...with the beginning of rookie camp in Syosset, the Islanders 2008-2009 campaign is finally upon us and we can look forward to a time of year full of promise and hope. All teams are on equal footing in September and all the players coming into camp talk the positive walk. As the thoughts of sugar plums and various rookie prospects full of potential and bright futures dance in my head, I cannot help but reflect on a few pestering points that seem to reverberate through my hockey rotting brain.
Is the team truly in a rebuilding mode or is it a thinly veiled disguise of half truths and broken pieces? The Islanders have stated they are on a youth movement, and want to give their young players more ice time in order to develop. On the surface, I looked at that repeated statement with excitement, anticipation and glee, yet when I delved deeper into it I came across glaring pieces of information that contradict the new Islanders mantra. The Islanders have 9 players over the age of 31 signed to a contract for this coming season...making the average age of the team the 3rd oldest in the NHL for 2008-2009. That fact scared me at first, how can a team that is supposedly so bent on rebuilding through youth be the 3rd oldest team in the league???
The "kids need leadership and guidance" chant reverberated through the internet like a zombie mumbling the word “”brains”” all summer long from fans everywhere. Having to agree with that statement to a certain extent does not mean that I agree with Snow’s position on signing players well past their prime (ala, Doug Weight). Making such moves goes against the philosophy of a youth movement and delays the development of a team as a whole. You want current team veterans to bring them along not a player grasping at his last chance to play in the NHL. This move was done 5 years too late.
Retro reunion- To the fans that are looking forward to the Weight/Guerin reunion, I feel that you are in for one heck of a disappointment this coming season.
Rightly or wrongly, the not too distant future of this team depends heavily on players such as Tambellini, Bergenheim, Comeau, Campoli, Gervais and Okposo, not to mention Bailey and the rest of the 2008 draft class. These players need to not only show they belong, but that they can contribute, excel and flourish at the NHL level for the team’s youth movement to progress and continue. If they fail, it will spell the end of the Snow regime on the Island and will bring about more uncertainty for this struggling franchise.
I am but a simple Islanders fan, all I ask is.....do it right this time!!!
... and here we go!!
Is the team truly in a rebuilding mode or is it a thinly veiled disguise of half truths and broken pieces? The Islanders have stated they are on a youth movement, and want to give their young players more ice time in order to develop. On the surface, I looked at that repeated statement with excitement, anticipation and glee, yet when I delved deeper into it I came across glaring pieces of information that contradict the new Islanders mantra. The Islanders have 9 players over the age of 31 signed to a contract for this coming season...making the average age of the team the 3rd oldest in the NHL for 2008-2009. That fact scared me at first, how can a team that is supposedly so bent on rebuilding through youth be the 3rd oldest team in the league???
The "kids need leadership and guidance" chant reverberated through the internet like a zombie mumbling the word “”brains”” all summer long from fans everywhere. Having to agree with that statement to a certain extent does not mean that I agree with Snow’s position on signing players well past their prime (ala, Doug Weight). Making such moves goes against the philosophy of a youth movement and delays the development of a team as a whole. You want current team veterans to bring them along not a player grasping at his last chance to play in the NHL. This move was done 5 years too late.
Retro reunion- To the fans that are looking forward to the Weight/Guerin reunion, I feel that you are in for one heck of a disappointment this coming season.
Rightly or wrongly, the not too distant future of this team depends heavily on players such as Tambellini, Bergenheim, Comeau, Campoli, Gervais and Okposo, not to mention Bailey and the rest of the 2008 draft class. These players need to not only show they belong, but that they can contribute, excel and flourish at the NHL level for the team’s youth movement to progress and continue. If they fail, it will spell the end of the Snow regime on the Island and will bring about more uncertainty for this struggling franchise.
I am but a simple Islanders fan, all I ask is.....do it right this time!!!
... and here we go!!
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