Good Morning, Islanders Country.
We’re back.
After providing a daily recap of all the highs and mostly lows of 2021-22, we’re returning to take the ride with you for the Isles’ 50th anniversary season. A big thank you to all our subscribers that came on board a year ago and the dozens that subscribed during the off-season without our M-F drop into your inbox.
Like the Islanders, we’re staying true to our identity and overall structure, but we’ll introduce some new ways of ‘newslettering’ throughout the season. Our aim remains the same, to capture all the stories, personalities, and moments that make this franchise (and fanbase) so unique - all in one place.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders announced their 23-man roster on Monday with 14 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders. Cole Bardreau, Simon Holmstrom, Grant Hutton, Otto Koivula, Paul Ladue, and Aatu Räty were assigned to the AHL (Bridgeport).
Cap Hit: $80,564,963
Cap Space: $1,935,037
Roster Size: 23 (14F - 7D - 2G)
Injured Reserve: 1
▪️Veteran forward Cal Clutterbuck was placed on IR to start the season retroactive to September 26th. Making the roster was former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nikita Soshnikov, who was signed to a one-way, $750K deal in late September. The speedy Soshnikov has been practicing on the fourth line with Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin/Ross Johnston, assuming Clutterbuck's spot in the lineup. The injury delays the Islanders' final roster decision, writes Ethan Sears in the New York Post.
A LITTLE SORENESS: "Cal had a little soreness after one of the games, and we shut him down completely to get it to 100%, said GM Lou Lamoriello. Maybe we did a little too much, but he's been skating on his own, and he'll be joining the team on a day-to-day situation."
◾️Based on line combinations, it appears the that the top-six is set to open the season with Brock Nelson centering Anders Lee and Anthony Beauvillier while the freshly extended Mathew Barzal has Zach Parise and Kyle Palmieri on his wing. For the moment, Kieffer Bellows is on the third line centered by JG Pageau, along with Josh Bailey.
It has been a strong pre-season for Bellows, who has showcased a more physical presence. "I think it just comes naturally, Bellows said of that type of play. “I'm not afraid to throw my body around. I've never really been afraid to hit guys before, and it's always been a part of my game growing up, too."
◾️ Oliver Wahlstrom was on the ice early but wore the grey jersey, indicating he was skating with extra forwards Otto Koivula and Ross Johnston. Wahlstrom missed time after playing the first three pre-season games. “Just something happened in a preseason game, said Wahlstrom. It wasn't right. First practice back (Monday), it felt pretty good...Obviously, it's a little frustrating."
◾️ Scott Mayfield has been out of the pre-season lineup and wasn’t on the ice on Monday, but we learned it was due to an illness, not injury related. The Islanders expect him to be ready for Thursday. Robin Salo is the team’s sixth defenseman, and Sebastian Aho would fill in if Mayfield can’t go.
？PARTS UNKNOWN: Lamoriello announced D Bode Wilde and F Richard Panik will be assigned "to a different location" within 48 hours. Stefan Rosner of NYIHockeyNow reported that Wilde had been sent to the Atlanta Gladiators (Coyotes affiliate) of the ECHL a couple of days ago.
⏭ NEXT UP: The season opens Thursday night at home as the Isles host the Flordia Panthers at UBS Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM.
📊 STANDINGS: The Nashville Predators picked up a pair of wins over the San Jose Sharks in Prague, Czech Republic, during the 2022 NHL Global Series. It’s a clean slate for everyone in the Metropolitan Division until the New York Rangers face-off with the Tampa Bay Lighting on Tuesday night.
📺 Former Islanders VP of Communications turned Islanders Point Blank pioneer turned podcast host Chris Botta will be joining Hockey Night NY as a rotational co-host alongside regulars Sean Cuthbert and Christian Arnold.
📚 SOUND SMART: The games haven’t started yet, but a milestone was reached on Monday as “Mr. Islander” Bob Nystrom turned 70 years young. Always in great shape, ‘Thor’ still looks like he can play some fourth-line minutes today.
🗓 THIS DATE IN ISLES HISTORY: On October 10th, 1993, the Islanders visited the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for the first time. SportsChannel’s Jiggs McDonald and Ed Westfall donned ‘duck-like’ goalie masks to mark the occasion during the pre-game show.
After an 0-2 start to the 1993-94 season, the Islanders earned their first two points of the season with a 4-3 OT win on Pierre Turgeon’s second goal of the game off a nifty between-the-legs drop pass from D Vladimir Malakhov. The Ducks’ Bob Corkum tied the game for Anaheim at 19:28 of the third period, but no point was awarded for reaching the extra session back in 1993.
🎧 Island Ice Ep. 142: Previewing the upcoming season Host Andrew Gross is joined by Colin Stephenson to discuss what they saw from the Islanders-Rangers game and the preseason, then preview the upcoming NHL season
🔗 Former NY Islanders forward Kyle Okposo named captain of Buffalo Sabres via Eyes on Isles “You love to see a story when good things happen to good people. On Saturday afternoon, the Buffalo Sabres named former NY Islanders forward Kyle Okposo, the 20th captain in Buffalo franchise history.”
🔗 How are we feeling about the coming season? by Dominik, Lighthouse Hockey “When the Islanders fired/”relieved” Barry Trotz and promoted Lambert in a week’s time this summer, I was in the “don’t know until we see it” camp. I remain there. But the season is near, so the data points that matter are just around the corner”
And we leave you with this…wearing the aforementioned duck mask was just one small example of the colorful nature of Ed Westfall, the Islanders’ first captain. In a feature for NewYorkIslanders.com, Gabriela Caroll writes about the man tasked with forging the identity of the 1972 expansion franchise.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter for regular updates until the next newsletter.
And please check out our newsletters about the Knicks and Mets, too.
.....are Comments being recognized at present, Joe? Just posted the first of this thread - and there's NO sign of it.....
.....a bit non-responsive about it all, I admit - will HOPE they get off to a strong start against the Panthers Thursday night - SPEAKING of which, NextDoor reported ANOTHER big cat cousin of THOSE dashing across Route 5 in Longmeadow late August, just FEET away from our old house - certainly NOT a COMMON sight around Southern New England these days; saw one MYSELF though five miles east OF there a late night three-plus decades ago.....