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The rosters for the IIHF World Championship are up and feature their share of New York Islanders (most of whom were already publicly announced), including Kyle Okposo (USA), Frans Nielsen (Denmark), Nino Niederreiter and Mark Streit (Switzerland), Jesse Joensuu (Finland) and John Tavares (Canada).
The tournament this year is co-hosted by Sweden and Finland, where the games kick off May 4. Canada, USA and Switzerland are all in Finland's group.
The question about Joensuu's status has come up among readers, particularly after that news and this Swedish article suggesting his HV71 squad worries about losing him to the NHL. By qualifying him last June, the Islanders retained his NHL rights -- so if he has an NHL future, the Islanders still hold the cards at this point.
The NHL does not post its transfer agreements the way it posts the CBA for light reading enjoyment, but I believe the June 15 date in that article refers to a milestone where a player's European team must know if he's leaving or else receive developmental compensation from the NHL. (For prospects drafted from Swedish teams, there are further dates at July 15 and August 15, as in last year's Adam Larsson saga.)
As a player who wasn't "developed" by HV71 and already played out his ELC in North America, I'm not sure if any compensation from the NHL applies in this case, even though Joensuu's HV71 contract has another year remaining. In 2010 Jeremy Colliton returned from Sweden after his rights were qualified by the Islanders, at a similar age as Joensuu (24) is now.
Joensuu had a nice season over there, though can it be read as a significant step? I'd file it under "valuable for them, not so valuable for us" but who knows. Suffice to say there is a lot of competition for winger roles in the Islanders system, with more on the way.
Speaking of which ... Kirill Petrov's KHL contract finally expires today. It's been four years in the waiting since the 2008 draft, and he's made noise about coming over -- including that appearance at Islanders camp two summers ago.
Hockey Links
- Sunday's games: Okay, I never would've expected the first two Coyotes-Predators games to be so filled with goals. Yotes fans rejoice at Five for Howling, while Flyers fans celebrate the Game 1 OT win over the Devils.
- NEW (h/t DavidSweden): John Persson on his pro debut, and hopes for an NHL contract. [Google Translate]
- Many different ways of looking at what is "wrong" with Ovechkin [mc79hockey]
- Keith Jones shows many different ways in which Alexander Radulov has loafed in the first two games.
- It appears Columbus GM Scott Howson finally understands Steve Mason is not the answer.
- Wow. Jersey Fouls Extra: Flyers fan reminds you that Wayne Simmonds is ‘The Black Guy’ | Puck Daddy
- Prospect-gazing: Two scouts discuss their
OCHL Top 10 prospects for the 2012 NHL Draft. [FanShot]
- This would entertain you for a while. John Tavares -- or rather, the team's reaction to JT is on the list: Watch top 25 bloopers of 2011-12 NHL season, pretty much every other gaffe (VIDEO) | Puck Daddy
- Video: Matt Moulson on NHL Live with Butch Goring and Deb Placey.
- The NHL's explanation of how the Dwight King hit from behind on Alex Pietrangelo was officiated is really nonsensical. Blood should not enter into the issue here, but even if it does, uh the blood was visibly there too. Dangerous hit, judged on the fly on the ice. Just move on and don't make it worse.
- When psychology and team construction meet: Rebuilding NHL teams vs. the endowment effect | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports