Word from the Islanders just in that Kyle will begin his pro career in Bridgeport.
In our estimation, it's a prudent move for several reasons. It gives the Islanders a chance to see exactly how far along his development is, it doesn't provide him with a sense of entitlement over his future teammates (i.e. allowing him to "cut the line" to the NHL), and it delays the timetable on his contract.
Kyle is a good, young prospect who the Isles are clearly very high on. He acquitted himself nicely against the world's best hockey players of his age these past two weeks. If he really is NHL-ready, we'll know it soon enough. No need to rush him right to the top and bounce someone out of an NHL job.
Plus, if Kyle is lacking "team player" skills as some skeptics have suggested (and we fully doubt), it's a lot better to discover it at Bridgeport than under Ted Nolan on the Island.
We hope to see many of you at the Arena at Harbor Yard in the coming weeks. Kyle will likely make his home debut on Saturday, January 12th. If you're in the area (or even if you're not) come by and cheer for Kyle. You might even meet some of the Okposo Net bloggers. It's less than an hour from New York City by car and you can say you saw Kyle Okposo play before he was 'Kyle Okposo.'
Sunday, January 6, 2008
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1 comment:
Hopefully the coach in Bridgeport can teach Kyle to keep both his hands on the stick. Somewhere between last season and this season Okposo became enamored with trying to muscle people with his rear-end while using only one hand on the stick. Quite bizarre, really; almost like a post-up on ice. Okposo was dominant last year, like a man among boys, but something was missing this season. He was very ordinary for much of it. This Gopher fan wishes him the best. Just wish Garth Snow would have let him finish the season. Pulling him away mid-year is a d-bag move in my opinion.
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