Prospect Scrimmage Recap and Links
by Keith Quinn on Jul 17, 2011 9:30 AM EDT
in Bits o' Islanders News
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Ryan Strome may have gotten the notoriety for his highlight reel shootout goal (#4 Sportscenter highlight...da na na, da na na), but there were several other prospects in last nights game that looked equally as deadly or more. Strome's Blue team lost the actual game 6-5 after a late rally came up short, but won the skills competition. The online stream kept referring to a 9-8 victory for Blue, however, today the skills competition isn't factoring in to the reporting. Strome also had a fantastic slapshot snipe goal. Great all around game by him.
While little can really be gleaned from an intrasquad prospect scrimmage, there were some players that were really impressive. Anders Lee was everywhere. He and Brock Nelson were a dominant force for the majority of their shifts. Rhett Rakhshani controlled the puck well, was quick and avoided contact throughout the night (think Martin St. Louis, not Rob Schremp) Calvin deHaan skated gracfully with the puck and played well defensively, although he did make some plays that he will certainly not get away with at the NHL level. Other notable performances turned in by Kirill Kabanov (distributing the puck mostly), Johan Sundstrom and I personally thought Mitchell Theoret looked good and had softer hands than I expected. (He's been soaking in Palmolive) Aaron Ness also had a fantastic backhand of justice type goal.
DiBenedetto do what he do in being a pain in the ass...think Jon Sim last year, and David Ullstrom played well also. There was some debate in the game thread about Nino Niederreiter not looking so umm, visible. Whether that was because his game is too strong for a prospect scrimmage, or because he is invited to real camp, or because he was out of shape are all speculative, but if you watch coach Jack Capuano's halftime interview (halftime???), some of us thought there was some veiled criticism of Nino's conditioning/thought process. Again, it was a prospect scrimmage, so it means little, but there were a bunch of guys that looked very good...If any of them challenge for a roster spot, if could be trouble for Nino down the line. I personally wasn't expecting to see a lot of these guys play as well as they did. Tough choices are good!
For those who missed the scrimmage, here is the replay feed, and the roster (sorry, no jersey numbers). Strome highlights and links after the jump.
(H/T to BobbyNystromOwnsYou for the GIF)
Strome Goal and Post Scrimmage Interviews From The Team Site
Blue-White scrimmage thoughts (Staple/Newsday)
De Haan learning blueline for Islanders
Questions for the Isles Senior Vice President? Send 'em here
Lease details not final before arena vote
And also, this little tidbit:
SlavaMalamud Slava MalamudAlexei Yashin has gotten a boot from SKA, now a free agent. Never won squat in the #KHL either. Has anyone ever wasted this much talent?
As always, feel free to contribute links in the comment section as they emerge. Enjoy your Sunday everyone, Islander hockey is in good shape!
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Who did Strome Burn?
Looks like Nilsson from the positioning.
"I bet Calgary wishes they had a backup goalie as their GM" - Pauly C
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
It was Nilsson.
Nilsson said he tried to poke check, but got burned. didn’t seemed phased by it and just getting used to the smaller rinks.
Nassau Coliseum lost a veteran and an original Islander fan. ACC 1918-2011
I should say by positioning
I mean that he’s 6 foot whatever and scrunched up into a 4 foot package.
"I bet Calgary wishes they had a backup goalie as their GM" - Pauly C
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
They gave him Lawson's number?!
No respect, no respect...
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
Who did Strome Burn?
The best goalie of the night! :)
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 17, 2011 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't think Nino looked that invisible
Certainly not a dominating force, but he got some chances and made some good plays – given his situation I think I’d forgive him for not having his foot all the way down on the gas.
Founder, President and sole member of the Bruno Gervais fan club
different perspective
I understand this is rookie camp but a few points
1. Is he really out of shape? Didn’t the Islanders have one of these issues before with a rookie or newer player reporting out od shape
2. Last Impression: This may be a reach, but the Islanders are trying to sell tickets and maybe half of the people at the game last night could be swayed into buying tickets if a hot rookie looks good. I watched the game and he did OK, but didn’t stand out. You don’t want people walking away questioning why they drfated a guy so high.
3. He was playing against some guys who the highest they will ever get is the ECHL. He needed to dominate.
I understand he’s young but as the fifth pick in his draft, maybe we were looking for more
ehh
Nino didn’t “dominate” last years game either. He had some great flashes. Give him camp to help bring him along and he’ll be fine.
"I bet Calgary wishes they had a backup goalie as their GM" - Pauly C
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
by Mark D on Jul 17, 2011 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I dont agree
If there was a guy dominating like you say, people might walk away thinking the New York Islanders only drafted one talented player and the rest suck compared to him. Lets put it this way- that white team goal they ignored in the 2nd, that sudden “This part is worth two points” and all that had one purpose- tying the two sides until the very end. IT looks better.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 17, 2011 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Why?
You may think they just happen to have ties in things like this, I think its intentional. Nothing shocking either way IMO.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Jul 17, 2011 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I Attended the Scrimmage, and Here's My Impressions
We now have a few BIG kids on the way: Nelson, Lee, Kabanov, Ullstrom, Nilsson.
Just a scrimmage, but I have little doubt that Nelson will play and contribute in the NHL someday. He’s got size, NHL hands, will work well down low, and very good hockey IQ. He did, however, fail to pick up Sundstrom coming down the slot leading directly to a goal. Probably not as defensively aware because it was a scrimmage, but that was a no-no. In a few years, no one is going to regret trading two 2d rounders to move up six spots to get him.
Lee was everywhere and did score, so he looked good in those down low battles. Uses his size well. I do, however, see why some have said he’s a high end third line player. Good shot but puck-handling might not be as good as some other prospects.
The thing that stands out about Kabanov is his size. This is a BIG kid. Just about as big as Kvasha, with MUCH better hands. It’s easy to see why he was considered a first round talent. It’s also easy to think that some teams might regret not taking him with an earlier pick. Kabanov also seems to use that stick a bit on his check behind the play. Looks like he could be a bit “game” nasty.
Ullstrom is also a much bigger kid than I expected, and does look like he could be a real good checking center. Can skate, and decent skills.
Sudsie mentioned that Nilsson was a blocking butterfly goalie. Yep, he’s gotta work on using the glove and blocker. Raw from an NHL perspective, and further behind Poulin than I expected. But he looks like he could be VERY good with further development.
Others? Pre-draft, I heard the knock on Sundstrom was that he didn’t have good hands and that Islanders may have taken him too high. IMHO, that’s b.s. He was picking corners and going up under the cross-bar in warm-ups, handled the puck well and made plays well during the game.
Strome? Very skilled, very good skater, better shot than advertised, but I’d be shocked if he gets even the 9-games in the NHL. He’s just nowhere physically ready to be in the NHL.
Rakhshani? This definitely has to be his last prospect camp. Looked like a man among boys a lot of the time. Reminds you a bit of PAP (so now there are two guys who can be traded).
Sorry to say, but Nino did look a bit off his game, right from the opening when he got steam-rolled by Rak. It’s my understanding a big part of his game is working along the boards, and maybe he didn’t feel he play his “A” game during a scrimmage. But he’ll have to pick it up come September.
deHaan? Talented, A+ skating, but looked a bit overmatched at times. He’s going to need a good part of the year in Bridgeport.
by rmblifn on Jul 17, 2011 10:25 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
CDH
I’m giving him a little bit of a pass on the defensive end. He’s playing with a guy(s) he’s not used to playing with. There could be some miscommunications etc. I didn’t see anything that would really worry me. He did a good job jumping up for that goal too. He didn’t look as scrawny as I remember him either.
Vote Yes on August 1st.
To me Kabanov has a lot to learn
he’s minimum 2 years away.
I thought he was trying to force things and based on his personality that’s not surprising. He has skill, but instead of dumping the puck, he’d try to make a move, or make a slick pass instead of a smart pass. He clearly has a ton of potential, but he still needs to be reigned in a little. Of course, as garik would remind us, this is all based on one game haha. So who the F really knows.
I just want to say, I really love what the Islanders are doing. It’s like 4 years ago they didn’t just decide to rebuild their roster, but to bring the fanbase along with them. It will be unreal once they get to a perpetually competitive state. They made a point to bring the local communities into the Coliseum and their community outreach as been tremendous. The Islanders have decided to make themselves into a first-rate organization off the ice and I’m proud of them for it. I hope amongst hope that Aug 1 not only passes, but passes BIG. Anyone that lives in Nassau should tell everyone they know to vote yes. I don’t want to lose this team. Not now. We’re too damn close.
"It don't make you a bad person" - Ron Bennington
If we lose this team I might cry
And that’s not even the beer talking
by sayvillelax94 on Jul 17, 2011 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, it is a scrimmage
So I think Kabanov maybe deserves a pass here if he was trying to be too flashy instead of just playing smart hockey- although it’s something that deserves some scrutiny going forward. I think you make a good point that given his alleged A type personality you would almost expect he trying to blow everyone away and do it all himself, but his numbers from juniors last season and some of the reports of his play suggest an unselfish, smart, team first mentality. Either way its something to keep an eye on.
Hard to observe everything on one viewing.
There was one sequence where Kabanov slid on his stomach and blocked a shot, then skated down to the off. zone, laid a hit on the dman in the corner and fed the puck around. Nothing came of it, but with the puck back in his own end he skated back and anticipated an outlet pass from his dman and led an odd man rush and began a give n go with Strome that almost connected. I particularly liked the blocked shot ;-) Showed heart.
Conversely, upon viewing the game from the stands, I thought Nino looked like crap. After a 2nd viewing at home online, I realized he played better than I thought.
"Seriously that's the last time you guys f#@%ing won?" -RSH (about beating the Penguins in '93)
I agree that it is hard to make any conclusions based on one viewing but
the description of the Kabanov play you observed is encouraging.
I’m not concerned about one off game from Nino on the other hand.
i wondered same, watching online feed
nino looked like he was playing an allstar game, no physical play, but was there on the score sheet….would like to see more, understand his game is a physical one and you don’t do that it a scrimmage, but he didn’t seem as bad as i read from posters
by CanadianIsleslifer on Jul 18, 2011 7:23 PM EDT up reply actions
kaby can score, but he is a puck carrier and playmaker
by CanadianIsleslifer on Jul 18, 2011 7:21 PM EDT up reply actions
This is why
I don’t mind if he was a little overzealous in trying to beat everyone himself carrying the puck into the zone versus making the smart play and dumping the puck. Having a winger who can get the puck into the offensive zone while maintaining possesion is a good thing and he might as well practise this in a scrimmage where there are no stakes to help him learn what will work in a real game. I think one of the steps forward Tavares made this past season from his rookie season is that he was more confident carrying the puck into the O zone versus always dumping the puck and making the safe play- he is good enough to beat defenders and avoid giveaways most times. It’s riskier but the reward is maintained puck possesion. This isn’t about the overall philosophy of puck posession versus dump and chase hockey but sometimes I like to see someone with elite skill attempt to carry the puck into the offensive zone to set up passing plays down low versus always dumping the puck. I think the real benefit of someone like Kabanov is that he has great one and one skills and this can hopefully make him a good playmaker at the NHL level.
by MatthewM11 on Jul 19, 2011 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
agreed
the kid really does have a ton of talent, potential, and heart. At this point, there’s no prospect that I’d like to see succeed more than him.
"Seriously that's the last time you guys f#@%ing won?" -RSH (about beating the Penguins in '93)
vote yes ads
Nice to see a couple of vote yes commercials on the video feed. One was with Clark Gillies, two seemed to be designed to the non-fan general public. Hope to see these on the teevee soon.
by DP'sknee(andhipandflubugandotherknee) on Jul 17, 2011 10:30 AM EDT reply actions
vote yes
they should have given out the vote yes t shirts that the workers were wearing or selling them somewhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by jets,islander,mets one day will win on Jul 17, 2011 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Organizational Needs
One of the things that struck me watching these kids was how stacked we are at center and how thin we are on the wing. The only wingers who look like they’ll see the NHL are the obvious ones, Nino, Kabanov, Lee, Rak. And of those, only Nino and Kabanov look like they might see regular NHL time as top 6 wingers.
Next thing on the “to do” list is upgrade the skill level on both wings. But, man, is this team loaded down the middle.
Probably shift some Cs to the Wing
But I get the feeling some might be leverage in case Bailey doesn’t work out, or if Frans moves on, etc.
"I bet Calgary wishes they had a backup goalie as their GM" - Pauly C
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
by Mark D on Jul 17, 2011 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Everytime I see a Strome highlight...
The announcer is yelling ’What a goal by Ryan Strome!!!"
That’s not exactly bad, ya’ know?
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Jul 17, 2011 10:37 AM EDT reply actions
Jeff Marek
@D2theYAN I think the Isles got the steal of the draft at #5 Strome is also a natural leader going back to AAA Marlboroughs minor midget
web • 7/17/11 9:33 AM
NYI fans, you are in for a treat – check out this s/o goal by @strome18 at camp. bit.ly/rrNzac (thx to @ehornick)
web • 7/17/11 9:26 AM
Strome
Thanks to all the great @NYIslanders fans that came out to the Blue/White game last night. Hope you had as much fun as I did!
Twitter for BlackBerry® • 7/17/11 10:24 AM
Poulin
Last day on Long Island had a great work out, heading to the beach soon. Montreal tmw
web • 7/17/11 10:41 AM
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
by Keith Quinn on Jul 17, 2011 10:47 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Tonight on WRHU 88.7
88.7 FM RT @wrhusports: Full reaction & interviews from the @NYIslanders Blue & White Scrimmage tonight on Islanders Edge from 7-7:30 #isles
HootSuite • 7/17/11 11:25 AM
They may stream that on the Islanders iPhone app too. Sometimes they do that.
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
by Keith Quinn on Jul 17, 2011 11:34 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Fornabrio's (Sound tiger's blog) impressions of scrimmage
http://blog.connpost.com/fornabaio/scrimmagejoke/7044/
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
Fornabaio
–DiBenedetto, like Jon Sim last year, wasn’t playing much differently just because the guys in the wrong color were technically on his team.
Got a chuckle out of seeing both you and Fornabaio recording that impression. I didn’t get to see the scrimmage, so I look forward to watching the replay paying close attention on my conference call.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
Atta boys
Chris Botta
ChrisBottaNHL Chris Botta
Hat tip to @strome18 and @hawksnids22. I’m told they signed autographs last night for 2 hours beyond scheduled time.
35 seconds ago
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
Thanks for the Recap
I missed the game last night, but this recap helped fill me in on what I missed. Im watching the game now. Its getting me excited for the preseason game against Boston in Bridgeport. Hopefully Nino, Strome, Kabanov, and some other good prospects will be there playing.
Forgot to Mention Corey Trivino
I got to see him on TV at the end of last year on a couple of college hockey broadcasts. To me, he looked like he settled into a more two-way type of player. I thought he looked like he could become a Frans Nielsen-type player, responsible defensively, with a bit of skill, but not physically imposing. I still think that after seeing him play last night.
The scouting reports coming out of Boston since his time there
have been very impressive and have suggested the same thing you are saying. Our system is pretty deep with good two-way centers but he is someone to keep an eye on.
I reposted this b/c I've had a few and don't want it to get lost above. But I love the Isles and and actually stressed about this Aug 1 stuff.
I just want to say, I really love what the Islanders are doing. It’s like 4 years ago they didn’t just decide to rebuild their roster, but to bring the fanbase along with them. It will be unreal once they get to a perpetually competitive state. They made a point to bring the local communities into the Coliseum and their community outreach as been tremendous. The Islanders have decided to make themselves into a first-rate organization off the ice and I’m proud of them for it. I hope amongst hope that Aug 1 not only passes, but passes BIG. Anyone that lives in Nassau should tell everyone they know to vote yes. I don’t want to lose this team. Not now. We’re too damn close.
"It don't make you a bad person" - Ron Bennington
by Pauly C on Jul 17, 2011 7:55 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Featured Poll
My favorite prospect from mini-camp was:
Ryan Strome – I like dangle
Rhett the Rahk – Taught the kids what a pro looks like
Calvin de Haan – Smooth as silk
Matt Donovan – I’m a sucker for hard shots
Nino Niederreiter – In truth, I’m neutral on the matter
Cody Rosen – Duh. Winning!
Anders Nilsson!
But since he was not there I voted for Cody Rosen. So HAH! :P
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
Strome
does that play already get him a 9 game tryout
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
by Rickfansince76 on Jul 19, 2011 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Sorry!
I knew I’d leave some good ones out, but since I didn’t attach it to a post…well you did the work for me!
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
I always wonder how much can we take from this game
I mean the guys are not conditioned for gamea yet, they are mostly rusty and just getting their skating legs. Goalies are not use to seeing game action so they will give up some goals that they would stop mid-season.
I mean it is the ultimate pre-season game, I do not expect to see extremely sharp hockey in July. I would love to see this game on like Sept . 25
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
by Rickfansince76 on Jul 19, 2011 11:37 AM EDT reply actions
All true
I’m sure most have been skating in anticipation, but yeah this might as well be a pick-up game.
But it’s what we must resort to in July…
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
This is why
I think we can be happy and encouraged about good performances, yet not dissapointed or frustrated by poor ones. Nino in particular had a long playoff run, played in the WJC and saw lots of icetime with Portland so I think if wasn’t as dominating as we might have expected he deserves a pass here, because he is likely not as fresh as some of the other guys. Anyway, you can never judge someone from one game, regardless of when it is played.
I was thinking that sounded too sunshine-y, but then I'd agree with an amendment:
It’s almost like you’re just not looking for big red flags. Don’t want anyone to look really lazy, out of shape, overmatched, a poor decision-maker, etc. I know all of them are talented and their playing against non-NHL competition, so I’ll take the high points with caveats, but just don’t want to see any big alarms.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
The beauty of hockey in July - it's all good
If a player looks good, he’s going to be dominant.
If a player looks bad, he’s saving himself for when it counts.
I’d like to see what happens in the inter-squad scrimmages when it is only the coaches watching and these kids realize they are playing fof their jobs.
Nassau Coliseum lost a veteran and an original Islander fan. ACC 1918-2011
by Hockey1919 on Jul 19, 2011 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
At the end of the day it's a scrimmage
Nothing that happened in this one game is going to really impact any one decision about a player. Nino isn’t going back to Portland just because he wasn’t dominant and Brock Nelson isn’t going to be signed and shipped right to the NHL because he had a good game. Its a good way to see all our prospects at one time and its gives the fans, coaching staff and front office an idea of where players may fit into the larger picture of the team- but it still is going to take a lot more evaluation and lot bigger of a sample size to know anything for sure.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
