He's an avid Islanders fan, an active member of the club's BlogBox, and if you play hockey, chances are he's thrown you or your child (or both) into the penalty box. He's Doug, aka IslesOfficial, and he's joining our Lighthouse Hockey staff as a writer/sniper/enforcer/master of officiating.

Doug runs his Isles Official's Outlook blog and also comments quite often around here. I've always enjoyed what he has to say, and -- better yet, for discussion's sake -- sometimes we disagree. As a working referee, he also brings a different perspective to the game and officiating. As fans we all pine and moan about officiating (especially Doug's ... I swear, the guy is blind, I was totally tripped on that) -- but have we even read the rulebook? Doug has, and usually has a clear, non-lawyerese way of explaining its nuances.

For that reason and for all of his perspectives, I'm happy he accepted my invitation to become an "official" writer here. He'll keep his blog going (and like me he's one of them young folk on "the Twitter" @NYIsles10), but between myself, Doug and Islesblogger Mike, we'll make sure Lighthouse Hockey stays humming with daily updates and general tomfoolery. So please welcome Doug and look for his initial post on the GM meetings and the headshot discussion some time this weekend(ish).

Remember, part of the SBN setup is any member can contribute your own links (via FanShots) or theories and queries (via FanPosts) for discussion; we authors can "front page" the big ones into the center column and just generally guide the ship and keep it out of harm's Milbury's way. Game on, baby.