Islanders Bits: Pumping prospects, shrinking the Lighthouse Project

It's mid-July, which is largely a news dead zone for NHL teams, certainly for those not refuting Kovalchuk reports on a twice-weekly basis. But for teams with prospect camps, the youth orientation camp marks some of their best opportunities to drum up happy vibes ink, even if it's largely in-house ink.

Except when the Town that holds zoning keys to the arena you called home for four Cups decides now is finally the time for its Lighthouse Project counterproposal, which Kate Murray took great pains to tell Newsday [sub.], "It would be really inaccurate if you said this is a starting point. Within it, we're flexible. But these are serious numbers that were scientifically arrived at."

"Serious numbers!"  "Scientifically arrived at!" ... Definitely putting those phrases in my handbook.

This website you're reading was named not for a real estate project, but rather for the iconic feature of the Islanders' old shoulder patch and the (is)land they call home. (We couldn't use the actual team name in the URL for obvious reasons.) So though the name may lead Google searchers to think otherwise, this site is oriented toward on-the-ice stuff far more than Long Island politics. We'll relay, discuss and link to Lighthouse Project news, but we also have a bias: We prefer hockey. Even in July.

A good college buddy of mine had a great line whenever we carried the usual college-boy buddy harassment -- a 24-hour activity -- to dinnertime: "Don't f#$% with my happy time!" I think of that line any time on my vacation, or in a happy place, and someone wants to mess with my peace.

So reactions to the Town of Hempstead -- very important reactions -- will bounce around for days. Charles Wang and County Executive Ed Mangano released a joint statement calling ToH's strip mall-sized proposal "economically unviable for both the developer and owner of the site."

But no politics is going to f#$% with my July happy hockey time.

With that in mind, here is a round-up of coverage on different Islanders prospects who showed up at camp. It's stuff to read now when not turning your reluctant eyes to Kate Murray's 50% off Lighthouse Project counterproposal. It's stuff to collect here for revisiting at training camp, to sort what was legit evaluation and what just prospect mini-camp hype:

• Shameless plug: WebBard's interview with 2010 pick Jason Clark [Lighhouse Hockey]
• Could Calvin De Haan -- out for six months with major shoulder surgery -- really make the opening night roster? [nhl.com]
• The hammer to De Haan's paintbrush, Travis Hamonic sure thinks he himself is ready for the show. [Islanders]
• NEW: Corey Trivino knows this is a big year for him at BU.
• Were we pumping prospects? Matt Martin has first-year jitters and skating concerns out of the way. [Islanders]
• 7th Woman has Gordon quotes and more on the camp. [7th Woman]
  
• Botta's video collage and 1-on-1's with Nino and Hamonic, all in one place. [Islanders Point Blank]
• Great Yes Islanders! video interviews with fans on the prospect camp via 7th Woman [7th Woman]

Alright, fine: a few more Lighthouse Project links: Nick's initial reaction is here -- making the point at how stupid cynical it was for TOH to tease the announcement on a Sunday night before a 11 a.m. presser. He is around, so expect more both from his site and Twitter feed. ... Dee's anticipation is here. ... TMC's initial reaction is here.

Figure on so much more to come -- and as always feel free to discuss the development/Lighthouse angle here. But forgive me for still thinking about the Islanders prospects, about prospects for John Tavares' year two, about the Euros in camp, and about whether the youngsters achieved their pre-camp homework assignments. That's where my head is. As far as July goes, that's where my happy time takes place.