Catching up from Moncton

Here are some much belated notes and thoughts from training camp so far:

As I alluded to last year, from a media standpoint, Training Camp is used to get the major in-studio sit-downs out of the way for MSG-Plus, Islanders TV and Game Ops.

For instance, MSG-Plus gets a lot of their sound and video for the season-preview show in camp. All those videos you see at games with players answering questions gets recorded by Game Operations in camp. Islanders TV also records a plethora of video that appears on the website and also on the scoreboard. Game Ops and MSG-Plus also recorded their video headshots the night before we left for camp – which seems like forever and a day by now.

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I’ve been really impressed with Scott Gordon so far – but I’m not talking about his presence on the ice. Dealing with media, Flash has been confident, honest, endearing and open. It’s a great combination and a PR guy’s dream.

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The news of Jussi Markkanen’s son passing away has hit the team hard. Few Islanders know Jussi personally, but goalie coach Mike Dunham does. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Islanders family goes out to Jussi and his family.

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I for one am really excited for Chris Botta’s blog starting tonight/tomorrow at Midnight. I’m sure he and Greg Logan will keep each others on their toes from time to time. And that will be great for the fans.

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One player who has surprised me in camp so far is Mike Haley. He played in the rookie game against the University of Moncton and was a player who really stood out. You could really notice him on the ice and he might get a look in an upcoming pre-season game.

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Jack Hillen has showed the same poise he showed in those final two games versus the NY Rangers last season – and not just on the ice, but off it as well.

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You don’t really appreciate Mitch Fritz’s 6-foot-8 frame until you see him standing next to 6-foot-3 Trent Hunter and 6-foot-6 Eric Cairns. I’ve never seen Hunts appear as small as he did then at that time.

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At 37-years old, Doug Weight’s youthful enthusiasm makes me feel like I’m 50. I’m really in my 20s.

ROAD TRIP BLOG: Day 7/8 / Isles at Flames

Friday, January 11

The Islanders are still in Calgary as the play the Flames tonight.

Here are some notes.


The match-up in net will be Rick DiPietro versus Mikka Kiprusoff. And if you thought Wade Dubielewicz played in so few games, Flames back up Curtis McElhinney has only played in four this season for a total of 131 minutes.

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The Calgary media was shocked that Rick would speak to the media on the morning of the game, which is something that he does often if requested ahead of time. Not only were they appreciative, they were very complimentary as well as most goalies in the NHL don’t go anywhere near a mic on the morning of a game. Rick is an All-Star, All-Ways.

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According to Wade Dubielewicz, and we don’t have any reason not to believe him, Calgary is actually closer to his Invermere, BC home then Vancouver was. So he’ll have plenty of friends and family at the game tonight. Current total is 44, but we could see that number go up.

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Miroslav Satan is a game-time decision after receiving some bumps and bruises after a crushing third period hit in Vancouver. If he can’t go, Ted Nolan said the team will go with seven defensemen with Bryan Berard being inserted back into the lineup.

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Flames forward Eric Nystrom – yes, that one – is out for tonight after suffering facial injuries a game ago. According to the Flame’s Mike Keenan, it was a doctor’s decision.

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Islanders GM Garth Snow sat down the Fan 960’s Rob Kerr this morning for a radio interview. At around 6:20 PM tonight, fans can log onto their website (click here) to listen to it. Islanders TV will also have a copy of the interview at a later time as well.

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Miles traveled so far: About 4,266

Miles to be traveled tonight: 2,208

Oy!!!

TV: The Jiggs-ernaught Returns Again

You might have caught this at the end of the Rangers-Devils telecast on MSG, but if you didn’t here it is… Howie Rose will not be with the Islanders tomorrow night in Pittsburgh or Friday night in New Jersey due to a death in the family. The condolences of the entire Islanders family are with Howie, his wife Barbara, their children and the entire Rose family.

Replacing Howie in the broadcast booth will be Hall of Famer Jiggs McDonald. Jiggsy met the team in Pittsburgh this afternoon from his summer home in Florida

BABY WATCH: More news from the broadcast booth of FSN NY… Billy Jaffe and his wife Victoria are expecting their first child at anytime. Don’t be surprised if one day soon you see Butch Goring filling in as the color analyst. Butch has done a great job as an intermission analyst for FSN’s Islanders telecasts so far this season

ITV REVIEW: 2 Man Advantage

I’ll admit it. When I first met the crew from the 2 Man Advantage I told Islanders TV’s head honcho Josh Bernstein that I wasn’t a fan of the idea. Well Josh, I’m sorry. You were right, I was wrong and I think you struck gold with this one.

The crew of the 2 Man Advantage consists of four hockey/Islanders fans. They go around with their video cameras and (sometimes with a specific plan) shoot what comes to them. What makes it good is that they make it entertaining.

Example: The 2 Man Advantage made a seven minute show from the Islanders’ home opener versus Buffalo back on October 6. From the pre-gamming in the Coliseum’s parking lot to the post-game car jam in the parking lot to post-game celebration at the LI Marriot (where they actually spent real quality time with Entourage’s Kevin Connolly), they covered all the bases. But what made it good is that they didn’t stick a ‘mic into a fan’s face and asked them questions. They not only interacted with the fans, they partied with them.

Bottom line… It was seven minutes of great TV which words pretty much can’t describe because I still don’t completely get what they did/do. But I know I liked it. And no where else can Islanders fans find this stuff about their own team.

I thought their shows were going to be just OK at best. But you can tell how much hard work the 2 Man Advantage puts into their craft. And we thank them for caring about and help promoting the Orange and Blue. Again, I was wrong and you should definitely check them out on Islanders TV.

LINE-UPS: Isles at Devils + Notes

I’m sitting in one of the best seats in the house here at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA for tonight’s game. The press box is center ice facing the benches and the view is perfect.

In case you missed it on NYI.com, tonight’s game will not be broadcasted live on Islanders TV due to bandwidth limitations at the arena. You’ll be able to catch it tomorrow with Steve Mears and Chris King calling the game.

Prospect Ben Walter makes his return to the Tsongas Arena tonight. He played here for three years with UMass -Lowlel from 2002-03 to 2004-05.

One note I want to pass along before I give you the lines for today’s game. I want to give credit to Lowell’s PA announcer Kevin Dunn seeked me out for name pronunciations for the Islanders. Most of the time, the home PA announcer will just go with their own interpretation. So tonight, fans will know its Bruno ZHUR-Vey and not Bruno Jarv-iss… Unfortunately, he didn’t ask about the coaches names. Oh well.

Line-ups
Islanders:
Goaltenders
34 Wade Dubielewicz
35 Joey MacDonald

Defensemen
4 Bryan Berard - 8 Bruno Gervais
14 Chris Campoli - 24 Radek Martinek
44 Freddy Meyer - 2 Aaron Johnson

Forwards
16 Jon Sim - 18 Mike Sillinger - 7 Trent Hunter
15 Jeff Tambellini - 29 Ben Walter - 57 Blake Comeau
20 Sean Bergenheim - 51 Frans Nielsen - 28 Tim Jackman
54 Gordie Dwyer - 10 Richard Park - 27 Darryl Bootland

Devils:
Goaltenders
30 Martin Brodeur
1 Frank Doyle

Defensemen
6 Andy Green – 28 Karel Rachunek
2 Vitaly Vishnevski – 32 Mike Mottau
42 Mathew Corrente – 29 Johnny Oduya

Forwards
52 Nicklas Bergfors – 14 Brian Gionta – 16 Danius Zubrus
9 Zach Parise – 19 Travis Zajac – 48 David Clarkson
11 John Maden – 49 Rod Pelley – 22 Arron Asham
18 Sergei Brylin – 47 Barry Tallackson – 17 Mike Rupp

ITV Review: The Nates Show

Every once in a while I’m going to start to point out why some of Islanders TV’s “more unique” programs are worth checking out.

The first show you should watch is The Nates Show.

Most fans don’t know who Naoto “Nates” Goto is. He’s the Islanders Assistant Athletic Trainer and one of the nicest guys on the team. A native of Japan, Nates is being touted as this year’s “Shakey” in the Islanders TV world.

Here’s why you should check it out: Because not everything in hockey is pucks and goals. There are a lot of pieces to a hockey team and people like Nates are just as important as any other and Islanders TV shows you the other side of the team in some fun programming. The first three episodes of The Nates Show are up so check them out and along with future episodes.

Trust me, you’ll fall in love with Nates just as you did Shakey.

GAME: What I Learned From Tonight’s Game

Moncton, NB – Here are some things I learned from tonight’s 3-1 win over Montreal…

1) With increased ice time, Jon Sim will be the best bargain in the NHL.
2) I don’t care what TSN SportsCentre says, our new jerseys are great and certainly not the ugliest in the NHL… Can anyone say Vancouver?
3) The great people of Moncton haven’t realized that Andrew MacDonald and Chris Gaudet were only away from the city for a few days before camp, not the decade they seem to make it out be. But the boys appreciate the “homecoming” attention nevertheless.
4) The Islanders have never seen as special of a player off the ice as Bill Guerin. With the fans or media, he’s a standup guy.
5) Andy Sutton can hit. H.I.T. Can’t wait to see what he brings in the regular season.
6) There’s plenty of heart, grit and character on this team, which will go a long, long way throughout the entire organization.
7) That Ruslan Fedotenko-Mike Comrie-Bill Guerin line might be something worth keeping together for a while.
8) Rick looked sharp in net.
9) Ted loves to coach. And loves to coach in Moncton.
10) Islanders TV continues to set the bar even higher. What a great night for them. Live telecast with Steve Mears and Billy Jaffe from Moncton. They also answered questions from IslandMania and Islanders Country. Great job by Josh Bernstein and his crew as usual.

CAMP: Not Just for Practicing

Moncton, NB – Training camp isn’t just for practices and scrimmages. It’s an opportunity to get the players to do an onslaught of interviews for our FSN NY, Islanders TV and Game Operations crews, or as I like to call them F.I.G..

All the veterans and some rookies take 45 to 60 minutes of their time to do the three-stop circuit. Why is it so important? FSN NY gets a lot of the interviews done for their one-hour pre-season preview show in addition to some spots for in-season vignettes. Islanders TV is planning some big stuff for this season and a lot of it comes from these interviews. And every time you see a player on the scoreboard during a game for trivia or announcements? Well, that gets done here too.

All of these interviews are done when the guys are at the rink and it’s all done in a short amount of time. Yeah the guys rib the staff for doing these interviews, but it’s worth it in the end, even for the players. They just don’t want to admit it yet.

NYI: A Great Day at the Coli

It was a beautiful morning and it was great to see so many Islanders fans back at the Coliseum. Bruno, Dubie and Richard Park were awesome with the Orange and Blue supporters and you can really see each patron become a huge fan of each guy as they moved up and down the line talking to each and every one of them.

Looks like Islanders TV got some good stuff with Bruno, which should be very funny. So you’ll want to look out for that in the next few days.

Weirdest story of the day: A San Jose Sharks fan from Philadelphia drove up I-95 to purchase tickets to the Sharks/Islanders game on February 18th. Only problem was that only first-half tickets went on sale today. Fret not, the NYI ticket staff took his information so he won’t have to make the drive back up when second-half tickets actually do go on sale.

Thanks to all the fans who came down.

VIDEO: Christie Brinkley's NYI Commercial

I would normally try to be fancy and place the actual video in the blog, but I tired it and it didn't work out.

Click here to see the Islanders new TV spot with Christie Brinkley. I can call her Christie because I have indeed met her. Very briefly, but it counts.

I think I can speak for every Islanders employee here... We can't wait to see Christie back at the Coliseum this season.

333 Enjoy the picture.

But from an organizational standpoint, credit here is due to Josh Bernstein and the Islanders TV crew for putting this together. Great stuff.