Updated 4:10 pm Tues: And the hits just keep on coming. Due to their injuries sustained by playing over seas, both Jesse Joennsuu and Joshn Bailey have been suspended by the New York Islanders. What that entails I do not know. Are they not allowed to come to the rink and work out? Do they lose wages? Maybe? Is it a bit of a slap on the wrist? Is this a way to have more players on the roster? I suppose so. But I did see Josh boy at Iceworks yesterday. If he's milling around tomorrow, then we know it's not that he is banned from the building.
Suspensions will be lifted when the two can pass inspection -- I mean physicals!
Update 12:10 pm Tues: Islanders claim another D off the wiaver wire. This time from the LA Kings. Thomas Hickey. He is 23 and a former number 4 overal draft pick in 2007. Has played with the Manchester Monarchs this season. Ty Wishard has cleared waivers and is being returned to Bridgeport.
“Balls to the Wall”That’s the way Rick DiPietro described what this shortened season would be like.
I thought my two questions to ask the players were reasonable. But I forgot a few things. All I asked was “What are you looking forward to the most and what worries you the most about the shortened season?”
Simple, right?
Well, I forgot that hockey players only care about playing and seeing their teammates and secondly that they’d never admit to worrying about anything. So, that was pointless. But just standing in the rink with freezing feet, watching an extended practice at Iceworks, felt wonderful.
Jack Capuano barked orders from the ice in his distinct Massachusetts accent. At times he looked frustrated and at times he smiled. Doug Weight was pensive one moment and playful another. I’m also pretty sure he deliberately chucked a puck at my head that bounced off the glass with a loud crack before careening around the boards towards the end of the ice.
Brent Thompson was busy on both ends on the ice for a practice that was fast paced, intense and LONG. But the players seemed up for it. Michael Grabner was skating like the wind once again and returning Islander Radek Martinek seems like he hasn’t aged a day or lost a step.
Back in the locker room, it was crowded not just with reporters and cameras, but also hockey bags. Shakey was busy trying to make sure every player had their bag to pack up so they could be taken to the Coliseum. It was a mess.
Michael Grabner was the only one who admitted he was a little worried about staying healthy. Then again, that may have been just the way he worded his response. “It’s exciting to get out there. It’s going to be a grind and it’s going to be every game counts. It’s going to be a lot of fun.“
Travis Hamonic was sitting dripping sweat on his gear bag while Ty Wishart stood towering over me removing his gear. When I asked my question he just looked up at me “I’m not worried about anything and I’m mostly looking forward to starting Saturday. It can’t come soon enough. I think everyone in this locker room and everyone in this league is obviously anticipating the start of the season and waiting for it. We’ve waited long enough and we have a lot to prove in this organization right now.”
“I think more guys played than maybe some people realize, and the guys that didn’t go over seas or down to the minors practiced five days a week, so I think people will see hockey that is very exciting, very quick and very intense right off the start because you realize what is at stake. It’s a sprint, not a marathon and you can’t afford to have a slow start.” Travis seems ready. The time he spent in Bridgeport was very useful, and perhaps the extended time he was out with injury helped him to prepare for this ’sprint.’
Rick DiPietro, or Grizzly Adams as some of my fellow bloggers are calling him due to his long hair and shaggy beard, sat next to a very happy Evgeni Nabokov. The 31-year-old goaltender was putting his two cents into the 37-year-old goaltender’s interviews in a very playful way. The more experienced net minder gave his younger associate a few tips on why his feet were so cold after two hours on the ice, “Your socks are too tight. You shouldn’t wear those.”
Rick not only played in Germany during the lockout, but also dabbled in the CBA negotiations. And why shouldn’t he? He has been the Isles Union representative for quite a few years. Three of us waited patiently for Rick to put away his gear, get undressed and pull his wet hair away from his face and into an Islander ball cap. I have a sneaking suspicion that he managed to put a piece of chew in his mouth while we weren’t looking as well.
A fellow blogger, Denis Gorman, stumbled as he asked questions about NHLPA boss Don Fehr. These are questions I had wanted to ask a few days ago so I was happy someone else was breaking the ice. Rick’s reaction to the question was a string of superlatives extolling the virtues and intelligence of the union’s choice of negotiator. I was hoping my true feelings didn’t show as I listened. “Great, amazing, he is one of the smartest people I have ever been around. You can’t go to school and learn what I was able to learn in those meetings. He kept us together, he kept us informed. It makes it a lot easier for guys to stick together when they actually know what’s going on and feel a part of it.”
I asked what the role of the players, such as himself, was in those negotiation meetings. (Truthfully, my tone was telling.) “We were right in there at the table. We were very vocal. Closing in on the deal those last couple of days in the room over at the hotel, banging out ideas, trying to figure out how to make this work. I think it’s powerful when a player stands up and says something and let’s Gary or the owners know how they feel and just the things that go on during the course of a season. I think they appreciate that insight.”
The new CBA has many details that previous CBAs did not cover. It’s a daunting document that maybe once again, I’ll read over a summer of boredom. Although Rick suggested I get a Cliff Note version to get through it. But it took so long because the Fehr brothers made sure the players understood everything they were agreeing to or disagreeing to. “It’s intense stuff. I just feel really privileged to have been part of it!”
When Brad Kurtzberg of InsideHockey.com asked Rick how he was going to get ready for the rhythm of this shortened season, Rick echoed what I had heard from every NHL player so far. It’s important to get off to a good start and not have any prolonged slumps. “We have a lot of young guys in here, so maybe sprinting is what we do best.”
The lack of games played during the lockout for many players isn’t going to help goalies out at all. “With only 48 games, you’re just going to let it all hang out. The schedule is going to be grueling, but you just have to go balls to the wall for all 48 and see what happens.”
I stopped Radek Martinek as he was making his way through the sea of gear bags. I asked him what his secret to not aging was and he said he didn’t know. He said he feels good and is very happy to be back on the ice especially with the Islanders in the place he and his family calls home. When I asked him what he was looking forward to most he told me “To help the team to make the playoffs.” It’s day two and Martinek is already thinking about playoffs. “Simple.” Good for you Radek.
I waited patiently for Butch Goring to finish his MSG interview with Matt Martin. I had missed Matt Moulson which disappointed me. While waiting I quickly asked a few of the Bridgeport call-ups what they thought of the AHL All-Star game which is coming up in a few weeks. To say their focus was only on Islanders NHL training camp would be an understatement.
Matt Martin has lost his signature flowing locks and gone for a more mature look, but that crooked smile of his is still boyish. Considering the intensity with which he plays, I asked him if he is worried about the condensed schedule.
“Not really. I don’t worry about those things. I’ve played the same way for the last six or seven years. Fortunately, knock on wood (which he did) I’ve never had any serious injuries. I think when you start worrying about stuff like that, that’s when bad things start happening. I play the game the same way, just play fearless.”
He said he had a lot of fun doing the interview on ABC’s nightly news, although he was stuck in traffic.
Yeah, welcome back to New York Matt. We’ve got traffic.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»