I stopped to talk to Trevor Gillies on the break-down day simply because he was in the hallway. Considering at the time I had no idea if we would ever see him again, I didn't exactly know what to ask him.
"Hey Ma'am. How you doing?" He's imposing but very friendly. Since Trevor spent most of this season with the Sound Tigers, I asked him about Jack's chances in the AHL playoffs against the Hersey Bears.
"I hope they do real well.If we can get by Hershey then I think we’ll have a legit shot at the Calder Cup.” Notice the “we” in his speech. Trevor is very much a “team” guy.
“But they (the Bears) are definitely the favorites to win. I think what we have going for us is we have great goaltending and you’ll see with all these guys going back for defense, our defense is going to be stacked.”
Andy MacDonald and Dustin Kohn were returned to Bridgeport and in Friday’s game two against the Bears, Kohn scored both Sound Tiger goals but the team fell short as they lost 3 - 2.
“I’m going to sit out because we have a lot of good players that are here as “D” (on the Islanders) and obviously that are better that are having great years. But I’m looking forward to watching. I’m not allowed to play, I don’t believe, because I wasn’t sent back. But I’m going to go down there and support the boys and grow the old playoff beard and be part of the group.”
Having played 14 games for the Islanders, Trevor is now just as much a part of the Islanders “group” as he is the Sound Tigers. He was also signed to an additional year contract with the Isles this week. Something that I am sure is making a lot of people in Islanders Country very happy.
“I’m going to work out hard and work on my skills every day, practice and get ready for next year.” Well, at least now he knows where “next year” will find him.
Gillies has had a very interesting career so far. He has spent most of his hockey playing days in the ECHL and the AHL. He was signed by the Rangers in 2004 but never played for them. A year later he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks who sent him to Portland. He played 50 games that season with the Pirates and a single NHL game with the Ducks. He had one shot in that game and 21 minutes in penalties.
In July of 2007 he signed as a UFA with the Carolina Hurricanes. Between 2007 and 2009, he played 81 games for their AHL affiliate and added 237 penalty minutes to his stat sheet along with one goal and one assist.
In October of 2009, Gillies signed with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and was helping to mentor Joel Rechlicz. But it wasn’t until March 9th that Trevor got the call to join the big club. He immediately made a difference in the line-up that has been called “small” by many news outlets. I especially liked reading the term “Smurfs” in one report talking about the Islanders without the presence of Andy Sutton.
So now we know that our “smallish” youngsters will have the benefit of Trevor Gillies having their backs next season and I’ll have another season of being called Ma’am in the locker room -- and that’s just fine with me. As long as he doesn’t give me that junkyard dog growl of his.
On Thursday, the Islanders agreed to terms on a one-year extension with left wing Trevor Gillies. These quotes appeared on their Website in the Islanders Authorized section:
“Trevor provides us with a physical presence and commitment and dedication that every team looks for,” said Garth Snow, General Manager, New York Islanders. “We look forward to having his energy on and off the ice next year.”
“To get the call up this year and have the opportunity to play with such a great group of guys was an absolute dream come true,” said Gillies. “The organization treated me and my family with such respect and we are excited and thankful for this opportunity.”
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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