Okay, so what did I miss while I was in blogger exile? Anything good?
Well the boys did return to the Island this weekend and even skated on Labor Day. Don’t they know it’s a holiday? I guess it didn’t matter to Newsday’s Katie Strang as she has an interview with John Tavares as his first NHL season begins.
The one sentence for me that stands out in her article is
“No hype, no distractions, just hockey.” This is very reminiscent of what John said at mini-camp in July. He was focusing on Hockey alone and is taking his first NHL season very seriously. He knows there will be a lot of work to do and he is ready to face the task.
I see that Katie Strang also had a little one on one with Doug Weight. (I guess maybe I could be a reporter as I had asked for a 3 minute sit down with Doug last week, but was given an “I’ll get back to you.” Maybe they thought I was Katie. I’m not sure.) I did love her question on his “leadership” role.
On how he'll take on a leadership role this season:
"I'm not going to change who I am. I'll say things when it's needed. I'm not afraid to do that. But, the main thing is, I have a lot of respect for these young guys and the way they play. Hopefully they have that same respect for me."
On the importance of keeping things upbeat:"I want a real positive feeling in the room. Things got pretty bad at one point last year. Face it, losing sucks."
Come on! Now doesn’t that go back to my making a case for him to get the “C.” I think so! I wonder if Garth thinks so. And don't you think this guy would just be the best Islanders representative on Twitter? He has the best personality for it. I'm still lobbying for that one.
There seems to be a little flight plan wrinkle facing the NHL as Canadian teams won’t be able to make more than one stop in the US before returning to Canada?
From TSN: The Department of Transportation in the United States has banned Air Canada's charter planes from flying from one American city to another.
Okay, that doesn’t sound good. What’s worse is that Canada may attempt to retaliate and do the same. Our current NHL schedule could become a problem for the players. I imagine they would have to fly all the way back to Canada, refuel and return to the US if they are playing an extended road trip. Those will be some tired hockey players.
One ex-Islander that isn’t tired is Steve Webb as he will attempt a 650 mile bike ride from Canada to Long Island. The day the Islanders start camp, Steve Webb will start his trek accompanied by some TSN reporters.
From the Peterborough Examiner:
Entitled the "Spinning a Web of Leaders Bike Ride," the 10-day journey through two countries will support his W20 Foundation and the Baycrest Foundation.
W20, founded by Webb, is a three-year-old non-profit organization which supports youth hockey players on Long Island with educational grants and partial scholarships.
Good Luck Webby! I once biked 30 miles. I thought I was going to die.
And what was this I hear about someone named Rob Schremp that was re-signed by the Oilers but there remains some sort of rumor that if he has to clear waivers, the Islanders may be interested and would be first on the list? I hear rumblings that some fans would find this a good signing should it happen. I was under the impression that the Islanders were already set, but we also know that Garth Snow has a good working relationship with Edmonton. So… you never know.
What else did I miss? Oh right. Brian Burke got his draft pick back but hasn't nabbed Kessel yet. The relocation fee for Phoenix went up exponentially, the NHLPA is in ruins. The agency the Lighthouse Project has been paying that works for the Town of Hempstead, FP Clarke, isn’t exactly customer service oriented; the NY Times did an article on an Islanders hockey blog even though they just about never covered the Islanders during the regular season and Mark Texiera is nothing but amazing.
Yep. That about covers it. I’m going to see if I can get into an Islanders practice at Iceworks before they take off for training camp. That is of course if they TELL me when practice is going to be!
Summer vacation is over. Everyone back to work and school. Let's go. Don't whine at me, just get going.
:o)
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