Where is Josh Bailey?

How long will the Isles wait for him to mature?

As much as everyone wants to see him succeed, he wouldn’t be the first Islander high draft pick to flop.
(Brad Delgarno anyone? Anyone?)

And there’s no way Bailey could be considered a second line center anymore. Maybe if they took him off center to relief that pressure. But the Isles sent him to Bridgeport for a wake up call and he didn’t respond.

1. probably been a 90 – 100 pt player for atleast 2 seasons after his draft year
2. Captain of his team
3. Played on Canada’s WJC team
4. Had a chance at the Memorial Cup
5. Physically mature in the time frame
6. Really get to enjoy winning and playing with his peers
7. Also could have blown up the AHL first

For all this: we now have a player much like Andrew Cogliano, James Shepherd, and Filatov all were recently traded 1st round picks playing in the NHL too soon. What was the return, Mark Shepherd and Filatov went for a 3rd rounder. While Cogs went for a 2013 2nd round pick.

The Islanders now know their blunder, so I think this is what happens:

Its all dependent on camp. If Bailey proves he has a great camp and worth the the third or second line spot he will make the team as a third line center. He will be signed before the season starts. If he fails miserably again then he might very well be traded. Though for what I do not know, because I do not think Garth is too interested in next years 3rd rounder or a 2nd rounder in 2013. He would be more interested in return of a player.

This year will also see a few things hopefully:
1. A fresh healthy start for everyone
2. A full season of Cappy’s System and Coaching, hopefully this translates to a loose room from the beginning and less injuries
3. For Bailey: Consistent linemates of either: Comeau and Martin, or Comeau and Nino. However it figures out, it should be consistent.
4. Motivation, since if a deal is struck it will probably a 1 year deal. Show us what you have.

Fantasy would be for him to fly out of the gates off a 1 year contract and pot some early goals and show us high level vision when it comes to passing. He should also be shooting every chance he has. They are bound to go in, because when he does shoot, he actually has a nice wrister.

We can speculate that Garth “blew it” by signing Bailey right away and playing him in the NHL. What would have sending him back to the OHL have accomplished? If you look at baseball, they have multiple devolpmental leagues from rookie ball all the way up to AAA. Most baseball players pass through multiple levels facing tougher competition each step of the way, allowing players to slowly acclimate to and learn the game. Hockey has nothing comparable and just drafted prospects out of junior hockey are either thrown right into the fire and play in the NHL or are sent back to their Junior team where they dominate and are not challenged by a higher level of competition. The AHL isn’t an option. Its a tough call for GMs because many players aren’t quite ready for the NHL and yet have nothing new to learn in Juniors. I think for many players sending them back just pushes the same results back a year, because they are not going to be radically different players then they were when drafted. In other words I think Josh would have struggled as a rookie even if he had two more years of experience in the OHL. I’m not saying that its a bad idea to send draftees back to their junior teams, in fact in most cases it is nessacery because they kids aren’t physically mature enough for the NHL (ie: Calvin De Hann) but what I am saying is that sending a player back won’t achieve the same results than if the NHL had a better devolopmental system .

But the problem with bringing up someone straight from the draft, the team is only going to invest a roster spot on said player for so many years. So even if Josh is only 23 and hasn’t totally put it together how the Isles had envisioned, the Isles would have invested 5 years of waiting for him to become the player they had hoped, and at that point may have had enough, even though Josh would still have tons of years ahead of him.

Thats why, unless we’re talking about the number 1 overall pick, I’m totally against having a draft pick start his professional career in the NHL

he will turn 22 the week before the season starts…

Lest we all forget how great he looked in the first 6 games last season. I had never been too high on Bailey until those 6 games, when I was just blown away by the skill level that he showed because I never thought he had it in him. Now we know it’s in there somewhere, just gotta hope he figures out how to display it on a consistent basis.

Bailey sucks!!!!

he has not FAILED except in YOUR EYES

I never ever EVER said Josh Bailey has failed. I never even commented on him as a player, besides the fact that I don’t think he has produced enough to warrant having leverage in contract negotiations. This was about how curious it is that he not only doesn’t have a signed contract, but that there has been zero talk of a contract. Google Doughty contract talks, Schenn contract talks, even Bogosian contract talks and you get something. Google Bailey contract talks and you get AN article about him signing his ELC in 2008!

The post was to see what the rest of Lighthouse Nation thinks of him not having been signed yet. It was to see how they feel about how the situation has so far played out. If you want to know HOW I FEEL Bailey’s career has gone thus far, in a nut shell:

He’s waaaaay too young to be considered anything more than a developing player. Some players develop their NHL game later than others, and some people, when rushed to the NHL, develop their game right on time but it seems longer because they didn’t take the correct path to the NHL. I think Bailey should be playing third line minutes between Comeau and Nino to start the season, and even if he struggles out of the gate, I think he should be given the whole entire season to prove he can play at this level.

I respect every view you have and think you are by far the cleverest of any Lighthouse poster (no offense to the rest of you guys), but please don’t put words in my mouth. Especially in caps.

I’d definitely rather have Wilson.

As for comparing him to the rest of his class, you can’t.

My point was that there were a few NHL ready players in that draft. Bailey may not have even been a top 10 prospect, but the Isles needed somebody that would be a long term LEADER. Josh played a key role in his last year in juniors. It was the intangibles that pushed him up on the Isles white board. Now they seemed to have mis-managed them to keep some interest in the team after the coaching change and the house clearing.
You’re right that you cannot compare their accomplishments because some of that class hasn’t had a legitimate shot at the NHL yet. What you can compare is that Josh has been somewhat productive in his first three years relative to his draft class.
The team has not benefitted from him yet, but he has given to them already.
There are plenty of mature NHL journeymen who wish they had 11 goals last year or 27 in the last two.
Really, the only thing we need from Josh this year is for him to gain confidence in his shot, and get a some protection on his right side. I am starting to think that Comeau-Bailey-(Martin/Rolston) might go a long way to becoming the 2B line instead of the 3A line next year.

I would deal with that.

Because you should totally only believe it if it’s an e5. 60% of the time, it works every time.