Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Back to Draft Watch

Unless the Isles can get things in gear really quickly, this season is going to be remembered as a tease. Garth Snow warned us all that the rebuild would be a slow and steady process, and we appreciate his honesty. But for a while it looked as if Garth's timetable was off and his team had arrived in contention ahead of schedule. Over the last few weeks reality has reared its ugly head.

The Isles have made progress. They have added pieces that will help when the team is serious about winning division titles and chasing championships. But that time is not now (we'll identify those players in a separate post during the Olympic break). Losing 9 of the last 11 games (the two wins coming via the shootout) have locked in the cold reality that 2009-2010 should again be about positioning for drafting well.

We are encouraged by the transition taking place. The end product just needs more time and better ingredients.

***
News and notes:

* Kyle Okposo is now scoreless in 7 straight games with 2 assists over that period.

* The Islanders currently sit 4th from bottom in the overall NHL standings.

* Sound Tigers defenseman Mark Katic will require shoulder surgery, joining Calvin DeHaan and Travis Hamonic on the injured prospects list.

1 comment:

IslesPassion21 said...

KO is this Isles fans favorite player and I root for him to score more than anyone else simply because of how hard he plays and hes got skills...I hope he can put it all together and score 30-40 goals a year...For sure hes gonna rack up points with assists but hes gotta learn to finish...Last few games he hasn't been the most noticeable player like he has been all year..Maybe hes hurt or just slowing down???

He puts in a great effort almost every game but why doesn't he throw his body around???Im surprised Gordon doesn't expect him to hit like hje does Tamby or Comueu...