Everyone's excited - of that there is no doubt!

The blogosphere is booming and chatrooms are going non-stop. It's draft time and it's absolutely amazing the energy and excitement that is generated at this time of year. It represents acquisition, promise, new blood - in essence, hope.

And with pick number five in this year's draft in Los Angeles, Islanderville is very much involved in this high-octane tour. With the past two first rounds not lacking in drama, the most difficult thing going into this draft as a fan is predicting just what the Islanders are going to do. Trade down? Trade up? A bit of both? Or take the most logical pick at five and let the rest fall into place? That would be conventional wisdom, but as we all know, this modus operandi hasn't led to the acquisition of two of the past three first rounders.

As an oh-so-exciting Olympics lingers on, Islander GM Garth Snow has much to ponder about with respect to his team's last 20 games.

The biggest question he must answer for himself is: Does this team still have a shot at making the playoffs?

Certainly, every franchise within shooting distance must in some way show its fanbase that the team intends to win and believes it can. Mathematically, the Isles could run off a good 12 wins to finish this beast off and slip into the playoffs, granted certain other teams don't do the same thing at the same time.

Then again, if that happens, what chance would this team really have once in the playoffs? Would it even be a contest if our beloved Islanders were to enter the 7-game dance with a New Jersey, Pittburgh, Philadelphia, or Washington?

Halfway Mark

Heading into this season, even the most diehard of Islander fans were well aware that this team was an unlikely playoff contender, much less a Stanley Cup contender.

Nonetheless, simply the additions of John Tavares and no less than two bonafide NHL goaltenders in Roloson and Biron could attest to this team likely becoming a more difficult team to beat, especially considering the number of U26 players on this team looking to up the ante to their games in a bid to establish themselves as effective and regular NHLers.

Last season's Bridgeport Soundtigers experienced their best season ever. Still, despite 49 regular season wins and 106 points, the team's season fizzled to a halt in a 5 game first round dismissal. As disappointing as that was, it certainly is understandable in light of a differing line-up and a bunch of younger players experience their first AHL playoff hockey, if not simply their first AHL hockey.

With the league and Islander stats predictions in and the home opener not even 36 hours away, one can’t help but have a few other questions about the upcoming season, for example:

- What role will the injury bug play this year? Arguably, few other teams have been hit as hard the past two seasons as our beloved Islanders have been. Will things change? Well, if the preseason is any indication…
- For a team putting heavy emphasis on younger players, we have a blueline that is long in the tooth and perhaps short on talent. As the lone draftee playing amongst the top 7, will Gervais continue to build on the steps he took during the second half of the 08-09 season?

For all you folks who enjoy magazines like McKeen's Pool Yearbook, here's a blog for you: your (un)official NYI STAT PREDICTIONS!

NYI: 34-40-8 for 76 points

GOALIES:

Dwayne Roloson
There’s little to say about Roli, a guy who has stuck around a long time and has somehow gotten better with age. He’s technically coming off his best season and is used to playing with goalies who are placing a claim on the starting role. Hopefully he’s like a fine wine that just gets better with age, because we’ll be needing just that if we’re to get anywhere in the standings. Since nominal and numeral improvement (however menial) is expected vis-à-vis the goaltending situation last season, Dwayne should ultimately be one of the main reasons for it.
Stats with Islanders:
17-22-4 in 46 games, 2.90 GAA, .912 SV%

NICE 'N ISLANDER-RELATED

As our New York Islanders enter the 09-10 season, there’s no doubt they are currently one of those teams in the NHL that the media of the hockey world simply has little interest in. Surely the presence of a one Mr. Tavares puts us in a certain spotlight that we haven’t had in recent memory, but what will happen if he starts off this season anything like Steven Stamkos did for the Tampa Bay Lightning last year? Expecting anything else might prove to be little more than wishful thinking on our behalves. Speaking of expectations, our team is promptly experiencing preseason placement in the lower 10th of the standings with nary a publication expecting more than a spot amongst the league’s worst three teams.

Hi Roger,

I thought you might be interested reading the attached account of the
investigation of Duncan's death, which was written by Austrian
investigative journalist for Austrian publication, Datum. The German
version (and photos) can be accessed at
http://www.datum.at/7809/stories/5780369. Assuming you do not read
German, I am attaching the English version of the story, which the
writer, Florian Skrabal translated it for us.

We think he did a good job of weaving the story together, and exposing
the lies/cover-up. For the first time in 20 years, I feel Duncan's
voice has been heard in Austria.

At the same time that the story hit the newsstands, Peter Pilz of the
Austrian Green Party submitted a parliamentary inquiry to each of the
Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Transport; he asked questions that
are going to be very difficult for the Ministers to answer.

On Thin Ice

Death on a glacier.

Florian Skrabal reveals a Tyrolean police scandal

The Canadian Duncan MacPherson went snowboarding on a Tyrolean glacier and never came back. 14 years later his body melts out of the ice in the middle of a piste. An accident, the authorities claim. His parents think to able to prove a cover-up.

It is around 3am as the ringing get Lynda MacPherson out of her sleep. Her Tyrolean friend Martin Bär is on the phone. He is the one delivering the news which she and her husband Robert have been waiting for 14 years - and which they have feared for exactly that time. Until now there has at least been hope in their minds maybe their son Duncan is not dead. Maybe he had really taken the job offer by the US intelligence service, the Central Intelligence Agency, which he had told his mother back then about, just as an aside.

"They have found Duncan,” remembers Lynda MacPherson Bär's words.

I was in a restaurant in Fayetteville, NC the other day. As I was leaving this picture caught my eye do to the use of orange and blue. I said to my daughters that looks like an Islander jersey. Looking closer I see the letters "MAKE" and the number 24. Go figure that someone would paint a picture of Mikko Makela.

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