Changes Incoming: Matt Martin, Jesse Joensuu to join Islanders
by Dominik on Feb 7, 2010 3:03 PM EST
in Roster Manoeuvres in the Dark
34 comments
The Islanders official site and Newsday's Katie Strang report, and Connecticut Post's Mike Fornabaio amplifies, that the Islanders' seven-game losing streak and frightening failure to score (10 goals in eight games) will lead to the call-up of big AHL Bridgeport forwards Jesse Joensuu and Matt Martin, each of whom Fornabaio reported had good games last night in the Sound Tigers' 6-4 win.
Joensuu has had a few looks at this level and has steadily improved his play this season since a disappointing 2009 training camp. Martin, 20, potted two goals in four NHL preseason games -- and 23 PIM -- enough of a glimpse to get Islanders fans dreaming that we have a budding power forward on our hands.
"Top six" may be too much to hope for either of these two, but big bodies who can make trouble in front of the net and put in goals from that precious real estate? Hell and yes.
Scott Gordon told Strang he believes Martin has improved his skating while at Bridgeport, a credit to the Sound Tigers staff (and to Martin, of course). Joensuu has been commended for rebounding from his bad camp to be Bridgeport's second-leading scorer.
The Islanders' struggles this year have featured a periodic lack of physicality in some areas; it's possible Gordon's hard in-motion forecheck and resulting hard backcheck leads forwards to avoid finishing hitting opportunities for the sake of getting back to cover. It's a fine line between finishing all your checks and making sure you don't take yourself out of the 5-on-5 flow. With smaller bodies, that challenge is all the greater. Joensuu and Martin first and foremost bring bigger bodies. Whether they bring goals? That will be fun to watch and find out.
Room for the move involves putting Josh Bailey on injured reserve and no doubt removing Jeff Tambellini -- he of 5:11 even-strength minutes last night -- from the lineup. (The Islanders, carrying just six healthy defensemen, already had one open roster spot.) That leaves one more body to take out from yesterday's game. Gordon said "no one is playing poorly," so it will be interesting to see who draws the Comeau scratch straw.
Overall, this is an encouraging sign. Evaluating the progress of the kids in Bridgeport is a long-term goal for this season no matter what. Seizing the opportunity to do so in the middle of a seven-game skid simply makes sense.
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Ok but they have to play, who sits who goes (besides Tambs)...
I like Martins game a lot, he’s actually just what we need, but I didn’t think he was close to ready for the NHL.
I was under the impression Martin isn’t close yet, but a little taste here couldn’t hurt.
I can’t help guessing Comeau gets scratched just by default. When was the last time a non-Thompson veteran was healthy scratched?
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
Fair enough (though wasn’t he technically “injured” and then on IR for every missed game?), though I was thinking of the forwards. Seems like Jon Sim last year was the last one.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
I was thinking they scratched him a few times after he came back from IR but before he was sent down. Sim’s only played 56 games this year, and SBNation’s profile doesn’t have him listed with any minor injuries.
But otherwise I was just busting chops. No worries.
Plus my memory is horrible when it comes to small details.
"So basically, the Stats make no sense whatsoever."
otherwise I was just busting chops.
Oh yeah, I know. And do bring it on. I expect to be busted for my sweeping, poorly researched statements!
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
Matt may not be "ready"
Martin might not be 100% NHL ready, but I’ll bet he brings more to the table than what we’ve seen in other bottom six forwards. Joensuu brings middle six potential that is on the cusp. Sure he probably can improve his skating, but you can’t coach SIZE, and he will give Gordon another lump of clay that can be molded for at least 100 games. That means you can sit Park and/or Weight… and definitely Tambellini… None of them are the PROBLEM, but I don’t think any of them are on the Island next year.
THIS MOVE SHOULD ENERGIZE THE FAN BASE… and they need something, albeit a small something, after 7 str8 losses. I know I’m excited about both… lets just hope Gordon doesn’t over coddle them.
Was hoping to see DiBendetto get a shot because of the amount of shots he puts on net, but if Martin is psychical I’ll take that.
"So basically, the Stats make no sense whatsoever."
Martin is psychical
I like this typo.
Seizing the opportunity to do so in the middle of a seven-game skid simply makes sense.
Definitely, not only do you get the advantage of evaluation but if one of the players provides a spark then you start winning again too. Hopefully, one or both of Joensuu/Martin can have a similar effect to Brandon Yip on the young Colorado squad and wake this team up.
We could definitely use a bit more of the psychical.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
In the paraphrased words of Yogi Berra – Hockey is 90% mental and the other half is psychical.
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla I am coming!
by David Hanssen on Feb 7, 2010 5:19 PM EST up reply actions
DiBo
While he has been putting a ton of shots on net, very little of that is translating into results. He has a line of 6/7/13/-5 in 52 games, and while his line isn’t that much worse than Martin’s, he doesn’t bring the psychicality of a Martin. DiBo has 6 goals on 139 shots, that equals a 4.317% shooting percentage (Martin is shooting at a 10.714 clip, JJ a 12.222 clip).
DiBo has had a tough time transitioning to the AHL and at this stage going to the NHL might just destroy the kid’s confidence completely. The call up of Martin over Trevor Smith and Sean Bentivoglio probably means they are no longer in the Isles long-term plans.
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla I am coming!
by David Hanssen on Feb 7, 2010 5:29 PM EST up reply actions
Value...
when you draft an 18 year old you it’s like buying wine. Sometimes you pay a great deal and you know what you’re gonna get if you open the bottle when you get home. Sometimes you pay less and trust the wine critics that the vintage is good, but needs some time. Sometimes you buy from a small vineyard and you are amazed at what you get…
I think DiBo falls under that third category. They didn’t spend a lot on him, and they’re going to have to spin the bottle every third day for a few years, but he has hands and instinct.
It’s the three or four years that will make or break him.
The AHL is full of DiBo’s… No rush… we shouldn’t start to worry about vinegar for two years or so.
DiBo was 20 when the Isles drafted him. He had already had big stat years alongside Stamkos in (The Chronicles of) Sarnia . Everyone knew the book on him was great Junior scorer, will have a difficult time transitioning to the pro game. I agree, evaluating DiBo should happen in a couple years time.
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla I am coming!
by David Hanssen on Feb 7, 2010 5:51 PM EST up reply actions
20?
DOB: 10/25/88
DRAFT DAY: June 08
That’s odd. I thought you couldn’t start a junior year as a 20-year old. I guess I never paid much attention. Thanks.
Interesting Youtube on him at an a Barnacles of Sarnia dinner. The kid might be a career AHLer, but he’ll add something to that dressing room that will show up in Uniondale one way or another.
The 175th pick… if you get 20 games and 3 goals in the next three years it’s like getting Sutter Home at Thunderbird prices. :-)
The rule is you’re allowed one over-age player on a Junior team. That’s why the contract negotiations with Martin were so contentious during training camp because he was using the over-age slot at Sarnia as leverage against the Islanders.
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla I am coming!
by David Hanssen on Feb 7, 2010 7:38 PM EST up reply actions
I’m just pleased this thread has given us both JPinVA’s theory of draft picks as bottles of wine, and WebBard’s adding psychical to the lexicon. All told, that is one fine productive Sunday.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
Vinegar Shminegar
To think that I wrote all of that so I could spew the vinegar line… I could have left that one in the barrel…
Here’s to Earnest and Julio!
Ouch, Sometimes I forget to go back and check with my spellchecker, I only use two of them.
Offensively though BP isn’t good at all. 129 GF puts them next to last in GF (and the team behind them has 128) so to me any offensive stat is a good sign. My thought with DiBo would be him on the PP just to try to find a way to get more PP shots.
The upside of BP only having only 129 GF is that they only have 141 GA which by my count (since AHL stats pale in comparison to the NHL site) puts them in the top ten in the league. The play of at least MacDonald and hopefully Kohn shows they are good on the defensive side and have superb goaltending. Ranked by SV% Lawson is 3rd in the league and Munroe is 8th.
"So basically, the Stats make no sense whatsoever."
Ouch, Sometimes I forget to go back and check with my spellchecker, I only use two of them.
On the bright side you have added a new word to the Lighthouse Hockey lexicon.
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla I am coming!
by David Hanssen on Feb 7, 2010 5:58 PM EST up reply actions
Carolina Garage Sale Begins
Wallin and a 5th Rounder sent to SJ for a 2nd Rounder
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla I am coming!
Good to see the front office is doing something
Martin could be a crowd favorite with his energy. What does it matter if Martin doesn’t score since nobody else is anyway. Joensuu has been playing really well as of late and hopefully he can stick. At the very least the Isles added a physical player with heart and one with size and offensive talent.
Wonderful article Dom. Congratulations on being carried bt CBSSports.com NHL NEWS
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/wiremenu
Move to Flushing, Queens, Charles Wang!! Get away from the insane politics of Nassua
Heh, yes they pull a lot from SB Nation and some other sources, so I owe any of those headlines to SBN arrangements. The Yahoo, Fanhouse, NHL and USA Today headlines in the right margin are part of content-swaps.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
sounds good
It is always a good idea to bring in new blood…plus it may give some others guys the sense that their job isnt safe unless they produce
wonder why gordon hasnt rotated healthy scratches
I have been wondering Why Gordon hasn’t tried rotating the healthy scratches during the season in an effort to give guys a day of rest, This season because of the olympic break we are playing more games in a shorter time. This season we have been lucky as far as injury so far and have had tamby out healthy 30+ times. so it would have been nice to see some of the guys get a day off here and there. like JT and Bailey and Bergy. I think I day off gives a guy a jump in their step, and sometimes sitting in up top of the arena a guy can see things differently
I’ve been an advocate for this approach to some degree, but obviously the coach isn’t. I also probably oversell the number of times it would have made sense (injuries and matchups often take care of it). I’m sure Gordon’s guided by “best lineup on a given night” views as well as a desire to maintain good relations with the veterans in the room. Who knows, it’s possible he’s adjusted his approach after last year’s “bad apples” blip.
Nobody likes to be healthy scratched, of course, but a forced day off always has the potential to do a body good. With no proof to back this up, I have the impression veterans today (vs. 20 years ago) now view it as more of a slap in the face that counters their sense of entitlement in a league that already cedes a lot more to youngsters than it once did.
Lighthouse Hockey: Under contract through 2021, knees and hips be damned.
might as well make some noise
If you’re gonna go down, and 7 straight certainly qualifies, at least make it tough on the opposition. Enough with the whining about posts and quick whistles. Show your passion and frustration by charging the net, run a goalie or two, knock a few d-men on their asses. While it’s nice to see them bringing up some size, unfortunately if coach Ghandi instills in them his pacifist teachings, we will simply see a few bigger guys playing 6-8 minutes without any noticable effect.
While you’re at it, Scott, a few unsolicited hints.
1. Start Biron, since neither of the other two has played well enough to steal you the win you’ve needed to stop the bleeding. (calm down all of you Roloson worshippers, he’s been great this season, and is certainly not the problem, but facts are facts and neither he nor the 15 year man have stopped enough pucks to eke out a point in the last 7 games.
2. Put your leading goal scorer permanently on your #1 power play unit. Sounds astounding to have to suggest it, doesn’t it?
3. Instead of the reflexive scratching of Tambellini (which i expect to see with the call ups), how about giving him Richard Park’s minutes or better, and let RP watch a few games.
4. Get a little pissed off and stop making lame excuses. maybe it will rub off.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am losing my edge at this point. I fast forward thru the DVR, pretty much expecting the outcome. Haven’t yelled at the TV in weeks. It’s got that November swoon feel, just a few months late.
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New Jersey
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