Grading the Islanders: Kyle Okposo, Tough Minute 'Thunderstorm'
by Dominik on Jul 29, 2010 1:30 PM EDT
in New York Islanders Report Cards
53 comments
Four days after Sean Burke speared Randy Wood in April 1988 -- during that first-ever Devils playoff series that, in retrospect, hinted at the Patrick Division power shift to come -- Kyle Okposo was born. This fact makes me feel old. But it also tells me we've only just begun to see what Okposo can do as the ex-Gopher prepares for his third full NHL season at the tender age of 22.
We know he can play all situations. We know he has a good (yet underperforming) shot, a relentless motor, and a competitive fire. How last year's second-leading scorer puts that all together, and whether he has another level to the combative/intimidation side of his game -- those are the unknowns that will play out in the next few seasons.
I had all sorts of language prepared for what Okposo needs to take that next step (the usual stats and bad poetry is after the jump), but it turns out he already said it better than I could, to Chris Botta in his FanHouse piece:
"...Scoring is a mindset. This is what I’m working on. I don’t care if it’s a game of shinny; if I’ve got a chance to score, I have to bear down and finish the scoring chance. Plays around the net, breakaways, loose pucks … it’s like having a killer instinct. You see the way Zach [Parise] plays, whether it’s a crucial moment like at the Olympics or a regular season game. I’ve learned from watching him and I’m working to improve my scoring touch every time I’m on the ice."
Too Many Tough Minutes, Too Soon?
Scott Gordon trusted Okposo in almost every situation last season, to the point I suspect he may have gotten too many tough minutes, so much so that his finishing (7.6%, vs. 10.9% the year before) may have suffered. (It's just a theory, but an exhausted player doesn't tend to have the same mustard and focus when unleashing his shot. Or maybe it's all luck and those damn posts.)
You might not take much stock in the Quality of Competition numbers over at Behind The Net (I do, particularly over a full season), but even a skeptic can see from those figures that Kyle Okposo had the toughest 5-on-5 QualComp of any Islanders forward by a country mile. Behind him was Frans Nielsen and Matt Moulson (two topics of debate around here), and after that no one else was even remotely close. Does that excuse Okposo's minus-22 on the year? No, but it goes a good long way toward explaining it, as he logged heavy PP time, heavy PK time, and the toughest minutes at 5-on-5.
Looking at 2009-10 vs. 2008-09 as we did earlier in the summer, you can see at a glance that Okposo logged a full 2.5 more minutes per game, including a full minute more per game on the PP and 30 seconds more on the PK. That's quite a jump for a kid who was already logging 18 minutes per game at age 20.
Kyle Okposo
#21 / Right Wing / New York Islanders
6-1
200
Apr 16, 1988
NHL Seasons: 2
Contract: 1 more year on ELC ($850k base, $1.67M cap)
Preseason View: "Mark him for 20+ goals and a breakout."
The Poem
A little innocence, a lot of fire
Now time to push a little higher
It's not the effort that is lacking
But execution, smart attacking
Okposo, ye "Thunderstorm"
May better teammates be thy norm
Your contract year is here, we see
Time to define the player you'll be
Do rising prospects lift all boats?
For KO and the Isles, that's the hope.
Coda: Phaneuf is still a tool, and now he's Toronto's captain tool. LOL!
The Grade
So in the negative, Okposo didn't score as much as you likely hoped, and his minus-22 stands out. On the plus side, he had by far the toughest assignments among Isles wingers and still drew 12 more penalties than he committed, which was second on the team only to agitator Jon Sim. He led the team in shots (though not in efficiency) and became the second-leading scorer, two points behind John Tavares.
Despite the increased responsibility and workload, he remained pretty healthy, missing only two games -- and recovering just fine from FrankenPhaneuf's dirty preseason hit. And he continued the style of play that befits his surname, which apparently means "thunderstorm."
Consider that and all of the above (well, except the poem -- that's just riffing to get you playing along), add your own criteria and evidence in comments, and then grade Okposo's 2009-10 based on your preseason expectations, with 10 being the positive extreme and 1 being the negative extreme.
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3
I was expecting a much better season, not just in scoring but in decision making and smart hockey play. Always A for effort but too often he’s toe-dragging [or attempting to], when, even if he succeeds, he hasn’t put himself in a better scoring position. [Reminds me of Anthony Mason on the Knicks – good ball handling between his legs and behind the back but after 20 seconds no closer to the basket and in no better position to score]. Maybe that was also part of the physical and mental fatigue you mentioned but so many times I just wished he would have simplified his offensive attack.
That recent quote Botta got is a great sign and when you combine that with his effort and character, I am optimistic he will put it all together this year. Despite all the talk last year, though, I don’t feel he is ready for the Captaincy.
5.5 (voted five)
i (unreasonably?) expected 20 goals so i need to leave him on the 5- side
welcome to MSG, where 2 out of 5 vendors are safe to eat from!
8
I know he didn’t light up the score sheet, but scoring isn’t everything. He also made huge strides in his defensive game, penalty killing and leadership and will probably be named captain when Weight decides to hang up the skates. I can understand being disappointed by the lack of goal scoring, but his growth everywhere else really impressed me.
There are few things in this world I enjoy more than the English getting beaten like a rented mule.
leadership
What makes you say he made strides in leadership? Is it just that some of the media reported that he is a good leader and the next captain? I’m generally partial to the lead-by-example type and I just don’t think he made consistently smart enough hockey decisions to qualify. Effort is a big part of it, sure, but decision making is, too. If you prefer more of a rah-rah leader, I don’t think anyone would say he is there yet.
To be clear, I am an Okposo fan. I am expecting him to eventually grow into the smart hockey player we all want him to be and when he channels his unquestioned energy and skill in the right hockey direction, sprinkles in a bit more grit [physical and verbal], well, then he’ll be a leader and sufficiently ready to wear the C.
No, it wasn’t just media. If you watched him consistently all season, he did definitely step up when it came to a leadership role. You saw him working the refs and linesmen, you saw him fighting for his teammates and vice versa, you saw him always face the media in the post-game. I know leadership is a hard thing to quantify, but you definitely saw KO step up and be a man this season.
There are few things in this world I enjoy more than the English getting beaten like a rented mule.
by David Hanssen on Jul 29, 2010 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Good Points
Maybe I’m being too hard on his leadership value. In any case, really looking forward to seeing his on-ice game take a giant leap forward this season!
File me in the 'budding leader' category
Whether it’s captaincy level, I don’t know — and I know JPinVA remains upset KO celebrated his goal while Tavares lay on the ice from Ed “Michalek’s Wind Resistance” Jovonovski’s elbow, but I saw signs, particularly at the end of the season, of KO inserting himself more into fracases and moments of tension. And I think the tone of his play bodes well.
I don’t know how far he can take that side of his game, but I do believe he has more of the “innocence” (poor word choice but it’s all I got) in him coming up the abbreviated college route he did, versus a kid raised on the Canadian juniors route.
That said, I’m a big believer in leading by example, including on-ice decision-making. At this point I’m still chalking that up to a work in progress.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
I agree concerning the toe-dragging and stuff, but I really think you’re being a bit harsh on him overall. You can watch any game of the last season played in 2009, maybe even until the Olympic break, and you will see KO being the dominant player on the ice. He was so strong in this first part of the season, made very good decisions and really led the team, I felt. Then, yes, he had some less noticeable showings, but the non-selection for the Olympics or the break itself or the awful streak of the Isles towards the break might have got him off a bit. Or he could just have been tired. Or he might have needed to play too often out of his comfort zone, such as on the point in the PP. But anyway, with KO I’m more convinced he’ll be able to dominate in this league than with anybody on this team.
Team worst +/-
2nd leading scorer yes but the +/- means that the other team was scoring even more than the Isles when Kyle was out there. I’d like to see him develop into a real goal scorer but he also needs to improve his D.
But what was his corsi
I understand the +/- is important but there is a lot of luck in that stat. His corsi will tell us where the puck is when he’s on the ice.
I think he’s pretty good defensively already, but suffered from incredible bad luck or fluke stuff this season. In case you missed it, that’s from comments in one of my fanposts:
KO was on for 60 goals against, but suffered from a really low EV save percentage. Had he been somewhere close to the average of 0.915, there would only about 45 goals have been scored when he was on. His +/- would have been 15 goals better. Now, we don’t really know if that difference was entirely caused by bad luck. Could also be that Okposo played worse defensively than his team mates, but well, that would be very surprising. And last season he actually was right in the middle of the pack indeed. Could still be that Okposo made more mistakes than others because he didn’t feel comfortable at all with certain line combinations or something. But well, rather unlikely, and it’s pretty sure this number doesn’t reflect his true talent.
I also checked how KO did given which goalie was in net (excluding empty-net situations). He was…
-1 with Roloson (90.77 % EV SVPCT)
-2 with DiPietro (85.37 %)
-15 with Biron (85.37 % – no typo here, it is exactly the same as DiPietro’s)
So, for some reason, Biron wasn’t able to stop the puck when Okposo was on. At the same time, he lacked from that goal support some were talking about. The Islanders shot only at 5.06 % when Biron was in net and Okposo on at the same time. Anyway, this also shows Okposo’s +/- was almost certainly just bad luck or fluke.
by BenHasna on Jul 30, 2010 5:57 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Wow!
Those figures with Biron behind him are insane.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
6
In his second full season with the undermanned Islanders Kyle did an adequate job. He competes every shift, and wins most of the one on ones for the puck. He still needs physical and mental maturity (in a leadership role) before he would get my vote as captain.
I have a feeling, though, that when we do this next year there will be a lot more 9’s and 10’s. Kyle is a very talented player and my low expections (which he met) were due to the fact that there is no support that a second year player SHOULD EXPECT. This year that group is a year older and 80 games wiser. They refuse to bring in any REAL veteran leadership to play on the top two lines, but we are where we are.
I expect a solid 25G, 60PT season from Kyle this year… and a solid year on the PK to boot. This is going to be a 3 all star year for the Isles (Kyle, JT and Streit). <- YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST
The NY Islanders are about to redo the salary cap floor with russian marble!
Agree with just about everything.
Couldn’t have said it better honestly and this is my opinion on the subject too. I believe and expect everything you said.
Except for the veteran leadership part. There is a problem there. The isles threw contracts out there to help their young stars. He had guerin help him early, and weight helping him recently. Beyond that, no one wants to come here that could help him. I don’t know what you want from the isles though for more veterans? No top 6 forward wants to come to a team that looks to be 2-3yrs out from a real cup contender and still rebuilding.
The isles brought in Guerin and Weight, aside from that they have thrown money at kovalchuk, traded some great farm prospects for ryan smyth who was barely with us for 1/4th of the season, and supposedly attempted at getting many leadership forwards in numerous ways but it hasn’t panned out. It’s no the isles fault though. Garth seems to have tried everything to make the team as good as it can be without creating another dp contract or overpaying people $1-2mil/yr above what they are worth to come here. What are you really asking for? WE COULD GET more 35yr old+ mentors for him, but I don’t want them taking up any more roster spots from our young guns, unless you are pulling someone that can guarantee a 40-50pt+ season and play hard night in and night out. HONESTLY, the only way I see us getting another mentor this year is if we trade one of our future picks with 2 solid ahl/prospects that we drafted. We could put a package of Comeau/martin-joensuu/2nd rd pick and probably get a well-paid 40-60pt top 6 forward that could help them out and mentor, but I wouldn’t want to do that and I’m sure the isles don’t either. It’s tough. Other then doing that, savard comes for next to nothing but eats up cap and is a concussion away from a DP contract. I think we should wait for next offseason and pick up a mentor to replace a retiring weight.
Go isles or Go home.
That is the vet dilemma, in a nutshell
I agree with that whole-heartedly. It’d be great to have more veteran presence, but there isn’t much desirable stuff out there (and even Frolov, who I wanted for his skills and two-way play, would hardly be a mentor/veteran example type).
At best you can attract another Guerin-type. Difference being, Guerin (or someone like him) probably still expects to get top-line minutes even though he probably doesn’t merit it (sure he scored 20 goals again, but Warren Young could pot 20 on Crosby’s wing), whereas Weight is already adjusted to a reduced and specialized on-ice role. Given the circumstances, in terms of veteran leadership I think they’ve done what they can.
On that note, Park was seen as a publicly quiet but privately vocal leader; is his loss a big blow in that department? (Honest question…I wonder about it.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Traded some great farm prospects for Ryan Smyth
Isn’t Nilison of the team and Marra hasn’t even played a full season yet
Traded some great farm prospects for Ryan Smyth
Not sure about great, but definitely good.
Nilsson is a starter whose already had 1 40pt season and is just another full healthy season away from a repeat 40pt season. Former 1st round pick. We could have easily used him for quicker progression or trade bait for someone we’d keep.
Ryan O’Marra has very little ice time so far, so we have no idea what to come of him yet.
Still has potential being only 23. Former 1st round pick too.
And don’t forget we also gave them a first round pick which ended up being the 15th pick in 07. They took alex plante. Looks to be a decent future nhl big d-man. We could have definitely used this pick for our rebuilding.
Overall, horrible trade. Nillson when healthy is a potential top 6 forward, O’marra has potential, and plante will be an nhl starter one day-barring unforeseen injuries. NEVER borrow a great player by trading away 3 1st round picks. Not smart at all.
Go isles or Go home.
I don't think u can discount the fact Smyth got us into the playoffs
It we didn’t make the playoffs that year we would have not made the playoffs in the post-lockout era
Sorry Ozzyfan
Totally disagreee with you regarding your feelings in this oddly off-topic brought up out of nowhere for some reason Ryan Smyth discussion. Nilsson and OMarra are nothing. And neither of them will ever be anything.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 30, 2010 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions
At least
nothing that people should be blowing gaskets over all these years later.
Its only because of where they were drafted that anyone even remembers their names. If they were the exact same players and did the exact same things, except they were 3rd rounders, nearly all of you would have already forgotten their names. They are perfect examples of the mistake of liiking at when a player was drafted instead of looking at the player himself.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 30, 2010 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Agree to disagree I guess
Either way, I still wanna see what plante becomes to see what we could of had there.
Go isles or Go home.
How did we get back on the Smyth trade? LOL.
In any case, it was a defensible gamble. Those 1st-round picks were, um, “tarnished” except for the one in that year’s draft, which we still are waiting to see what will come of Plante.
I’m not a fan of rentals, but you can do them under special circumstances. Smyth and the position the Isles were in at that time was such a circumstance. Snow did his best to get a key cog and have him long enough to sell him on the idea of staying. He didn’t stay, but lesson learned. I liked that they made tough decisions on those young assets (Nilsson, now a Europe-bound flake; O’Marra, maybe finally a replacement-level player) and turned them into a fun spring, even if it didn’t work out.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
I'll concede the "REFUSE"...
but they didn’t try hard enough. Bringing in Guerin, if you recall was because of a failed attempt to bring in anybody else. Guerin was good enough, most likely, to talk Dougie into joining the circus, but they needed guys from 26-30 who could help them along the path… not 35-40 who are FATHER FIGURES.
They put up a tent when they signed Yashin, and have continued to be the NHL’s three ring circus with their front office. Now that they have some stability and are headed in the right direction it’s tough for agents to point their clients in THEIR direction. If all the stories are true, and even if they weren’t, people here made teh best case for Kovi, that even a 17year deal couldn’t beat… because anywhere else… Kovi creates a cap vortex… even if you spread it our until Justin Beber is president.
Didn’t Botta, last year, say that they stopped the catering service in the press box. “not even a donut”. It’s crap like that they do to turn people away.
I like what garth is doing… and I think that agents and clients will come around, but by then it’ll be too late.
Who needs Alex Tanguay after you hit with one of your lottery tickets, or Frolov when you’ve had 4 consecutive top 10 picks. (Kyle, Bailey + other picks, Tavares and Nino)
If they get Nino, Petrov, Kabanov and Nelson to be in their top six mix in two years or so, who will need free agents… and Kyle WILL BE THE VEATERAN LEADERSHIP.
That ship has sailed.
The NY Islanders are about to redo the salary cap floor with russian marble!
8
Honestly i think the combination of being worn out by being put in every possible situation every game and just not getting lucky bounces is what affected him more than anything. I mean he gets the toughest assignments and doesnt complain and he never seems to give up, despite getting so much ice time at such a young age he still tries his hardest every shift, and he will be great one day because of just that.
KO will be great one day
I agree with you 100%…I have been an Isles fan for too long and I haven’t witnessed a cup..I was a bit too young but I will dare to say this, “I don’t think Ive ever seen a player on the Isles with the same tenacity as Okposo”….That guy can skate, he can handle the puck, he can pass and he grinds and grinds and grinds…If the Isles lost a game I would always be rooting for KO to score a goal because I felt like he deserved success more than any other player…Many players grind and many players have skills but most of them dont do both and if they do usually they cant put it all together like say a Parisi….I think hes got that kind of ability to be as good as Parisi..Maybe Im crazy, idk
maybe not parise
but i definitely think he will be this franchises jarome iginilia in due time. I think hes maybe a bit more of a natural leader than pairse but parise has such raw scoring abilities, if he were on a more offense oriented team like the caps or blackhawks he could easily hit triple digits in points
I see our non-islander fans haven't logged in with their usual 1
Kyle only got a 4 from me, Not because I don’t feel the love, But because I had higher expectations for his offensive development. I still think there is greater potential there, and if he meets it, we have one hell-of-a 1st line winger.
Where we gonna spend our money?
Not because I don’t feel the love, But because I had higher expectations
Well said, sir — exactly how the setup of the poll is intended. (I voted a 5-6 myself — I expected more offense but didn’t expect him to be thrown into such an increased load, so overall it was a year of progress within my expectations.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Put KO down for an 8 from me
I gave him an 8…I was thoroughly impressed with his play but he left allot to be desired in the finishing dept
I threw Kyle a 9. 21 yrs old, being asked to do everything on a very young, and not that good yet team. I never saw him take a game off, and I would say he was the best player on the ice for the Isles in more games than anyone. Given his age, team talent, I could not have expected any more from him. A few bounces, and he has another 5 goals. If the rest of the crew develops like I hope this year, Kyle is going to have a very solid offensive season. He just needs to bring it like he does now, everything else will take care of itself.
I love Rockposo and gave him a 6 because of flexability that he had to endure in the beginning of the season when they were bouncing him from line to line. However there were some moments… Well I look at the situation as growing and enduring the adjustment of younger players. It really can’t be easy when you’re almost into senior leadership or captain territory when you are in your second/third season.
I understand that there is a ways for him to go in the realm of leadership/possible captain but I think this might be a better year for him. If the Go-Go backchecking system of success is to work then then Ok is going to have to be a little more familiar with his teammates styles regardless of where he is going to fill in the gaps.
I believe that Ok is going to have a monster season if they can keep him on a constant line. The more they bounce him the more more his +/- is going to suffer. This past season should help him in leaps and bounds this year.
I saw a roller rink in Hawaii next to the beach...I have to move there now.
3
I gave him a three because I did think that he would score more and create more. Having read his review, I do wonder if I wasn’t too harsh on him b/c of his assignments and the opposition’s ease in focusing on just one effective Islander line.
I still wonder if he is not the pure goal scorer people wish he is and if he isn’t just an all around, two-way skater that makes other play beyond their potential but never seems to, stats wise anyway, live up to his own potential. Of course that is a tough burden to put on any player, especially when the team’s next great player is younger, more inexperienced, and certainly not as physically mature as KO is and will become.
All in all, I am not down on KO, not by any means, so a three is a tough love # that is a reminder of his PPG potential and the Islanders real need for him to be a Iginla-style force. I am still a big fan and I think he will explode this season, along with Tavares, btw.
Iginla
If he hits his full potential, that’s the pretty much the player he will be like.
Go isles or Go home.
iginla fights when the situation calls for it, so no, he’s not going to be iginla, but to be fair, he may just suck at fighting whereas iginla is pretty good
welcome to MSG, where 2 out of 5 vendors are safe to eat from!
I didnt watch Iginla when he was 20-22. Are you comparing kyle at 21 to Iginla at 21 or what?
Regardless, I think the Iginla/Okposo comparison is a bit to race-convenient, personally.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 30, 2010 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Now that I think about it, stylistically I do see him somewhat like Iginla when Iginla first broke in (not sure how old Iginla was at the time). But I think Iginla was faster then and had fire Okposo is just now beginning to show. They both had that tenacity and ability to suddenly create something out of nothing.
But Iginla was amazing in his prime; that’s a huge lofty ceiling to put on KO (but I’ll take it! haha). I too wondered if that comparison started as an ethnic thing though; I know someone claimed KO looked up to Iginla or was his favorite player, so if that’s true you could see why the comparisons would flow.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
Race-convenient
Thanks for saying that because always though the same thing….If not racist its ridiculous to compare him to another player just cuz he has the same light brown skin….
I was surprised to find that Kyle has actually has more points than Iginla through there first two seasons. Jarome was a little younger. We would be lucky if Kyle developed into the same caliber of offensive player as Jarome. I have to agree with TMC though; the comparison is a little too convenient based on race and there are plenty of other players who Kyle reminds me more of.
Kyle has actually has more points than Iginla through there first two seasons
Thats it, comparison doesnt work, then! LOL
Seriously though- I just want Kyle to be- Kyle. I love the kid. He doesnt have to be like anyone else for me to cheer for him! :)
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 30, 2010 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, and thats true for all young players. Comparing younger players to older established stars is a bad idea. It will only cause you to put unrealistic expectations on players. Kyle is Kyle, he plays his own brand of hockey and I just want to see him grow and develop as a player at his own pace.
Never meant it to be race oriented
But I can see KO turning out to be the up tempo, hard as nails (except for fighting), 30 goal scoring, 65-70pt+, opportunity creating, leader-like player iginla was. It is a high ceiling, but if things start looking up for KO, then I don’t see why it’s not possible.
Go isles or Go home.
KO spent a huge chunk of even strength time with Nielsen, Moulson and Tavares. The +/- is glaringly different between those four though.
Just for the curious
All Even Strength
24% of the time was with JT and MM
13% with Frans and Bailey
10% with Frans and Bergie
10% with JT and Bailey
Wheel of Location, Turn Turn Turn. Tell us the location that we will play.
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Okposo is in a weird position on this roster. On a team loaded with inexperience, he’s forced to take on a role that a 6 or 7 year vet would have a hard time handling and he had to do it in his second full year at age 21. It could prove as a a valuable learning experience but I think there’s also a chance it messes with his development. I think he has all the tools to be star and shown flashes. Needless to say, this will be a very interesting year in the career of Kyle Okposo.
It could prove as a a valuable learning experience but I think there’s also a chance it messes with his development.
That makes me nervous, too. One thing I think about to assuage my fears is how the league is getting younger, or at least stars have to grow up faster and arrive better-prepared, so hopefully that’s not an issue.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
On a team loaded with inexperience, he’s forced to take on a role that a 6 or 7 year vet would have a hard time handling and he had to do it in his second full year at age 21
Good point.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 30, 2010 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions
7
I gave Kyle a seven. I would like to think that going into the season my expectations were pretty realistic for him. I didn’t expect a breakout year just yet. I still believe he might be a 30+ goal scorer but I felt his supporting cast this season and his own relative inexperience would get in the way of a big breakout. Scoring wise he met my expectations. I figured he was good for around 20. He exceeded my expectations in most other areas of the game though. Plus/minus aside (which I feel is an overrated and misunderstood stat but that is a discussion for another time) he was great defensively. Really one of our best two-way players. My one disappointment was in his physical play/hitting/toughness. I would like to see him make like Olivia Newton and get a little more physical. That will in turn help his scoring. I think then when this kid breaks out offensively (I would guess he could be 25g 40a guy in his prime) and gets a little tougher he is going to be one of the better all around forwards in the league. Also, not enough can be said for his leadership skills
I would like to see him make like Olivia Newton and get a little more physical.
As long as he doesn’t sing it, I’m all aboard.
Lighthouse Hockey: Adapting forecasts to the disturbance known as Nino.
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Atlantic Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Jersey
|
82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 103 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 101 |
|
Philadelphia
|
82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 88 |
|
New York Rangers
|
82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 87 |
|
New York Islanders
|
82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 |
(updated 4.12.2010 at 9:21 AM EDT)
Islanders Schedule
Next 5 Games
|
@
Philadelphia
|
Wed 09/29 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Calgary
|
Wed 09/29 | 8:00 PM EDT |
|
@
New Jersey
|
Fri 10/01 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
New Jersey
|
Sat 10/02 | 7:00 PM EDT |
|
Montreal
|
Sat 10/02 | 7:00 PM EDT |
Last 5 Games
|
Pittsburgh
|
Sun 04/11 | OT - L 5 - 6 |
|
@
New Jersey
|
Sat 04/10 | L 1 - 7 |
|
@
Pittsburgh
|
Thu 04/08 | L 3 - 7 |
|
Montreal
|
Tue 04/06 | SO - W 4 - 3 |
|
Ottawa
|
Sat 04/03 | W 4 - 1 |
In Association With
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