[URL=http://www.yesislanders.com/olympic-break-review]Yes! Islanders[/URL]

The 2009 - 2010 Islanders are ________ (fill in the blank).  You could fill the blank with a myriad of adjectives or gerunds and be correct

For better or for worse, the team is terrible, improving, and young.  You may feel they are doomed.  I feel like the team is turning a corner and will compete as soon as next year.  Most veterans haven't shown much and the young guys are what they are...  Young.  The team is due for a shakeup this summer.  I don't expect anything monumental.  Just trading jelly for jam if you will while the “core” kids get stronger and more mature.   

Wow just as soon as I begin to make the pre season analysis the Islanders go on a serious winning streak, shutting out teams and opening many eyes.  I was writing how Kyle Okposo, and Josh Bailey were having mediocre seasons.  During the tear any fan would have chewed my head of for saying that.

Immediately following a nice winning streak came the losing streak. This streak may be the defining streak of the season because it left the Islanders with the 4th worst record in the league and more questions than answers with their roster.  The shakeups have begun (waiving Thompson, Witt). 

I wasn't painting a favorable picture of the team, and unfortunately it is clear the team is still rebuilding and that, although it would be great to finish the season strong, the playoffs are still a long distance away. Let's hope the Olympic break is kind to the team and heals them well.

So much going on this season.  I'll be doing a player by player quick analysis and write some notes for each.  Get ready for an honest attempt at balanced analysis with being a fan. 

This is a site administrative post.  I wanted to let Growing Up With The Isles that I couldn't fix the problem with the RSS feed and I canceled the account because of all of the other sports content that was infiltrating the site.  Please remember everyone that this is a 100% pure hockey and NY Islanders site. 

Instead of starting the year in Western Canada, it seems the schedule makers forgot there was a team on Long Island for a while and have decided to make up for it by scheduling the Islanders for 9 games in 16 days (5h, 4a).

As unrealistic as some may feel, if you are like me and do your best to hold out some optimism, you still belive the playoffs are an option for this team.  I really think the record at the end of this stretch will define this seasons' teams season as well as some of the players. 

There are several players on the cusp of even having a job in the NHL.  Jeff Tambellini, Jon Sim, Schremp, Thompson, Comeau and you could argue several others. There is little doubt in my mind that this stretch could cost some players their jobs and possibly even careers (ahem, Tambellini). 

The video of John Tavares' first NHL goal. What a relief it must have been . He also got a second assist on the first goal of the game.

Please welcome your 2008 - 2009 - 2010 New York Islanders.  I could understand your confusion if you thought this was last years squad as there haven't been many changes in the personnel that landed the Islanders last place overall in the league and the first draft pick in the 2009 draft.  Some of the moves they did make in the off-season might make you scratch your head a bit too.

One move that came as a HUGE relief to the Islanders fan base was the drafting of teenage phenom John Tavares (JT).  Please watch my video of the draft party and experience that relief with about 10,000 fans who were at the Nassau Coliseum.  Isles GM Garth Snow kept his choice a secret down to the last minute and given the teams track record for making a splash, noone could have predicted what the team was going to do. 

It was a thrill to be there and I can't wait for the season to start. Here is a clip of the time when John Tavares got announced as the New York Islanders number one draft pick for 2009 from the Nassau Veterans Memorial coliseum draft party.

I'm like many Isles fans on Long Island.  I'm getting fed up with the way the islanders situation is being presented in the media, mostly out of fear that it might be true and not just Newsday sensationalizing the issue as they are wont to do.   I have been following some forums as well as Greg Logan and Chris Botta's blogs regarding the Lighthouse project and just get more riled up.  So I did something about it.  I went to the Town of Hempstead public hearing to investigate more about what is happening with the team. 

I got there and filled out a form stating what I planned on doing there and went inside.  I was prepared to speak in front of a room of about 100 people and grill Kate Murray over why the Isles weren't making progress.  

“Luck never gives; it only lends”. ~ Swedish Proverb

The New York Islanders were lent a lucky hand last night vs. the Anaheim Ducks. Very lucky by all accounts. They were out shot 40-14 and outplayed for the last two periods by an Anaheim team that seemed to be on cruise control. There were at least 4 posts hit solidly by the Ducks. That isn't where the Islanders were lucky however.

Something is brewing in NYI Country.  More to come.

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So, sometime during December I made my way to Modell's and bought over 50 dollars worth of hockey merchandise.  No problem, it made nice X mas presents.  In return Modell's returned me a coupon for 2 tickets to be redeemed at the Bruins Islanders game last night, January 15th. 

There were droves of fans there with free Modell's tickets all clamoring on the coldest night of the year to get their Islanders' tix.  I got on the line at 6:25 and had to wait until 6:55 to get my tix.  When I got closer I overheard what the delay was caused by.  The tickets came in 2's (meaning one voucher was for 2 tix) and people logically assumed they would be together. 

Christmas is over.  The hangover from New Year's eve is gone.  Winter is keeping our toes cold and for those of us that never could get into basketball there is hockey to pacify the armchair athlete found in the depths of our souls.  This year it has admittedly been tough to be an Islanders fan.  We all knew that it would be tough though and being almost directly in the middle of it,  I'll say it stinks. 

I am usually one of the guys crying conspiracy theory with the league and the calls the Islanders don't get from the war room in Toronto.  Having ex-Ranger Kris King in a high profile role there also gets my goat a bit but that is a moot point now.  I had always thought they were out to get us but then, as sometimes happens to me, I decided to take the exact opposite point of view and try it on for size.  Could it be possible they are helping us? 

The Grinch has come early for Islanders fans this year, stealing any chance of a win so far this month.  We all know what a number he has done on our team in terms of games lost to injury and especially our D so far.  The latest drama, losing Andy Sutton to a broken foot, is no music to any Islander fan's ear.   This year the Grinch hasn't only stolen Christmas, he has stolen our "D", the bastid. 

The latest recipients of bad, life altering news related to the stealing on Wall Street downturn in the US economy is New York Newsday and more so, the 5% of its staff that will be laid off.  This brings up a huge issue for Islanders fans.  What will become of Greg Logan?

Greg Logan, who writes for Newsday, is the only journalist that accompanies the team on its away games.  He breaks a lot of news and is responsible, along with Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank, for maintaining the top of the NYI blogging pyramid.  If Mr Logan's duties get cut partially or fully, it will dramatically affect the shape of NY Islanders media coverage. 

I received this email moments ago from who I believe is Jiggs McDonald's daughter. Looks like some good news for the McDonald family as well as the fans old Jiggs still has.

Your update just came up on my Google alert. I just wanted to share with you that I think we have made some progress in getting them out of Thailand. The proof will be in the next 48 hours. This is what I sent to the various media contacts I've made over the past few days. Please let me know if I can answer an questions. And thanks for your eagerness to help and get others involved.
_________

Thanks to all of you who have helped to draw attention to the plight of Canadians stranded in Thailand due to the political unrest. It appears that my Mom and Dad are part of a group of 37 from their tour who will be departing Thailand on Tuesday, headed for Hong Kong. That trip is the result of an offer of help from the Canadian Embassy in Thailand and, for that, we are extremely grateful.

I have to admit I had no idea that we would be going to the game tonight. I was watching my 6 year old nephew Sam and went to the Islanders website thinking it would be cool to go to a game soon.

Then I saw the promotion. Bring 3 or more non perishable food items in exchange for 2 tickets to a game in December. That, plus we were going to play a team that we had been owning lately. Also, Sam had never been to a game before and I haven't been for 10 years (due to being out of the state/country) so the stars were in alignment tonight.

I get the feeling that something is going to blow.  It is nice to watch the team play with an edge, and after that slew foot to Chris Campoli the team has been playing chippy hockey.  I hope all hell breaks loose and the team makes a statement tonight.  After last night and losing Nielsen, it is about time the team bucked up.

**Note:  All hell didn't break loose, but the Isles did win.  Go figure. 

No ice.  No pucks.  No hockey sticks.  And the beginning of the season was fast approaching.  I was 4 hours east of Jakarta, Indonesia in my wife's rural farming village called Cilandok Lor.  There is no ice there.  There are barely ice cubes there, and those are even sketchy to questionable.  The temperature hovers around 95 degrees every day and winter is a pipe dream invented by television to them.