanders report cards and other evergreen features. Thanks for coming round, thanks for coming back.

Fantasy GM: Should the Islanders target Dustin Byfuglien?

Dominik — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:50:45 -0000

The following is idle summer speculation from an observer, and not sourced by insiders or tea leaves. If you're an anonymous passer-by, please do the world a favor and don't pretend it's "a rumored to be pursuing" thing.

The Chicago Blackhawks, you may have heard, are up good and tight against the salary cap. The New York Islanders, you may have heard, are rebuilding with a focus on youth. Many are saying the Hawks need to move a salary (or two). With all that young talent in Chicago, they just may have a match in the Islanders.

If you're Garth Snow and you want to try to leverage this situation, who do you target, and who do you offer up? I'm interested in any suggestions (including compensation). But I'm thinking the slightly overpaid ($3 million per through 2010-11), hulking enigma known as Dustin Byfuglien would work. Before we dig into this, though, let's establish a few givens:

The nature of the Hawks' situation means they have to take cheaper salary and/or picks in return. (So Andy Sutton isn't going back the other way)
However, the Hawks don't have to deal someone -- not yet -- so they can afford to be a little picky. (So "give them Jeff Tambellini!" doesn't cut it.)
That said, Snow should only enter this game if he can leverage the advantage -- i.e., part of what he would be giving the Hawks is cap relief, so it should be an asymmetric transaction in terms of the player assets exchanged

The Candidates

Some news scuttlebutt suggests the Hawks would deal Cam Barker or Kris Versteeg -- though that would be rather cruel after both of those players re-signed with the team even though they could have chased the open market, thanks to the Hawks office snafu that made both of them likely unrestricted free agents. Of course, if the Hawks wanted to deal Versteeg or still-promising defensemen Barker, who am I to turn them down?

Another candidate, who many Hawks fans would love to dump, is Byfuglien. While I would obviously love to pry Versteeg away, my hunch is Byfuglien, 24, is a more likely target due to his uneven development. Plus, he would provide the kind of size on the wing the Islanders sorely lack.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008-09 - Kris Versteeg	78	22	31	53	15	55	6	4	3	0	139	15.8

Dustin Byfuglien	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	GWG	SOG	PCT
2005-06	25	3	2	5	-6	24	0	0	45	6.7
2006-07	9	1	2	3	-2	10	0	0	18	5.6
2007-08	67	19	17	36	-7	59	7	4	163	11.7
2008-09	77	15	16	31	7	81	3	4	202	7.4

If you don't see many Western Conference or Hawks games, you might not know what a force Byfuglien can be -- when he's motivated -- as a big body who can bang and finish. He's the profile hockey insiders salivate over, the type who draws an uniterrupted string of "MONSTER!"s from Pierre McGuire. Of course, if you don't check in on or hear many Hawks fans, you might not realize just how frustrated they can get with him. Like a lot of big men, his development comes in stops and starts, though in his case he also had a late start on his hockey development.

Not to suggest he's on this level, but think of the Todd Bertuzzi experience on Long Island: You saw his size, saw his hands, and then slammed your head into a wall with frustration that he could never seem to put it all together. While many mourn Bertuzzi's departure, it was almost as if he was never going to "get it" until he got a change of scenery and a taskmaster coach like Mike Keenan to wake him up. Hell, Byfuglien might even appreciate talking to a guy like Clark Gillies instead of pouting.

Scott Gordon is no dictatorial Keenan, but he's no pussycat either. Once Byfuglien overcame the jolt of relocation -- and assuming his slower pace could adjust to Gordon's system -- I bet he could fit in and blossom as an important part of the Islanders, providing a mix of size and skill needed to compete in the Atlantic Division.

Whom To Give Up?

So that's my case for Byfuglien. But who do you offer? If the Hawks wanted a draft pick, I say go for it -- although not a 1st-rounder, given where the Islanders stand. But it's fair to say Byfuglien has demonstrated enough NHL ability and potential to justify a 2nd-round pick plus. The thing that elevates his value is his tantalizing size; the thing that lowers it is his enigmatic development.

If you're sending a roster player back, the one who cries out to me is Blake Comeau. Comeau's a restricted free agent, but his raise will still keep him under $1 million, representing a $2 million relief for the Hawks. An even-up right wing swap? Could work. Like Byfuglien, Comeau has potential. He also had the worst 5-on-5 GF/GA performance of any regular Islanders forward last year.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Blake Comeau	53	7	18	25	-17	32	2	0	0	0	78	9.0

Comeau would likely excel with similar handsy forwards on the Hawks. What Chicago would lose on size (and potential) in the deal, they'd gain in cap relief.

If Chicago wants size back, do you offer Jesse Joensuu instead? Again, the Hawks lose in present-day value in that exchange, but they gain cap relief (in fact, Joensuu can be kept in the minors and off the books) and have a cheap potential power forward for the future.

I love this proposition, because it's the kind of thing that would draw reactions all over the map (from "No way! Byfuglien is gonna be great!" to "He'll never get it! Dump him now."). Frankly, I bet Hawks management would value Byfuglien more than Hawks fans do, because where fans see daily frustration, management (should) see a potential long-term piece unlike anything else in their lineup. On the other hand, the Hawks might see a chance to sell high after Byfuglien's playoff -- and demand a higher price than I'm willing to offer.

If you want to get really cute, you can take the unused (and hardly useable) ex-Islander Brent Sopel's contract off their hands, too -- but in that event I'm not giving much of value in return.

So the question: If you could poach the Hawks' roster, who do you want and who would you (realisticall) give up to get him?

Poll

You be the vulture: If you're "helping" the Hawks with their cap situation, which player do you target for the Islanders?

LHinks: John Tavares rock star; are Islanders chasing anyone?

Dominik — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:16:56 -0000

More photos » by John Dunn - AP

"How do I feel? I feel like kicking arse and taking names. You?"

Browse more photos »

The John Tavares Hype Machine is fully operational. Things kicked into overdrive yesterday with his introduction to fans and media* on the Nassau Coliseum floor.

*And by "media" I mean those who think a brilliant question is "Will you name Tavares captain?" or "How discouraged are you to be joining...?" Mercifully, there were only a few of those, as real questions came in the media scrum afterward.

It's a funny situation, this: No fan wants to be taken for a purely promotional ride of kool-aid. (No reporter, either, as Greg Logan rightly marvels at the ease of this PR campaign.) Yet in one sense, this business (or obsession, depending on your perspective) is built on hope and passion and slightly misplaced priorities: Our hopes and happiness, at least when considering this object of attention, are predicated on how well a collection of 18-40 year-olds do playing a game.

And the Islanders have just added a very important 18-year-old to that game -- easily the most important piece they've added in nine to 15 years. So while at some point I will scream, "Enough!" with the Tavares-Buy Tickets!-Get a Jersey! bonanza, that point is a ways off. Particularly during this summer of promise after last season's winter of pain, the Islanders deserve a long leash to celebrate -- and build -- good times. We all have varying degrees of healthy cynicism, but we wouldn't still be paying attention if we didn't check some of our sanity at the door.

That said, is Garth Snow going to add another established veteran? Is this it? News and reviews after the jump...

John Tavares

Mike Carey of Islanders360 was at the Tavares intro, Twittering away and posting a quick recap of the media scrum.
Alex at Hockey Night on LI also Twittered the event and had a recap.
Chris Botta live-blogged it.
Logan's profile piece (also linked above) is full of Tavares quotes. Damn, this kid gets it.
I've wondered this before guesting on radio shows: Tav-ARE-es? Tav-AIR-es? Herrmann clears it up: It's either. True to my linguist father, I'll be going with the root Portuguese way (ARE).
7th Woman Dee checks in with Mrs. Tavares at Dee's HockeyBuzz gig.
More (yet fewer) quotes in the AP story.

Lighthouse Project

Another fantastic round-up from Nick on Tuesday's meeting and the next steps.

Free Agency: Islanders and Beyond

Voice of the Islanders Fans has a deep look at the Islanders depth chart and free agency. He pleads for Tanguay.
But will the go after anyone? B.D. hears conflicting whispers about their intentions.
Elsewhere, another Finnish fish, er duck, has landed: Saku Koivu is in Anaheim. Nice price.
Lowetide explains why Islanders castoff Robert Nilsson is probably not long for Edmonton. Then he tackles Denis Grebeshkov. This is why the Smyth trade, though short-sighted, struck me as a calculated risk.
Classy Joe Sakic retired. Mile High Hockey has a bevy of tributes in the main thread and FanPosts.
That big Chris Pronger deal? It's a cap problem in that if he retires early, or if he stinks late, he'll still be a nearly $5 million cap hit until he turns 42 (a.k.a. 2017). Mirtle has the round-up of opinions.
Meanwhile, the point about Chicago's cap situation -- as perfectly outlined at Birdwatchers Anonymous -- is that this year's expenditures are a problem because last summer's were insane. Brian Campbell is one thing, but Christobal Huet -- cripes. You simply don't give a goalie $5.6 million unless you're absolutely sure he's top five in the league.
Speaking of which, Antero Nittymaki is off to the KHL. I've been expecting this flooded market effect for a while: Salary cap + only 30 NHL jobs + advanced technical coaching means a lot of decent goalies can't find jobs.

"The biggest thing is we don't want him to feel like he's got to be the guy every night. We want it...

Dominik — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:02:47 -0000

"The biggest thing is we don't want him to feel like he's got to be the guy every night. We want it to be a smooth transition for him ... He's a pretty mature kid. He's been through a lot ... I'm sure if there is anybody that is going to be quick to handle everything, it'll be him."

>>Scott Gordon discusses his new prize, John Tavares.

Live John Tavares press conference coverage

Dominik — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:58:02 -0000

More photos » by John Dunn - AP

"91, franchise-bearing-Large, right?" -- "Right."

Browse more photos »

Welcome to the new age of sports promotion. Last time the Islanders had a player to hype this much, let's just say streaming video and live-blogging weren't available to the masses.

John Tavares is introduced today at 12:30 p.m. EDT, at the Coliseum, in a press conference open to the public.[Update: Watch it live (or on replay) here in the embedded video feed after the jump.]

But seeing as how most people work, I thought I'd do some live-blog commentary in comments. Also:

You can watch it live at the Islanders official site (or here at the end of this post, in the embedded video)
Chris Botta will live-blog it at IslandersPointBlank
Twitter: Several, including @hockeynightli, @Carey303, and @Lighthouse_LI uh, "tweeting," live from the Coliseum
As always, you can leave your wit and insight here; pretty sure I'll be in dodging a meeting

I am as excited as the next guy -- but I must admit the cynic in me wonders how interesting the proceedings will be. He's already had to talk a lot about the draft and the Islanders. ("Excited ... can't wait ..." etc.) Hopefully the attending press will ask interesting questions beyond, "How does it feel ... to have a franchise on your shoulders at 18?" I'd like to hear about his game, insights into his approach on the ice, about his meetings with Garth Snow (and Scott Gordon?), about what he's seen on Long Island. And of course his favorite fruit -- always, one's favorite fruit.

If you were there, what would you ask him? (e.g. "Aren't you relieved you didn't have to play for the Leafs?")

From Lighthouse to Tavares, a pivotal 30 days for the Islanders

Dominik — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:37:11 -0000

A nice omen: At least the New York Islanders are actually having a prospect mini-camp. The Dallas Stars canceled theirs, thanks to owner Tom Hicks's hardship-induced budget cuts. (Note: The Stars will still bring top prospects in and, more importantly, participate in the highly regarded Traverse City prospect tournament.) Things are looking up after all.

Before the Islanders' mini-camp convenes this Friday through next Wednesday, today at 12:30 p.m. the Islanders introduce John Tavares to fans (FREE admission) and media at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This follows yesterday's Town of Hempstead meeting at which the draft generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) for the Lighthouse development project was unanimously approved for public review (as expected), and all-day public comment hearings were scheduled for Aug. 4 at Hofstra University. Yesterday's approval begins a 45-day public review period, another step in the process.

The timing could not be more symbolic.

Whereas last winter, our worst fears for this July involved missing on Tavares (or drafting him only to prepare him for life in Kansas City or Hamilton) while the Lighthouse Project stalled, now we have his first on-ice appearance wearing an Islanders logo juxtaposed with a spate of positive news for the new building. [Chris Botta has the roster here.] I'm frequently asked if John Tavares will "save the Islanders." In truth it's the Lighthouse Project that would get that done and not an 18-year-old sniper -- but symbolically the two of them go hand-in-hand.

From the moment he was drafted, Tavares already provided a boost to ticket sales and franchise image. That will no doubt continue after today's formal introduction, on through this week's mini-camp (Sunday's skate is open to the public) and throughout the summer. While the Lighthouse development is about much more than the Islanders, the fact that things are trending upward for its symbolic anchor tenant can only help the tenor of things going into the public meetings next month. September's K.C. foray and Saskatchewan training camp will feel like sharing the NHL's next star with the world, not auditioning the club for a new home.

As Doug said at Official'sOutlook, it can't be stressed enough that this isn't over -- there is so much more to do, and there are likely more political scares ahead: "Revel in this small victory for now, but it'll be time to get back to work tomorrow." But for us Islanders fans, it's been a long road to this point. A little alignment of bright stars was overdue.

AHL Realigns: Baby Rangers, Islanders are proper rivals

Dominik — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:39:45 -0000

Lighthouse and mini-camp news tomorrow. For now, this...

Looking at the AHL's small realignment, Tom at Tiger Track notes that the Islanders' AHL affiliate Sound Tigers are now true division rivals with the Rangers' Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL's Atlantic Division. Bring it on.

{sigh} If only the NHL still had four divisions. A gander at that sweet, deep alignment of three seven-team divisions and one eight-team one (the Atlantic) has me again pining for the NHL's days of yore: A six-team Patrick Division (come home, Caps, come home) as part of four distinct NHL divisions -- each with their own bloody, playoff-fueled rivalries and fan-inflated mythology.

The realignment is part of a subtle Western shift for the AHL: The Dallas Stars establish a new affiliate in Austin, Tex., while the Flames relocate their affiliate from the Quad Cities, Iowa, all the way to Abbotsford, British Columbia, as part of a veeery stretched out North Division. Glens Falls, N.Y., is the new home of the Philadelphia Flyer's affiliate (previously in the Philadelphia Spectrum), now known as the Adirondack Phantoms.

If I'm honest, the NHL's current alignment has started to develop a character of its own. And even if we had 7- or 8-team divisions, they still wouldn't have the blood feuds developed by frequent playoff matchups back when 4 of 5 (or 6) battled in the post-season each year. Now it's a divisional badge of pride to get four teams into the playoffs, the way the Patrick and Norris, er, Atlantic and Central did last season.

Besides, if the Isles and Penguins ever face in the playoffs again, it wouldn't take much to make it feel like old times.

Mobile commenting, easy re-tweeting enabled

Dominik — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:49:55 -0000

Mobile commenting, easy re-tweeting enabled

Some quick site business: Don't know how many of you access Lighthouse Hockey via mobile phone, but the tech team behind SB Nation has launched an update that allows you to submit comments from your phone. Probably something that's more common in-season when actual games are being played, but save that in your quiver.

They tested a lot of phones and browsers, but if you have trouble on yours, please let them know at support@sbnation.com.

They've also added a one-click "re-tweet" icon to each post. In case you're on Twitter and want to pass a post on, that loads it with the short URL for you.

Enjoy! Or save for later. I have to say one of the many cool things about blogging here is the imaginative, always-responsive tech team. They rock just a tad.