As we are now in September and my season has officially started, I'm making the prediction that at least one of the prospects from 2010 are sticking. Okay, let me be clearer -- Kirill 2010 or Nino. One of them. For my reasons and rantings in all the typo ridden detail you can read it at HockeyBuzz.com here.

Tonight I waited for Doug Weight to do a radio interview on AM640 Toronto with Bill Watters. I was hoping he'd be on before 5:30pm, but of course, he wasn't. But I'm glad I waited around to hear what he had to say.

While NHL.com's Brian Compton has a really great article up on the returning Captain, it was nice to hear Doug in his own voice speaking with excitement about the upcoming season.

"I don't see why we wouldn't expect to see teams make big jumps." He knows that all the reports have the young Islander squad still at the bottom of the Eastern standings for next season. "Respect has to be earned. We're ready for that."

This is the intangible that veteran Doug Weight brings to the table. He will not only be a mentor but a motivator and an insulator.

The Islanders themselves announced the contract we have been waiting for has been signed. According to all parties involved the delay was no big deal. Garth Snow was busy and Doug Weight was in his own private Idaho. No, really. That's where he said he was; Northern Idaho. But there was no worry. The two men had a gentleman's agreement and now the contract details have been worked out.

As noted, this will be Doug Weight's 3rd season with the Islanders. His role has changed considerably since he first stepped foot on the Coliseum ice. As much as he has been a veteran mentor and John Tavares' land lord, Doug offers an array of intangibles both on and off the ice for the young stars and newly acquired players.

Which basically means, I don't have anything really to report so let's just throw out some quick hits and see what sticks.

Rob Schremp is still trying to get to 4400 followers on Twitter so that he will then announce his contribution to the Special Olympics. You can help him out if you haven't followed him yet on Twitter.

Along with Rob's charity work, Bruno Gervais has teamed up with the Clark Gillies Foundation for one particular event that will be held on September 19th in Melville, NY at the Rosewood Inn on Route 111. There are 22 men willing to shave their heads for charity, including Clark himself who has pledges of $1570 so far. Fellow Dynasty member Bobby Nystrom has also volunteered for the task, yet has NO pledges as of yet. Hmmmm... Maybe because Nystrom doesn't have quite as much hair as Gillies.

As someone who has been covering the New York Islanders in one form or another since October 2005, I found yesterday’s firestorm over blogger access to visiting NHL team’s locker rooms both interesting and disturbing. Additionally disturbing to me is the idea that there is a grey area as to where “bloggers” fit within the media food chain.

Not to be outdone in his charity work by fellow team mate Rob Schremp, Bruno Gervais has teamed up with the Clark Gillies organization for a "hair raising" (or removing) fundraiser set for September 19th here on Long Island. Donations in any denomination will help Bruno out, who probably has the best chance of his hair growing back based on the lot of participants that includes both Islander legends Clark Gillies and Bobby Nystrom.

What's On?:
While I was busy working yesterday, the The National Hockey League officially released their national television schedule.

The Islanders have the possibility of a total of three nationally televised games including an NBC game at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

There are always stories of overcoming adversity; stories celebrating the human spirit -- especially in sports. But it is rare to hear an inspirational story of a sports fan. Well, the New York Islanders have a good one.

So, I was contacted by Pat Hoffman via Twitter (which is where I make all my friends these days) and he asked if I would do an email interview with him for Kukla's Korner.

Now, knowing how really big that website is, of course I jumped at the chance. (Okay, seriously, who wouldn't?) I thought it would take him a few days, but he's pretty quick on the draw, so here is the one and only time you will see my name associated with the big guns.

Thank you Pat. It was great talking with you.

dee

Okay, so they weren't the signings I was expecting. I am waiting (patiently) for the Doug Weight contract to be finalized which was (hopefully) to be done some time this week. Well, sometimes these things take longer than expected.

But I never expected to see (Amazing) Andy Hilbert back in an Isles jersey. Not that I have anything against him. I do remember a few games where I actually exclaimed "Wow. I actually NOTICED Andy Hilbert tonight." I am just surprised. But it is a one-year, 2-way deal so I'm sure this is a well thought out insurance policy for Gordon and Capuano with a seasoned vet who already is well acquainted with their system.

I had a sick feeling Sean Bergenheim would not be returning to the Islanders the last time I spoke with him in April. I could tell by the way head coach Scott Gordon had talked about him in the post game interviews that as much as the 1st round draft pick was considered "home grown," there were issues.

In 2005 Bergenheim had expressed to me a feeling that he was not appreciated as much as he would have liked. I agreed with him. However, what he may have been feeling about how he was used on the Coliseum ice, I was talking about how he was promoted.

While I’ve found Twitter to be the most unique source of instant information and communication, the other side of that debate is validity of that information. Twitter is used for politics, sports, music and life in general and it is a vast and ever growing community. As with any large community, you’ll get your share of jerks residing in it and it’s your job to figure out who you can trust.

I was sadly under the weather yesterday and just couldn’t motivate enough to post, but I didn’t want to let this idea slip out of my head, so here it is.

Also up for discussion is Garth Snow’s camp invitational. It seems that the concept has drawn a lot of attention and I’ve even been asked to guest on Team 1040 Vancouver at 12:30 EST to discuss it. I was surprised when I received the email invite (from Iain McLetchie from TEAM1040 not from Garth) but I guess they are still surprised that I called the Isles taking Nino Niedereitter before the draft.

Somewhat under the weather, I've spent the day on the couch attempting to work and keeping track of the Twitter stream. There isn't much going on, for sure. However, I did pick up on this:

A case of email invites, impolite or brilliant? At HockeyBuzz

Yeah, it seems that both Eklund (yesterday) and Kevin Allen from USA Today picked up that the Islanders sent emails to certain agents who may have unsigned players available at the time training camp begins in September. Smart move for sure and one that has been used before.

I'll also say this about hockey fans -- not only is everyone a critic, but everyone wants to run their own website and rumor reports. It can be both humorous and frustrating.

So if MSG can run "Summer Ice," then I can resurrect a post since there's nothing really doing.

Tonight on MSG they replayed the 1/6/10 game between the Isles and the Avs, or should we say the Duchene vs Tavares game. This was also the game that Rob Schremp scored his spectacular goal which showcased his amazing hand eye co-ordination.

Jiggs called this one with Billy Jaffe while Howie was away. I can't help but smile while watching it -- and eating ice cream. Yep. It's the dog days of August, and soon it will be September.

Then it all starts again.

Original Post from 1/6/10:
Wow! So the Islanders manage to come away with two points in regulation on a Kyle Okposo game winner, a Robbie Schremp home run goal and the dirty work of Jon Sim to start it off.

**Note: As the biggest news yesterday was not the Yankees losing to the Bo-Sox 2-1, but the Kovy decision, some of you may be sick of hearing about it. If that is the case, I can suggest you check out the latest edition of Hockey Quarterly, the Goalie edition. There are always interesting articles on this well designed site. Check it out.

I didn't expect it would happen. But it did. There weren't very many who thought the arbitrator that was chosen by both the NHL and the NHLPA would rule in favor of the NHL and say, YES: the Kovalchuk 17-year, $102 Million deal was designed to circumvent the NHL Salary Cap as outlined by the current CBA.

I don't travel often, but I do enjoy it when I do. I would love to hit up a few away games this coming season in places I have never been such as Nashville and the new Pittsburgh arena. Knowing what to expect when you get there is always beneficial. That's why this new site called Stadium Journey can be a great resource for anyone heading to a venue for a sporting event that they've never been to. Checking out the site, I see that our own Islanders stat guy, Eric Hornick wrote the entry on the Coliseum loving called, "It's a dump, But it's OUR dump." Only a true Islander fan can explain that as well. Fabulous information for anyone traveling or just curious as to how their home arena stacks up to another.

The Long Island Press featured an article in April called "Garth Snow's Summer "To-Do" List" written by Michael McEnareny. I actually used the article when I interviewed Mr. Snow in late April.

He admitted he hadn't read the article, but when I explained the five main items the fans wanted to see addressed in the off-season, he said he couldn't disagree.

They were:
1) Draft Wisely
2) Add size up front
3) Fix the Goaltender-go-round
4) Add nastiness at "D"
5) Find an Experienced Sniper

Continued here.

They say timing is everything, but I am curious as to this one. The Islanders are hosting a Twitter Question & Answer period tomorrow with Rick DiPietro. They are asking fans to log on and offer up questions for Rick that he will answer, in 140 characters or less. You have to be a member of Twitter in order to submit the question, but you will be able to read the answers once they are posted. Questions are being taken up until Noon on Thursday.The web address is http://twitter.com/NYISLANDERS.

Considering that last night the rumor mill was running rampant with "Niemi to the Isles" speculation, I just found this interesting. I did get into a few conversations with fans about Rick DiPietro's ability to play this season. While I can understand that his ability is a question mark, I still believe he should be given the chance to at least attempt to get back to the form he was.

Lots of news over the Twitter feed today. Some upsetting: Wisniewski will wear #20 and some surprising: Jon Sim signs a one year two way contract.

It was a little surprising so my first reaction was a "WTF." Not because it was a bad thing, but more because it shocked me. I just didn't expect it. But let's remember that I was the woman who got called out on more than one occasion for being one of Jon Sim's biggest supporters. He was often called my "newest charity case."

But the guy works, and works hard. He draws penalties and annoys the daylights of players on the ice. He takes abuse and occasionally finds the back of the net. This isn't a bad thing.

The only bad thing? Jon, Shakey would like you to start wearing socks with your skates. He says they stink.

Reactions of today and more at HockeyBuzz.com But you can always leave your thoughts here.

It has taken me almost two hours to read only a portion of what everyone has been saying about Garth Snow's Friday night acquisition of ex-Duck James Wisniewski. So far the survey seems to say the deal was a steal.

Some thought provoking information about the roster was found at this installment of IslandersPointBlank, and I always leave it to my buddy Dom at LighthouseHockey to come up with all the useful information and web links. I don't know how he does it, but I love him for it. Dom took the time to scout out both sides to the Wisniewski signing. Like everything in life, there are ALWAYS two sides to the story.