Today in Islanders History: Tavares in, Weight captain but on IR, that Moulson guy makes roster

On this day in New York Islanders history, we received the news of the 23-man opening roster for the 2009-10 season. The Islanders had finished dead last the previous season but won the prize of the weighted lottery, selecting a promising OHL center named John Tavares (not the lacrosse guy) at the top of the draft.

Doug Weight, finishing up his career on the Island, would be the rookie’s landlord, though he’d have to start the season on IR — foreshadowing the nagging injuries that would eventually send him to a coaching position.

Joining them would be a reclamation project, some guy named Matt Moulson. The opening roster was uninspiring and unsurprising, but on this day in 2009, we hoped:

The lone camp winner, Matt Moulson, had pretty much lined up that role in recent weeks, particularly considering the injuries that created an opening. I’m one of those looking forward to seeing if he can stick on Tavares’s wing, even if just for a year.

If you were around during this time, you remember it all too well. Still, I’m going to recommend you sit down, as this was what we speculated the lineup might be for the first game:

Matt Moulson | John Tavares | Kyle Okposo
Jeff Tambellini | Josh Bailey | Blake Comeau
Sean Bergenheim | Richard Park | Trent Hunter
Jon Sim | Nate Thompson | Tim Jackman

Bruno Gervais | Mark Streit
Radek Martinek | Brendan Witt
Freddy Meyer | Andy Sutton

Spares: Rob Schremp, Joel Rechlicz, Jack Hillen

Memories! They can mess with your head.