islesinfo.com comment: Obviously the leaked photo from a couple of months ago was dead on. As I said then, I don't think the jersey's are that bad. I'm a traditionalist at heart. But I'm just glad they kept the same colors and the same logo.

Former New York Islanders captain Brent Sutter was named the new head coach of the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The 45-year-old Sutter was hired by general manager Lou Lamoriello, hoping to become the first Devils coach in three seasons to start and finish a season. This will be his first NHL coaching job.

"In some ways we both come from the same school," Sutter said of Lamoriello. "I am not saying there won't be times where people disagree, but I have learned through it all, you don't want to agree all the time. You need discussion whether good or bad. The important thing is to make decisions that are right for the front of that jersey, that's what matters."

"There is no question in my mind that Brent has the qualities that give us the ability to have success," Lamoriello said. "There are a lot of reasons for that. It starts off with character and goes to experience, knowledge and also the presence and respect the players will have when he speaks."

It's a no-nonsense approach that Sutter had throughout his 17-year NHL career that included two Stanley Cup championships with the New York Islanders.

Sutter coached the Red Deer Rebels - a team he owns - to the Memorial Cup in 2001. His stature as a top NHL coaching prospect was significantly enhanced when he guided Canada to world junior gold in 2005 and 2006.

Lamoriello wooed Sutter after the 2005-06 season, but he opted to remain in Alberta.

"At this point in time, this was the right time," said Sutter, adding he didn't want to leave Red Deer until he was confident the team would continue to flourish. "It's just not the timing there, it's the timing here, too. With the conversation Lou and I had, this is the right fit for Brent Sutter and I'm hoping the right fit for the New Jersey Devils, too."

islesinfo.com comment: I wish Brent luck as he was one of my favorites. But it just rips my heart out to see him with the Devils. It's almost the same as seeing Bryan Trottier coach the Rangers. Rumor last summer was the Islanders offered Brent the GM and coaching position but he turned it down to remain in Red Deer and coach his son Brandon and nephew Brett. There's also the possibility he didn't want to be a part of Charles Wang's "committee" where he would have to basically ask permission to run things the way he wanted. The Islanders turned out fine with Ted Nolan so you can't really complain. Like I said we're happy for Brent but we don't wish the Devils all that much success.

The Halifax Daily News mentioned today that the Islanders are close to hiring two new assistant coaches: John Chabot, the current head coach of the QMJHL's Acadie-Bathurst Titans, and Gerard Gallant, the former assistant and head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With Danny Flynn leaving to take over the head coaching job with the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats, the Islanders and head coach Ted Nolan obviously feel the need to bring in two guys to join him and Dan Lacroix behind the bench.

Chabot was a former NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings during the 1980's. In 508 career NHL games he scored 84 goals and 312 points. He's spent the last six years as either a head coach or an assistant in the QMJHL with the Hull/Gatineau Olympiques and Acadie-Bathurst.

The 45 year old Chabot is from Summerside, PEI. He is a full-blooded Algonquin Indian and is active in First Nation causes, as is Ted Nolan. Chabot scored a goal in his first NHL game. The goal, at 10:19 of the second period, beat N.Y. Islanders goaltender Billy Smith in 1983. He also scored two goals in his first game with Pittsburgh on Nov. 10, 1984, at N.Y. Islanders.

As for Gallant, the 43 year old is also from Summerside, PEI. In his NHL career he scored 211 goals and 480 points in 615 games played predominantly with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1980's. He saw action late in his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Gallant posted a career coaching record of 56-76-10. Gallant took over for MacLean midway through the 2003-2004 season and finished with a 16-24-5 record. After the lockout season, the Blue Jackets went 35-43-4 a year ago and set club records for wins and points while finishing with a rush. They went 23-16-2 in the second half of the season after Rick Nash returned from an injury.

Gallant had been with the club since its inaugural season in 2000-2001. He spent more than three seasons as an assistant before he was elevated to replace Doug MacLean as coach. He was fired by the Blue Jackets on Nov. 14, 2006 after the team got off to a 5-9-1 start.

Tune into Hockey Night on Long Island Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm EST. Hosts Alex and Steve will be joined by NHL.com Senior Writer Shawn P. Roarke to preview the looming free agency period.

You can also listen to archived shows, like the June 24th Special 2007 Draft Recap show featuring special guest Tom Mascioli of islesinfo.com.

For more information you can also check out the Hockey Night on Long Island website.

This photo has been circulating the internet as the Islanders possible new jersey's for the 2007-08 season. There has been some questions as to whether it is legit, but in the office photo can be seen various New York Dragons memorabilia and a picture on the wall with Chinese lettering.

The NHL has announced that all 30 league team's will adapt the new Reebok style of form fitting jersey's that were worn during the 2007 NHL All Star Game.

islesinfo.com comment: Contrary to what some people are saying, I actually like them. I like the laces. Not sure I like the numbering on the front above the logo which is similar to what the Buffalo Sabres did this past season. Personally, I feel that as long as they don't change the colors, and don't change the logo, than it's all good. It is kinda odd though that the first jersey shown is a Yashin jersey, as we all know Alexei was bought out this month.

Charles Wang and Garth Snow at the 2007 NHL Draft

Be sure to tune into Hockey Night on Long Island during prime time on Sunday night at 7:30pm EST. Hosts Alex and Steve will be joined by a special guest, Tom Mascioli.....YES, of islesinfo.com!!!

Sunday night's show (June 24th) will be a 2007 NHL Draft recap. We will recap and talk about all the Islanders draft picks and any possible trades that may come down. It will be an hour STACKED full of Islanders talk and info. So Don't miss it!

If you didn't listen to the June 16th show, Tom Mascioli made a surprising substitute guest appearance in place of NHL.com's Shawn P. Roarke. Go to the site to listen to the archive.

For more information you can also check out the Hockey Night on Long Island website.

The New York Islanders have announced their prospects camp will be held from June 27th to July 2nd at Iceworks in Syosset, NY. They have also announced the goaltenders and defensemen who will be in attendance. Over 30 players are expected to attend and more will be invited following the 2007 NHL Draft this weekend.

Goaltenders:

Mike Mole
Steffan Ridderwall
Jase Weslosky

Defensemen:

Emil Axelsson
Drew Fata
Jamie Fraser
Dustin Kohn
Andrew MacDonald
Tyrell Mason
Shane Sims

There are also two invitees on defense:

Martin Frechette - has spent the past four years playing in the QMJHL for the Gatineau Olympiques. The defesneman has a tough side as he's averaged over 100 PIM's each of the last three seasons. Last year Frechette finished second in scoring among defensemen in the entire QMJHL with 73 points in 70 games played. His 23 goals led all QMJHL defensemen and tied a team record. The 20 year old Frechette is 6'1" and 215 lbs. from Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.

Jordan Hart - This 6'2", 200 lbs. defenseman from Huntington, NY is the son of former New York Islanders defenseman from the 70's Gerry Hart. A former member of the USHL's Cedar Rapids Roughriders in 2003-04, Hart had spent the last three years at Merrimack College. He left Merrimack earlier this past season to turn pro and joined the Kalamazoo Wings of the UHL, and saw playoff action with the Chicago Hounds of the same league. He's 24 years old and is a former member of the Jr. Islanders Select Team.

- Former goalie turned TV analyst Glenn "Chico" Resch has been inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday night, June 16th. Resch, who was born in Moose Jaw and grew up in Regina, played 571 NHL games and recorded 26 shutouts during that span. He won a Stanley Cup with the New York Islanders in 1980, played in three NHL all-star games and won the Bill Masterson Trophy in 1982. He joins former Islander greats Glark Gillies and Bryan Trottier in the hall.

- Former Islander Scott Howson was recently named new general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's spent the last 7 years as an assistant GM under Kevin Lowe with the Edmonton Oilers. Howson played 18 game for the Islanders from 1984-86. He was signed by the Islanders in 1981 out of the OHL and helped the Islanders minor league affiliate, the Indianapolis Checkers, win the IHL's Turner Cup Championship in 1983.

- Former Islander defenseman Dave Lewis was fired as coach of the Boston Bruins after one season behind the bench. Last season he guided the Bruins to a 35-41-6 record which was good for 13th in the Eastern Conference with 86 points. The Bruins will re-assign Lewis within the organization. Surprisingly Mike Milbury, who recently left the Islanders organization after 12 years, has interviewed for the job. Before coming to the Islanders in 1995, Milbury played 12 seasons with the Bruins from 1975-87 and following his playing career he served as coach and then assistant GM under Harry Sinden.

Pierre Turgeon, the NHL's 27th all-time leading scorer who played his final two seasons with the Avalanche, has decided to retire. Sources close to the 37-year-old Turgeon said he will make an official announcement soon. He will live with his family in the Denver area, where he helps coach his daughter's hockey team. Turgeon, who scored 515 goals and 1,327 points in 1,294 career games with six NHL teams, signed a two-year, $3 million contract with Colorado in 2005, the same day the Avs lost star Peter Forsberg to free agency. Turgeon posted 16 goals and 46 points in 62 games for the Avs in 2005-06 but suffered a shoulder injury late in the season that required offseason surgery.

He didn't return until near the midway point of the 2006-07 season, then suffered groin and calf injuries that limited him to 17 games.

Turgeon was the first overall pick in the 1987 NHL draft by Buffalo, and he became a 100-point scorer with the Sabres by his third season. His best career scoring season was in 1992-93, when he scored 58 goals and had 132 points with the New York Islanders - a team that dethroned two-time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh in the playoffs. He is one of 39 NHL players to record 500 or more goals.

Turgeon is known for his gentlemanly demeanor and precision passing, especially on the power play. He did not win a Stanley Cup or play in the Finals, which could hurt his chances for the Hockey Hall of Fame. He won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1993 and played in four All-Star Games.

- Denver Post

islesinfo.com comment: Will always remember Pierre "Sneaky Pete" Turgeon for the run in 1993, from the devastating OT goal he scored against the Rangers at MSG for his 50th to the series against the Washington Capitals. Turgeon was a very nice guy. Soft spoken. He came here in 1991 and did a great job taking over for Pat LaFontaine, for whom he was traded. If only Don Maloney didn't deal him in what was one of the worst deals in Islanders history, Turgeon would probably rank in the Islanders top 10 all time scorers. He definitely has some good numbers for the HHOF, but as mentioned the lack of a Stanley Cup win could hurt him. If there was an Islanders Hall of Fame I think he would definitely be in it.

Breakdown:

Buffalo Sabres: 122-201-323 in 322GP
NY Islanders: 148-195-343 in 255GP
Montreal Canadiens: 50-77-127 in 104GP
St. Louis Blues: 134-221-355 in 327GP
Dallas Stars: 42-87-129 in 207GP
Colorado Avalanche: 20-33-53 in 79GP

Points acquired after leaving the Islanders: 768. Total if spent rest of his career with Islanders: 1,111 points (Rank: third behind Trottier & Bossy). Scored more goals with the Islanders (148) than he scored with any other team. Currently ranks 14th all time on the Islanders list with 343 points.

Kyle Okposo, who yesterday decided to return to the University of Minnesota for his sophomore season, was today invited to the 2007 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., Aug. 3-11. Okposo is a returning player from last years Team USA squad at the 2007 World Junior Championships in Sweden.

Also invited to the camp is Islanders 2006 4th round pick Rhett Rakhshani, from the University of Denver. Rakhshani attended the camp last summer as well, but was not named to the squad that played in Sweden. Rakhshani helped Team USA to the gold medal at the 2006 IIHF World Under-18 Championships in Sweden.

Also invited to the camp are first timers: Doug Rogers (Islanders 2006 fourth round pick, 119th overall) of Harvard University and Brian Day (Islanders 2006 sixth round pick, 171st overall) who will attend Colgate University in the Fall.

Participating players are candidates for the 2008 U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2007-Jan. 5, 2008, in Pardubice and Liberec, Czech Republic.

The camp will feature practices and eight international scrimmages with a split squad of the best American players under the age of 20 facing off against Sweden and Finland.

Islanders 2006 third round draft pick W Robin Figren was selected by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL's expansion draft on Tuesday. The 19 year old Figren played the 2006-07 season for the Calgary Hitmen where he went 10-16-26 in 62 games played.

"Obviously we had some tough decisions to make in submitting our protected list," said Hitmen GM and Head Coach Kelly Kisio. "Given the depth of our organization there were a lot of good players available, but in the end we felt we needed to protect our youth."

- Another article from a Minnesota newspaper implied over the weekend that Kyle Okposo still hasn't made up his mind for next season about turning pro due to the fact that the Islanders have not made him a good enough offer yet. Are there still people out there who believe it's totally Okposo's decision?

- NY Post's sporadic Islander writer Peter Botte recently listed in the Hockey News that RW Igor Volkov is the Islanders 5th best prospect in the organization. It's unknown if whether the Islanders even tried to sign him by the June 1, 2007 deadline for 2003 draft picks. The fact that there is no transfer agreement between the NHL and Russia could have played a factor. Volkov's desire to play in North America may have played a role as well. The Islanders could still sign him down the road as some other teams in the league have signed drafted players whose rights they previously lost. But at the same time, Volkov is free to sign with whoever he wants.

- As mentioned Saturday in the islesinfo.com Prospects section, word is in Bridgeport that the Islanders might be willing to sign D Wes O'Neill to an AHL contract, since they are concerned that he may not be quick enough. Whether O'Neill would accept that is another question if he feels another team may be higher on him. islesinfo.com happens to know O'Neill's favorite team growing up was the Toronto Maple Leafs, so if his rights are relinquished on August 15th, look for that as a possibility. Here's a question: How does Carolina signed Notre Dame graduating d-man Noah Babin, yet the Islanders don't want to sign O'Neill?

Hockey Night on Long Island is gearing up for June NHL Draft Coverage.  They announced that their next episode, on Saturday 6/2, will feature special guest Matt Ebbs, the General Manager at ISS. 

On Saturday 6/16, Hockey Night on Long Island will welcome Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com.  Shawn, a senior writer, has been extensively covering the NHL draft and profile all of the top prospects.  He'll discuss the NHL draft and how the Islanders might approach it.  You can also call in or IM and ask Shawn your questions.  Be sure to tune in for another very special guest on HNLI.

Current Draft Guest Schedule:

• 6/2-Saturday 3PM EST: Matt Ebbs, General Manager at ISS
• 6/16- Saturday 3PM EST: Shawn P. Roarke, Senior Writer for NHL.com

Possible future Islanders? You never know.

On Saturday, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League held their annual Draft.

Here are the top 5 picks from the 2007 QMJHL Draft:

Simon Després-Bellavance, 15, a big, puck moving defenseman, measures 6-foot-3 and weighs 210 pounds. He was ranked by QMJHL Central Scouting as the best player available in the draft. Després played last year for Laval-Bourassa of the Quebec Midget AAA ranks where he had eight goals and 31 assists in 42 games, making him the third-highest scoring defenceman in the province.

While Després is not known to be very physical for a big d-man, Charles-Olivier Roussel is known as a two-way blueliner who throws punishing hits at 6', 183 lbs.

C John Esposito, the younger brother of NHL 2007 Draft hopeful Angelo Esposito, was taken in the 5th round by Victoriaville. LW Steven Anthony went 10th overall to Lewiston. Originally a candidate to go #1 overall, Anthony was avoided by some clubs who believe he may play U.S. College instead.

from the Pioneer Press, by Bruce Brothers, June 2, 2007

Despite the passing of an early deadline established by coach Don Lucia, nobody knows whether All-America defenseman Alex Goligoski and ace forward Kyle Okposo will be on hand when the Gophers men's hockey team opens its 2007-08 season against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Oct. 12 at Xcel Energy Center.

Minnesota, scheduled to play host to hockey's annual Icebreaker Tournament Oct. 12-13, is awaiting decisions from Goligoski and Okposo about turning pro.

"That's the good and the bad of having elite players," Lucia said.

Okposo, voted by teammates the Gophers' rookie of the year last season, also said his decision "could go either way. I still haven't made up my mind yet."

Two months ago, Lucia said he wanted his underclass pro prospects to decide by June 1 whether they planned to sign pro contracts or return to school. This week he clarified that, saying he hopes to have decisions before summer school begins June 11 at the university.

Goligoski, a junior last season who is from Grand Rapids, Minn., was a second-round NHL draft pick (61st overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2004. Okposo, a freshman last season from St. Paul, was a first-round pick (No. 7 overall) by the New York Islanders last summer.

The Islanders have lost the rights to the following players as of 5pm EST on June 1, 2007:

Igor Volkov - 2003 draft
Dmitri Chernyk - 2003 draft
Evgeni Tunik - 2003 draft
Denis Rehak - 2003 draft
Nicholas Tuzzolino - 2005 draft

The biggest loss here is Volkov. Some of you may have seen the Volkov video on his islesinfo.com profile. He's a very skilled player with a ton of speed. It's unknown if whether the recently failed attempt at a transfer agreement between the NHL and Russia affected this signing, if the Islanders were even interested, or if Volkov is even interested in playing in North America.

What a disaster the 2003 draft is turning out to be for the Islanders. Yes, they did find a good player in the sixth round with Bruno Gervais. Their first mistake though was going European with their first round pick and taking Robert Nilsson over Zach Parise. Then, with THREE second round picks, the Islanders scouting staff wasted two of the picks by selecting Russian's Chernykh and Tunik.

The following was written by Ryan Kibbe of KSTP.com, a website for a Minnesota TV channel:

With former Gopher defenseman Erik Johnson now signed with St. Louis, the off-season spotlight shifts to two other high-profile Gopher hockey players: defenseman Alex Goligoski, and forward Kyle Okposo. Both Goligoski and Okposo face critical decisions: stay another season in college or turn pro. The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Goligoski in the 2nd round (61st overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry draft. The New York Islanders took Okposo, a sophomore-to-be, in the 1st round (7th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry draft.

Minnesota head coach Don Lucia told me today that Okposo will discuss his future with the Islanders and make a decision within the next two weeks. Lucia wasn't sure where Okposo was leaning, whether to stay at Minnesota or turn pro. Lucia believes Goligoski, a senior-to-be, will also make up his mind soon. Goligoski is recovering from shoulder surgery performed last month. Lucia says Goligoski's surgically-repaired shoulder is progressing. It's unclear at this point how long it will take for Goligoski to completely recover, but a Gopher hockey team spokesman indicated that doctors have ordered 'no contact' for the Gophers defenseman until October. That timeline could be moved up depending on Goligoski's recovery time.

Okposo was 2nd on the Gopher Hockey team with 40 points last season. Goligoski led the Gophers with 30 assists. Should both players stay in school, it would add significant depth to the Gophers roster. In 2006-2007, the Gophers won the WCHA regular season title and conference playoff title, before falling to North Dakota in the NCAA regional finals.

Don Maloney was today named the new general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes. Maloney spent the last 10 years as assistant general manager and vice-president of player personnel for the New York Rangers.

Prior to that, Maloney got his first taste of being a GM when he served that position with the New York Islanders from 1992-95. Maloney was 33 when the New York Islanders promoted him to general manager in August 1992, 19 months after he retired as an Islanders player.

"I learned on the fly," Maloney said. "It was a great learning experience. I'm thrilled to be back in the driver's seat."

Maloney was eventually relieved by the Islanders following a few bad moves, most notably dealing the popular Pierre Turgeon to Montreal in exchange for disgruntled Kirk Muller. But he did make some good draft selections particularly in 1993 with Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan McCabe. Maloney was eventually replaced by the coach he hired, Mike Milbury, who ironically announced today he was leaving the Islanders organization.

The selection of Maloney came as a bit of a surprise, as it seemed like the Coyotes were leaning towards former Islanders draft pick Kevin Cheveldayoff to take the position. Cheveldayoff may be in line now for the job in Columbus.

Now that the Memorial Cup has finished and there are no longer any draft eligible prospects still playing, the NHL began their draft combine in Toronto today.

The combine is where NHL clubs conduct interviews to gauge a players character and put the prospects through some rigorous physical testing.

The combine runs from May 29th - June 2nd.

Islanders Name New ECHL Affiliate
May 21, 2007: The Islanders will announce at a press conference tomorrow May 22nd that they are returning to Utah as a minor affiliation in 2007-08. The Utah Grizzlies will serve as the Islanders ECHL affiliate. The Grizzlies were the Islanders primary affiliate from 1994-98 when they were in the now defunct IHL.

During that time, the Grizzlies had a .636 winning percentage and a 196-107-24 record. The organization, which was in Denver before it came to Utah prior to the 1995-1996 season, qualified for the playoffs every year and won the International Hockey League Turner Cup Championship twice.

The Grizzlies were unaffiliated the last two years. The Islanders 2006-07 ECHL affiliate were the Pensacola Ice Pilots.

"The Utah Grizzlies are one of the top franchises in minor pro hockey," said Islanders general manager Garth Snow. "The Islanders and Grizzlies have made a great pair in the past and I'm sure we will be again. The Utah community is outstanding and the facilities are top-tier. We're looking forward to working with Jason Christie and the rest of his staff."

"We are excited to team up with a first-class organization in the Islanders as well as their American Hockey League affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers," said Christie. "It will be beneficial to our organization to once again have an affiliation. We will look to develop players for the next level in a winning environment."

Listen to the Press Conference here. Representing the Islanders was someone named Toby O'Brien. He made some interesting comments about the Islanders 2006-07 season, Garth Snow, the acquisition of Ryan Smyth and the Islanders efforts to focus on youth which was reflected in their recent signings of Trevor Smith and Sean Bentivoglio.

Official Website of the Utah Grizzlies

Word in hockey circles is that Gophers freshman hockey star Kyle Okposo is leaning toward signing with the New York Islanders.

islesinfo.com comment: I wouldn't be surprised if, as islesinfo.com has predicted for the last month or so, that Okposo will sign with the Islanders sometime next week.

In a feature written today by Islanders director of media relations, Chris Botta, he stated that his "hunch" is Okposo will return for another year with the U. of Minnesota.

islesinfo.com comment: This goes against everything I've been hearing. If it is really more than just his guess opinion, there may be one clear thing going on here. Okposo wants to turn pro and the Islanders don't want him to. We will see what happens. I still say he signs unless the Islanders try to convince him that it would be better to play another year of college than in Bridgeport.

According to the official website for the Russian team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, unrestricted free agent Randy Robitaille has signed with the club for 2007-08. Yaroslavl is the same team former Islander Denis Grebeshkov played for and Sean Bergenheim started with in 2006-07.

islesinfo.com comment: Not a big loss at all. The Islanders weren't going to bring him back and he was probably told so before signing in Russia.

On Thursday's edition of Hockey Central on Toronto's Fan590, host Darren Millard got into a conversation with radio & TV analyst Bill Berg, the former Islander, about NHL building acronyms.

Millard stated the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum needs to get with the program and use their acronym more like MSG in New York City, HSBC in Buffalo, NY and the ACC in Toronto. It's hard to interpret if he was unaware that the obvious acronym is NVMC, which doesn't quite roll off the tongue like the other two buildings he mentioned.

The conversation stemmed from Berg's description of some vulgar fans in Buffalo which prompted him to describe fans in Toronto and at MSG during the Islanders-Rangers games he was a part of. He brought up how there are quite often fights at both venues in the stands. But following the conversation regarding the acronyms, Berg clearly stated that NVMC was a "dump."

To be perfectly honest, it's hard to argue with his description. But it's not THAT bad and hearing it from him was a bit uncomfortable considering Berg has made some unwarranted statements about the Islanders in the past, the team that gave him his first chance in the NHL.

In another fun topic of the show, the hosts went on to criticize Rangers fans for their use of the "Potvin Sucks" chant. Former Islander Ray Ferraro came on to discuss the topic and he mentioned how the Ranger fans would generate the chant and Potvin wasn't within 1,000 miles of the building. He said the chants continued throughout Ferraro's days with the Islanders and as we all know even today, no matter who the Rangers opponent be.

Ferraro also told of a story regarding Potvin and how he use to sleep on the trainers table following practice whenever the Islanders were at MSG because Ranger fans would follow and taunt Potvin whenever he walked to and from the rink to his hotel room.

Gophers freshman star Kyle Okposo, through a family adviser, and his rights holder, the New York Islanders, are having preliminary talks about his hockey future, but no decision whether to sign or return to school has been made.

islesinfo.com comment: Okposo has an agreement with Don Lucia, his coach at Minnesota, that he will have a decision made by June 1st. So we will definitely know within the next two weeks.

It looked like Canada would cruise to the Gold Medal after gaining a 3-0 lead Sunday afternoon on Finland. But the Finns put up a fight in the third period and made it 3-2. It wasn't enough as Rick Nash, who also scored Canada's first goal, scored an unbelievable single effort tally with a man draped all over his back a little over a minute remaining in the game to seal Canada's undefeated Gold Medal win 4-2.

Russia went on to defeat Sweden 3-1 for the Bronze Medal.

Final stats:

Miroslav Satan: 7 games, 1-7-8. 9 shots on goal.

Sean Bergenheim: 8 games, 1-2-3. 31 PIM's. Silver Medal.

Frans Nielsen: 6 games, 3 assists.

I would like to thank both Steve and Alex of Hockey Night on Long Island for selecting me to co-host the show on May 12th. I co-hosted along with Steve as Alex was feeling under the weather (get well Alex). If you would like to listen to the archived show please go to the link above to listen to us opine about the latest news and happenings concerning the Islanders. We took some great calls and instant messages. 

The show is planning to have some great draft coverage come June and I will likely have the privilege of participating in that. So you don't want to miss it. The show is every Saturday at 3pm EST.  

Finland today pulled off the shocking upset as they defeated Russia in overtime 2-1 to advance to the Gold Medal game Sunday afternoon. Sean Bergenheim was ejected from the game today in the first period and received a 5 minute major for kneeing. Ilya Kovalchuk also took a slashing penalty, but once it ended Evgeni Malkin tallied on the remainder of the major to put Russia up 1-0. Later in the first period Finland tied the game and it remained tied until Mikko Koivu scored the game winner in OT.

'Andrei Markov was skating out of his zone after making an outlet pass when Finland's Sean Bergenheim laid a knee-on-knee hit on the high-scoring Russian defenseman at the blueline. Markov crumpled to the ice and had to be helped off the ice by the trainer. (However, he would return to action.) Ilya Kovalchuk confronted Bergenheim afterwards and took a slashing penalty, while Bergenheim was kicked out of the game with a five-minute major and game misconduct.'

Finland will face undefeated Canada in the Gold Medal Game Sunday. Canada defeated Sweden 4-1 in their semifinal match today.

Russia will face Sweden for the Bronze. Russia defeated Sweden already in the preliminary round 4-2 on May 7th.

Mike Bossy, whose Canada Cup OT goal in 1984 gave Team Canada a semi-final win over the Soviet Union, will be honored on October 25, 2007 at a gala dinner in Toronto. Bossy will be joined by five other athletes at the ceremony: Canadian Women's hockey player Cassie Campbell, Olympic wrestling champion Daniel Igali, former CFL football star Doug Flutie, Olympic cross-country ski champ Beckie Scott and Major League Baseball’s Larry Walker.

Bossy’s international experience included two Canada Cups (1981 and 1984). In 1984, Canada beat the Soviet Union in a semi-final before defeating Sweden in two straight games to take the best-of-three final.

Wednesday:

Sweden defeated Slovakia in their quarterfinal match 7-4 to advance to the semifinals. Miroslav Satan recorded an assist in the loss for Slovakia. He finishes the tournament second on the team in scoring having gone 1-7-8 in 7 games played. He only had 9 shots on goal in the tournament.

The powerhouse Russian team advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 win over the Czech Republic.

Thursday:

Finland defeated Team USA 5-4 in the tenth round of the shootout to advance to the semifinals. Sean Bergenheim did not record a point in the win. He has gone 1-2-3 in 7 games played.

Canada advanced to the semifinals with a 5-1 win over Switzerland.

The Semifinals are now set and the single elimination matches will be as follows:

May 12

Russia vs. Finland
Canada vs. Sweden

In a piece written by Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post Sunday Howard Saffin, president of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and board member of the New York Islanders had this to say about Kyle Okposo's future as well as the rest of the Islanders current top prospects:

Q — Who are some of the kids who will come in and make their marks next year?

A — Write this down: Kyle Okposo. If Kyle has his druthers, I think he wants to leave Minnesota. If Kyle joins our organization, I believe he would start out here in Bridgeport. Kyle is a phenomenal talent. Dustin Kohn, phenomenal talent. Dustin was our best defenseman in (Islanders) training camp last year, bar none, none, capital-N-o-n-e, none. I believe Dustin will dominate at this level. It may take him a year or two, but I believe he'll dominate just like Bruno dominated at this level. Those are our two superstars coming in. Obviously we have Andrew MacDonald; he had a cup of coffee here. I think you're going to have breakout years from Frans Nielsen, from Blake Comeau. Jeremy (Colliton) is coming back because, obviously, he had his torn labrum (right shoulder). I think he'll come back in shape like you've never seen before. I think (Drew) Fata will take it to the next level. I think Drew Fata is a half-step away from the NHL. Jamie Fraser, you'll see a dramatic change in his game. I think Petteri Nokelainen (recovering from knee surgery), you're going to see a year of health. He wasn't a hundred percent. When he comes back, he'll absolutely be a force. He'll be back to being a power forward. I can't tell you he was a power forward (last year). Next year he will be a power forward. He'll finally be up-to-speed, pain-free, total 100-percent movement.

On Sunday, Slovakia just barely edged out a 4-3 win over Belarus. Miroslav Satan did not record a point in the win. He has gone 1-6-7 in 6 games played and he is second on Team Slovakia in scoring behind Marion Gaborik.

Finland lost 1-0 to Sweden. Sean Bergenheim is now 1-2-3 in 6 games played. Canada defeated the Czech Republic in overtime 4-3.

Monday, Denmark defeated Italy 5-2. Frans Nielsen recorded an assist in the win and he had three assists in 6 games played.

Canada defeated Team USA 6-3 to remain undefeated. The quarterfinals are now set and the single elimination matches will be as follows:

May 9

Russia vs. Czech Republic
Sweden vs. Slovakia

May 10

Canada vs. Switzerland
USA vs. Finland

OHL Priority Selection

The 2007 OHL Priority Selection was held today. Here are the top 5 picks:

Ryan O'Reilly, six feet and 185 pounds, had 31 goals and 43 assists in 50 games for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens midget team this season and he's been invited to Ontario's under-17 camp next month. "Everybody knew he was a great player, but he's high-character and driven and cares about his teammates," Erie's GM Sherry Bassin said. "He shares the puck and he has phenomenal leadership qualities."

Unlike the WHL, players drafted in the OHL Draft can make an impact with their teams right away, as we saw this season with Steven Stamkos, Michael Del Zotto and Alex Pietrangelo who were the top 3 picks last year. Stamkos was the OHL's top rookie in 2006-07.

One other note....D Bjorn Krupp, son of former Islander Uwe Krupp, was taken 36th overall by the Belleville Bulls. He's a big defenseman who can really skate and plays physical. Some believe he could turn out to be better than his father. Bjorn plans to play in the USHL next season and eventually get recruited into the NCAA.

Other notables: Marcus Foligno was drafted 39th overall by Sudbury. He will play with his other brother Nick. Father Mike Foligno is the coach of Sudbury. Taken 54th overall by Belleville was Andy Bathgate, the grandson of the former NHL'er by the same name.

Denmark lost today to Switzerland 4-1. Frans Nielsen did not register a point in the loss and he took a 2 minute interference penalty.

Finland defeated Italy 3-0 to qualify for the quarterfinals. Sean Bergenheim did not record a point.

Slovakia came up with a huge win today 3-2 over the Czech Republic. Miroslav Satan recorded an assist in the win. He now is 1-6-7 in 5 games played.

Team USA defeated Germany 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. Yesterday, Canada defeated Belarus 6-3 to improve to a perfect 3-0-0 record, qualifying them for the quarterfinals.

With the IIHF and NHL agreeing in principle to a new transfer deal, it could make things easier for the Islanders to sign LW Igor Volkov from Salavat Yulayev if Russia agree to the new proposal. All signs are they will.

If you haven't seen the new islesinfo.com Volkov video, click here.

Last weekend on Hockey Night on Long Island, I stated that I believed RW/C Kyle Okposo will in fact sign with the Islanders. Look for a decision to come from Kyle within the next 2 weeks. There have been rumblings that the Islanders may like Okposo to play another year of college, but if they were to give him a deal commensurate to a 7th overall pick, Okposo would sign. He believes he is ready.

Has anyone ever noticed the unbelievable amount of former Islanders in broadcasting?

Ray Ferraro is an analyst for NBC and does various radio shows across Canada. Same goes for Bill Berg. Along with Berg, Bob McGill also does commentary for TSN in Canada. 

Two former goaltenders, Glenn Healy and Kelly Hrudey, also do color commentary for networks in Canada.

Bob Beers and current Islanders color commentator Billy Jaffe are currently doing work for Versus.

Garry Galley does a daily radio show in Ottawa.

The qualifying round got underway today. Finland blanked Switzerland 2-0. Sean Bergenheim only recorded 1 shot on goal in the contest.

In the best match of the day, Team USA defeated Slovakia 4-2. Miroslav Satan recorded an assist on a goal by former Islander Zdeno Chara. But it wasn't enough. Satan has gone 1-3-4 in 5 games played for the Slovaks. Today he had 4 PIM's.

Denmark put up a fight against Sweden today, but the Swedes were too much. Led by two goals from former Islander Johan Davidsson and another from Kenny Jonsson, Sweden defeated Denmark 5-2. Frans Nielsen did not record a point in the contest.

WHL Bantam Draft

Possible future Islanders? You never know.

On Thursday, the Western Hockey League held their annual Bantam Draft. Drafted players normally won't see action with their respective clubs until the 2008-09 season.

Here are the top 5 picks from the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft:

The Moose Jaw Warriors traded up from the 5th spot with the Portland Winterhawks who held the #1 selection overall. Moose Jaw, Clark Gillies' former club, felt the 6' 170 lbs Howdon was a franchise player. Luke Moffat, from Scottsdale, AZ was looking to become only the second American ever to be selected #1 in the WHL Draft. He went second to Blake Comeau's former team, the Kelowna Rockets. Defenseman Mark Pysyk was selected third overall by the WHL's newest expansion team, the Edmonton Oil Kings.

OHL Priority Selection

The OHL Priority Selection will be held on Saturday May 5, 2007 at 9am EST.

Denmark earned their first win of the tournament on Tuesday when they defeated the Ukraine 4-3. Frans Nielsen recorded an assist on Denmark's first goal of the game. He now has 2 assists in 3 games played.

Finland lost their first game of the tournament Tuesday and are now 2-1-0. They lost to Russia 5-4. Sean Bergenheim did not record a point in the game.

Miroslav Satan scored his first goal of the World Championship's Wednesday against Canada. His goal tied the game 4-4 early in the third period. But Canada went on to win with a power play goal by Rick Nash in the final minute of the game. Satan now has 3 points in the tournament.

Jonathan Toews had three assists in the game for Canada and is surely headed for stardom in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks. Canada improved to 3-0-0 in the preliminary round.

Team USA went 2-1-0 after losing 4-3 to the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

The NHL released their annual trophy finalists on Tuesday and there were no Islanders among them.

Most surprisingly, Ted Nolan was not among the finalists for coach of the year. Buffalo's Lindy Ruff, Pittsburgh's Michel Therrien and Vancouver's Alain Vigneault are the finalists for coach of the year. Ruff won the award last year.

Mike Sillinger is the Islanders nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy. Most likely either Carolina's Eric Cole or Buffalo's Teppo Numminen will win that award.

So the NHL War Room in Toronto ruled Daniel Briere did not score with 17 seconds left against the Rangers on Tuesday night. Reasoning? No conclusive evidence the puck crossed the line. Yet, it's obvious the puck DID in fact cross the line.

You mean they had conclusive evidence Thomas Vanek scored in game 3 against the Islanders? We still haven't seen a conclusive shot that puck crossed the line.

For the first time in 5 video replay situation involving the Sabres in this years' playoffs, Buffalo actually lost a call. I guess the number one seed will always get the benefit of the calls from the NHL...unless you get in a goal line replay against the league's beloved Rangers.

Sad. Video Replay? Worse than sad.

There are three current Islanders and a slew of former Islanders taking part in the 2007 World Championship tournament being played this year in Moscow and Mystichi, Russia.

Making his 6th straight appearance for the Danish World Championship team is Frans Nielsen. He's been a mainstay with the team since 2002. Frans is wearing his familiar #51. Amazingly, Denmark could be dubbed team Nielsen. Along with Frans, there is a Daniel Nielsen, Jens Nielsen, Simon Nielsen and Frans. Most likely none of them are related.

Denmark is 0-2-0 thus far in the tournament having lost 9-1 to Russia and 6-2 to Finland on Sunday. Nielsen has recorded an assist in 2 games played and has registered 2 shots on goal along with 4 PIM's. He assisted on Denmark's second goal against Finland.

Making his second straight appearance with Team Finland is Sean Bergenheim. Finland opened up their tournament with a 5-0 win over the Ukraine. Bergenheim recored a goal and an assist in the win. He was a +2 with 4 PIM's and registered 3 shots on goal. In Finland's second game, they defeated Denmark 6-2. Bergenheim recorded an assist in the win.

The only Islander regular making it to Russia is Miroslav Satan for the Slovakian Team. The Slovaks have gotten off to a 2-0-0 record in the tournament. Satan has registered an assist in both games he's played: a 3-0 win over Norway and today, a 5-1 win over Germany. He's also been named Slovakia's team captain.

Former Islanders in the tournament: Uwe Krupp - coach of Team Germany, Eric Brewer of Canada, Zdeno Chara of Slovakia, Denis Grebeshkov and Alexander Kharitonov of Russia, Johan Davidsson, Dick Tarnstrom, Jorgen & Kenny Jonsson with Team Sweden. Where will Kenny play next year?

Former Islanders assistant coach Curt Fraser is serving as the head coach of Belarus. Sergei Nemchinov is an assistant coach for Russia.

For fans of Team USA, they opened up the tournament with a 5-1 win over Belarus. Canada has gotten off to a 2-0-0 start with two narrow wins over Germany 3-2 and Norway 4-2.

The Islanders announced today that Jack Capuano has replaced Dan Marshall as head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders AHL affiliate. 

Capuano served as the Sound Tigers assistant coach during the 2006-07 season. Marshall, along with assistant coach Joe Ferras will be re-assigned within the organization. Bernie Cassell will remain behind the bench as an assistant to Capuano. A third assistant coach will be named later during the summer. "I am honored and excited about this opportunity that Charles Wang, Howard Saffan and Garth Snow have entrusted in me," Capuano said.

"I look forward to working with the future of the organization to develop a winning team in Bridgeport that will contribute to the success of the Islanders."

"Jack Capuano is the ideal coach for the dual challenge of developing Islanders prospects and bringing a winning team to Bridgeport," said Islanders GM Garth Snow. "Jack really impressed me in his one season as an Islanders assistant and how well he worked last season in Bridgeport with young players like Blake Comeau and Frans Nielsen. More than anything, Jack is a teacher."

The 41 year old Capuano began his coaching career in 1995 as an assistant with the ECHL's Tallahassee Tiger Sharks. From 1997-05 he split GM and head coaching duties for the ECHL's Pee Dee Pride. He coached the Pride to a 51-14-4 record in 1998-99 and to the league Finals. Overall he led the team to a 312-206-52 record.

In 2005 he was named coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the Five Nations Cup in Slovakia. Following the tournament, Capuano joined the Islanders organization and served as an assistant coach under Steve Stirling during the 2005-06 season. He was re-assigned in the organization following the dismissal of Stirling and ended up in Bridgeport in 2006-07.

A bit of week old news. At the completion of the first round of the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs, officials were evaluated and the league made some cuts. Among them were Mike Leggo, who was responsible for the blown goal call in game 4 at the NVMC between the Islanders and Sabres.

Also not advancing to the second round was Eric Furlatt, who was involved in a bating situation with Islanders coach Ted Nolan back in December of 2006.

Surprisingly, Denis LaRue survived the cut.

There is a great internet show called Hockey Night on Long Island and it can be heard every Saturday afternoon at 3pm. This Saturday, I will be making my second appearance on the show. Tune in as I discuss Islanders hockey in a round-table with the show hosts Alex and Steve. I will get on around 3:10pm and we will be discussing the 2006-07 season and what the future holds for the Islanders this summer. It should be a great show!

Unbelievable! The Islanders now have destiny in their own hands Sunday afternoon when they face the Devils in New Jersey. That's because the Toronto Maple Leafs have defeated the Montreal Canadiens in a sea-saw rollercoaster of a game by a 6-5 score.

If you are an Islander fan and you were watching the game, emotions went from joy to despair and back again to elation. The Leafs took a 1-0 lead in the first period off a goal by Bates Battaglia at 7:53. But at 12:15 Smithtown's Chris Higgins made an fantastic move beating a Toronto defenseman and then putting a shot by Leafs goaltender Andrew Raycroft to tie it 1-1. The Leafs gained the lead back at 16:09 when Nik Antropov took a wide angle shot that beat Montreal goaltender Cristobal Huet in what could be classified as a bad goal. But good for the Islanders as the first period ended with a Leafs 2-1 lead.

Just 1:12 into the second period the Leafs took a 3-1 lead on a goal by Alexander Steen and all of a sudden Islander fans were most likely dancing in their seats. At 1:48 Michael Ryder cut the Canadiens deficit to 3-2. The Leafs started to get into some penalty trouble and found themselves down on a 5 on 3 for Montreal. Ryder, who has only scored 1 goal in his last 7 games, recorded his second goal of the game to tie it up 3-3 at 4:32. Just as the Leafs finished up killing the penalties, Ryder made it a natural hat trick when he tallied at 7:37 to give Montreal their first lead at 4-3. The Leafs pulled Raycroft and inserted backup goaltender Sean-Sebastien Aubin and things seemed to get worse as Montreal would then take a 5-3 lead on another goal by Higgins at 14:31.

Now things were looking bleak. But suddenly Montreal began to implode late in the second period. Toronto got back to within one when Carlo Colaiacovo made it 5-4 at 17:46. Then the Canadiens took a penalty and as the period ended Steve Begin took a 4 minute high sticking penalty. 

In the third period former Islander Bryan McCabe fired the puck past Huet to tie the game 5-5 just 58 seconds in. With the Leafs still on the power play they took back the lead 6-5 at 3:43 when Kyle Wellwood tipped another point shot past Huet. With Islander fans, and no doubt Islanders players, holding onto their seats they watched the Leafs hold on for the rest of the third as Montreal pulled their goaltender with a little over a minute left to play.

With the loss, the Montreal Canadiens have been eliminated from postseason play. Now the Leafs will be the ones watching as the Islanders will have destiny in their own hands. Can the Islanders pull off another Easter Miracle with a win over New Jersey on Sunday? What an incredible story it would be if they can. The drama continues for one more game!!

GM/Coach Lou Lamoriello of the New Jersey Devils has not tipped his hat yet as to which goaltender he will start against the Islanders Sunday afternoon. Early indication was the Devils would start Martin Brodeur due to the fact that if he did not play he may end up having a week off before their first playoff game, which some believe could be too much off a layoff. Another view is that the Devils have nothing left to play for and Brodeur has played an astounding 78 games this season. Might the Devils decide to play backup Scott Clemmensen? 

There is one small possibility that could drive Brodeur to play. Roberto Luongo won his 47th game of the season Saturday night and he has one more game remaining. Brodeur has already won 48. Would he want to play to try and stay one win ahead of Luongo? Will he play for that reason or would a rest with the playoffs in mind be more important? We will find out soon.

As far as other players who may not play for New Jersey, Brian Gionta missed the Devils last game in Philadelphia. 

Starting April 3, 2007 the Islanders needed to win their final 4 games. A loss by the Islanders and a win by Montreal would eliminate the Islanders from postseason play. Islanders need more than 1 point or they would be eliminated if Montreal wins. 

April 3, 2007: 

Montreal defeats Boston 2-0
Islanders defeat Rangers 3-2 in shootout

Starting April 5, 2007 Islanders need to win final 3 games. Montreal can't gain more than 1 point. Islanders need to defeat Toronto at Nassau Coliseum.

April 5, 2007: 

Islanders defeat Toronto 5-2
Rangers defeat Montreal 3-1

Starting April 7, 2007 Islanders need to win final 2 games. Need help from Toronto to defeat Montreal to make April 8th game for Islanders meaningful.

April 7, 2007:

Islanders defeat Philadelphia 4-2
Toronto defeats Montreal 6-5 eliminating Canadiens

Starting April 8, 2007 Islanders need to defeat New Jersey on Easter Sunday to qualify for postseason play.

April 8, 2007:

Islanders defeat New Jersey 3-2 in a shootout

There is a great new internet show called Hockey Night on Long Island and it can be heard every Saturday afternoon at 3pm. This Saturday, yours truly will be a guest on the show. Since the Islanders will be in Philadelphia looking to get even closer to a possible playoff position the show will start after the game at around 3:30pm EST. I will probably be on around 4pm. Tune in as I discuss Islanders hockey with the show hosts Alex and Steve.

According to Greg Logan of Newsday, NHL referee Eric Furlatt baited Ted Nolan into taking a bench minor Wednesday night during the third period of the Islanders 2-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators. With the Islanders trailing 1-0 with 7:30 remaining in the third period, Furlatt and fellow official Dan Marouelli called simultaneous penalties against Richard Park and Alexei Yashin, resulting in a full 2 minute two man advantage for the Senators.

Recounting the confrontation, Nolan said, "He asked me what I said. I said, 'It's a -- -- call.' He asked me again, and I told him again. He asked me a third time, and I told him a third time. He asked for it, and I just told him what I said."

It was then that Furlatt tacked on an extra bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Islanders killed off the 5 on 3 and almost killed off the bench minor, but Chris Kelly put the Senators up 2-0 with a second left on the call.

"I shouldn't have done what I did, but the referee asked me three times," Nolan said. "Normally, referees don't come over and ask you, but he asked me and I told him. At the end, he looked at me like it was a gratifying thing. You don't want to let your emotions get the better of you, but we'll live and learn and move on."

islesinfo.com comment: I mentioned this incident in my game recap the other night. Just another game where the officials become noticed and are a difference in the outcome of the game. Do we really want to see this? I thought the game was all about the players, not the officials. Honestly, the NHL needs to do another crackdown. The officials are calling too many marginal penalties and from game to game it doesn't seem to be a uniformed set of rules. It's all objective depending on what referee you have that night. If Furlatt really did this then he should be suspended for a few games. An official should never get into a confrontation with a coach. If he heard the comment, fine. Make a call. But an official should not go and ask a coach to repeat something he said. That's unprofessional for a referee to do. But this just proves more of my point that the Islanders are not getting respect this season. I'm not whining about the officiating, but as I mentioned after the game, aggressive teams are being penalized for to many marginal calls. The NHL is not figure skating. You need a balance. This is suppose to be a contact sport. Let the players play.

NEW YORK -- A former co-owner of the New York Islanders was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday in a $400 million accounting fraud scandal at one of the world's largest software companies.

Sanjay Kumar, the 44-year-old former chief executive of Computer Associates International, pleaded guilty in April to obstruction of justice and securities fraud charges at the company, which since has become known as CA Inc.

"I know that I was wrong and there was no excuse for my conduct," Kumar told the judge at his sentencing at federal court. "I do apologize for my mistakes and ask for forgiveness from all involved."

Kumar could have faced life in prison but Judge Leo Glasser called that unreasonable. In addition to the 12-year term, he was fined $8 million and ordered to surrender Feb. 27.

Kumar and Computer Associates founder Charles Wang bought the Islanders in 2000 for about $190 million.

According to a 2004 indictment, Kumar orchestrated a plot to report more than $2 billion in false revenue between 1999 and 2000. The indictment also charged that Kumar and other executives instructed salespeople to complete deals after the quarter had closed.

CA Inc., based on Long Island and with 15,000 employees worldwide, is the world's fifth-largest software provider.

islesinfo.com comment: First John Spano and now Sanjay Kumar is going to do hard time. Can't really feel bad for the guy. Seems like he definitely knew what he was doing. A good question though is, did Charles Wang know what Sanjay was doing?

Milbury was recruited out of Walpole High School to play hockey at Colgate University in 1972. He signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins in 1974 and became a tough, stay at home defenseman for the next 11 years. He later went on to coach the Bruin's affiliate in 1987, graduated to the Bruins' bench boss in 1989 and was also named their assistant GM.

After leaving Boston and serving as a TV analyst with ESPN, Milbury was named the Islanders head coach in 1995. Later that year he became the Islanders GM and remained in the position for the next 10 years. Milbury stepped down as the Islanders GM in January 2006. Owner Charles Wang kept Milbury in the Islanders organization as head of the owner's sports properties.

Milbury joins Dave Langevin, Ken Morrow and Pat LaFontaine as members of the Islanders organization to be named to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Reed Larson is also a member of the U.S. Hall of Fame, but he was inducted 7 years after playing for the Islanders in 1989-90.

islesinfo.com comment: Surprised the Islanders didn't acknowledge this on their website. Perhaps they thought it would only generate negative feedback. Congratulations to Milbury though. This is a pretty nice honor for an American born hockey player. Who said islesinfo.com was always negative??  ;-)

Inside College Hockey recently announced their annual Recruiting Rankings. Three Islander draft picks from 2006 cracked the list. In Fact, Kyle Okposo was named as their #1 top incoming freshman. Okposo will play for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in 2006-07. Here is what Inside College Hockey had to say:

"The 2006 USHL Rookie of the Year reminds some observers of Jarome Iginla because of his goal-scoring skills and the way he relishes physical play."

Islanders prospects hold the top two spots as 2006 third round pick Rhett Rakhshani came in as Inside College Hockey's #2 top incoming freshman. Rakhshani will play for Denver University this season:

"The Huntington Beach, Calif., native isn't super fast or flashy, but with his game – he's a "north-south" player who likes to go to the net – he doesn't need to be."

2006 fourth round pick Doug Rogers also made the Inside College Hockey list of top incoming freshman at #17. Rogers will play for Harvard University.

2006 fourth round pick Jase Weslosky was named the #4 top incoming freshman among goaltenders. Weslosky will play for St. Cloud State University.

"A 1988 birthdate, Weslosky would have entered a year from now had Tim Boron not left school early. Arriving early may cost him minutes, but will allow him to ease into the college game behind starter Bobby Goepfert."

Erskine and the Islanders agreed to go their mutual ways after the defenseman informed the team that he wanted more of a role than the Islanders were willing to give. The Islanders acquired Erskine along with a 2006 second round pick(RW Jesse Joensuu) in exchange for D Janne Niinimaa on January 10, 2006.

With the Islanders, Erskine scored 1 goal in 34 games played and recorded 99 PIM's which ranked third most on the team behind Eric Godard and Arron Asham. On the season between the Islanders and Stars, he scored 1 goal in 60 games played and recorded 161 PIM's. He was a -15.

She will work closely with Islanders Senior Vice President Mike Milbury to help develop and expand "Project Hope." They will work with local and provincial officials in the cities of Harbin and Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, China.

Ruggiero, a native of California, is a three time Olympian. In 1998, Ruggiero was the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic Team that won the first Olympic gold medal ever awarded in women's ice hockey – at the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.   She was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Team that won a silver medal in Salt Lake City at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Most recently, she and her teammates took home a bronze medal in Torino in 2006. 

Ruggiero graduated from Harvard University in 2004. She was a four-time All-American and four-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, presented annually by USA Hockey to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. She won the Kazmaier award her senior year and was ranked as the #1 Female Player in the World in 2003 by The Hockey News. She finished her collegiate career with 243 points (91 goals, 152 assists) in 127 games.  In January, 2007, she will also be one of 18 contestants on NBC's "The Apprentice."

"I am very excited to work with Charles Wang, Mike Milbury and the Islanders organization as part of this truly humanitarian effort," said Ruggiero. "I hope that I can use my background and energy to make a difference in the lives of many children, both globally and locally."

Former New York Islander Tom Fitzgerald announced his retirement from the NHL at the age of 38. In 2005-06 Fitzgerald played for the Boston Bruins during his 17th career NHL season.

A native of Billerica, MA, Fitzgerald saw action with the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders.

Known as a defensive specialist, Fitzgerald went 139-190-329 in 1,097 career NHL games. Originally drafted by the Islanders in 1986 (1st round, 17th overall), Tom went 25-44-69 in 205 games played on Long Island predominantly as the fourth line center. His greatest moment as an Islander was in the 1993 Patrick Division Finals when he scored two shorthanded goals on the same penalty in Game 6 to help the Islanders tie the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Later in 1993 during the off-season, Fitzgerald was left unprotected by the Islanders and he was claimed by Florida in the Expansion Draft.

Bridgeport recently signed right winger Colin Hemingway and defenseman Drew Fata, though they won't be going to Nova Scotia. Hemingway, 26, is a University of New Hampshire product who played the past three seasons in the St. Louis Blues' organization. He made his NHL debut last season, but injuries limited him to a combined 38 games in three leagues. The 6' and 195 lbs Hemingway played in 3 games for the Blues in 2005-06 and was held scoreless. He also played 5 games for the Alaska Aces of the ECHL and 29 games for Peoria of the AHL where he scored 7 goals and 16 points. He's also seen action with the AHL's Worcester IceCats. Before turning pro Hemingway played four years at the University of New Hampshire from 1999-03. In 2001-02 he scored 30 goals and 66 points in 40 games played as a junior. Hemingway was an eighth round pick, 221st overall, of St. Louis in 1999.

Fata, 23, played the past three seasons in the Pittsburgh organization, split almost evenly between the AHL and the ECHL. Over the last three seasons he has seen action with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. In 2005-06 with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Fata scored a goal and 13 points in 28 games played. He also saw action in their playoff series against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. With the Nailers he scored 10 goals and 18 points in 34 games played. From 2000-03 Fata played three years in the OHL with Toronto and Kingston. He was the Pittsburgh Penguins third round pick, 86th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Fata, from Sault Ste. Marie Ont., is the younger brother of Rico Fata.

Here is his bio: 

In 2004-05, Jaffe served as the lead analyst for College Sports Television Network's (CSTV) “Friday Night Hockey" game of the week. He joined the AHL's Chicago Wolves television broadcasts for the Calder Cup playoffs working as the studio host and rinkside reporter. Jaffe also served as a speaker for the Atlanta Hawks Read to Achieve program that reached 122 schools and 61,000 students in the greater Atlanta area, and continued as an instructor in various Atlanta Thrashers Hockey School programs.

Aside from his radio/TV work with the Thrashers, which includes two Southern Regional Emmy Awards, Jaffe re-joined the Wolves following the Thrashers 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons as their color commentator for the team's playoff broadcasts. On Oct. 6, 2001, Jaffe served as the color commentator for Fox Sports Net's Emmy Award winning broadcast of the Cold War game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State, which was played before the largest crowd ever to witness a hockey game (74,554) at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich. He's also served as fill-in host on the Atlanta Braves MLB studio show on TBS Superstation.

Jaffe joined the Thrashers in September 2000 after spending the 1999-2000 season as the radio and television analyst for the Wolves. In addition, he was the lead analyst for Fox Sports Detroit's "Central Collegiate Hockey Association Game of the Week." He began his broadcasting career in 1998 providing analysis on Chicago Blackhawks radio broadcasts for the pre and post-game shows on WMAQ-670-AM's “Hawk Talk,” as well as hosting ChicagoLand Television's weekly hockey show “Power Play” from 1998-2000.

Jaffe served as team captain on the silver medal-winning Team USA squad at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel in 1997. He played collegiate hockey for the University of Michigan from 1987-89, and then worked as an on-ice official for the CCHA from 1989-1993.

He grew up in Chicago and attended the Kent School in Kent, Conn., in 1987. Billy and his wife, Victoria, reside in Buckhead.

islesinfo.com comment: Once again, can't help but feel that the Islanders disappoint here. Jaffe has or has had absolutely nothing to do with the Islanders. But neither did Joe Michelletti. I guess the Islanders were either not impressed by Patrick Flatley's performance last season or he did not want the job. Seems like a bit of a slap in the face to Chris King. Apparently Jaffe's television experience, while not much, won him the job over King. The fans wanted a former Islander player in their though so like I said once again they disappoint.