Referendum Day: August 1

It wasn't the unanimous vote that some expected, but it has been approved 11-7.

Referendum day will be Monday, August 1 -- less than 9 weeks from today.

On a day that Atlanta lost its team, Nassau County takes a step towards keeping their team.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Blake Kessel turns pro, too

The Isles now have two of their 2007 draft picks that will become UFAs in the next 30 days if they don't sign.  Jason Gregoire exercised the same right last week.

From the player's standpoint, this makes perfect sense.  A team controls your rights for four years -- if you have not signed in that period, you essentially can leverage the other 29 teams and perhaps make a better deal for yourself.

From the league's standpoint, this sounds like a loophole that they will look to close in the next CBA. 

If Gregoire/Kessel sign elsewhere, Mark Katic likely would be the only player drafted by the Isles in 2007 to ever play for the team.  The two other players drafted were Maxim Gratchev, who is playing in the KHL (after a Jr career in Canada) and Simon Lacroix (who played this season for Val d'Or).  I don't believe that the Isles still own the rights to either player.

Katic was the Isles' first pick in 2007 (62nd overall) after the Isles traded away picks in the Ryan Smyth and Richard Zednik deals.  [The rights to draft Katic were acquired in the Zhitnik/Meyer deal.]  And there-- I've gotten the only two Isles whose last names started with Z into the same paragraph.

<<UNH Press Release:

Junior defenseman Blake Kessel (Verona, Wis.) of the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team has decided to forego his senior season to play professionally.

Kessel was a sixth-round pick of the New York Islanders in the 2007 National Hockey League entry draft.Kessel became the first Wildcat since Brian Yandle (2005, 2006), and seventh in program history, to earn All-America honors twice in his career.

Kessel, a 2010-11 Hockey East First-Team All-Star, continued to backbone the UNH defense in his junior season. The blueliner ranked 18th in the nation for defensemen scoring with 0.69 points per game and was named a 2011 Walter Brown Award semifinalist for his efforts. He was even more impressive in Hockey East play, ranking second in defensemen scoring (27 points), 13th in assists (22) and 18th in power-play points (14). The junior chipped in at least 20 assists for the second straight season and led all UNH blueliners with 27 points.

Kessel finishes his career with 78 points on 21 goals and 57 assists in 114 games played.Kessel and the Wildcats finished the 2010-11 season with a 22-11-6 overall record and qualified for the NCAAs for the 10th consecutive season. The 'Cats advanced to the Regional Finals for the third straight season, becoming the only team in the nation with tournament wins in each of the last three years.

>>

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Re: Birth of a Dynasty: Messier an Isle?

Never good when the statistician can't count. :)
Today is the 31st anniversary (not 32nd).

---

Today (Tuesday) is the 31st anniversary of the first Stanley Cup.

I remember it well... as did Alan Hahn, in the book he wrote in honor of the 25th anniversary:  "Birth of a Dynasty" -- still available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Dynasty-1980-York-Islanders/dp/1582613338/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306170434&sr=1-2  

Ironically, Joel Sherman of the Post used the same title on his book about the Yankees in the Torre era.  Funny, I don't remember 4 straight World Series :)  (Thank you again, Luis Gonzalez).

A couple of my favorite tidbits from the book involve who else Bill Torrey was discussing when he acquired Butch Goring, the final piece of the puzzle.

• Toronto was willing to give up future Hockey Hall-of-Famer Darryl Sittler.  Sittler finished with 484 goals; probably would have been a 500-goal man if the trade had gone through.  The Leafs wanted Clark Gillies in return.

• Edmonton was willing to give up Stan Weir.  Weir finished with 33 goals that season, but never scored more than 12 goals after that.  Torrey had a different center in mind -- he wanted "a cement truck of a 19 year old rookie named Mark Messier".

If you haven't read it, you should -- even if it is just to find out where I was at 5:40pm on May 24, 1980.   Nystrom (Tonelli, Henning) 7:11 OT  A boxscore is here: http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/poboxscore.cgi?1980019

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Birth of a Dynasty: Messier an Isle?

Today (Tuesday) is the 32nd anniversary of the first Stanley Cup.

I remember it well... as did Alan Hahn, in the book he wrote in honor of the 25th anniversary:  "Birth of a Dynasty" -- still available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Dynasty-1980-York-Islanders/dp/1582613338/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306170434&sr=1-2  

Ironically, Joel Sherman of the Post used the same title on his book about the Yankees in the Torre era.  Funny, I don't remember 4 straight World Series :)  (Thank you again, Luis Gonzalez).

A couple of my favorite tidbits from the book involve who else Bill Torrey was discussing when he acquired Butch Goring, the final piece of the puzzle.

• Toronto was willing to give up future Hockey Hall-of-Famer Darryl Sittler.  Sittler finished with 484 goals; probably would have been a 500-goal man if the trade had gone through.  The Leafs wanted Clark Gillies in return.

• Edmonton was willing to give up Stan Weir.  Weir finished with 33 goals that season, but never scored more than 12 goals after that.  Torrey had a different center in mind -- he wanted "a cement truck of a 19 year old rookie named Mark Messier".

If you haven't read it, you should -- even if it is just to find out where I was at 5:40pm on May 24, 1980.   Nystrom (Tonelli, Henning) 7:11 OT  A boxscore is here: http://www.flyershistory.com/cgi-bin/poboxscore.cgi?1980019

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Biggest Rally Long Island's Ever Seen (for new Coliseum)

Workers plan rally to rebuild Coliseum

by John Callegari

Published: May 23rd, 2011

A coalition of workers representing the labor, restaurant and hospitality industry gathered at the Nassau Coliseum today as they announced their intention to march on Mineola tomorrow to show support for the plan to rebuild the Coliseum.

The rally, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. in front of the Nassau County Legislature building on Old Country Road, coincides with a vote by the Legislature to decide whether a referendum will be presented to the people on Aug. 1, asking them whether they would like to bond $400 million for the construction of a new Coliseum and minor league baseball stadium.

"I know we already have at least 1,000 people who are going to be there," said Brian Rosenberg, president of the Long Island Restaurant Association. "It's going to be the biggest rally Long Island has ever seen."

Complete URL: http://libn.com/2011/05/23/workers-plan-rally-for-nassau-coliseum/

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Jaffe on Hockey Night

Billy Jaffe is a guest on Hockey Night Live, airing live right now (11pm ET) on MSG and MSG+.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Micheletti feature

Kevin Dupont (Boston Globe) has a nice feature on Adam Micheletti, the director of hockey and business operations for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the US Hockey League, and son of MSG's Joe.

The feature deals with the dangers of concussions, and the end of Adam's playing career.

Adam now wants to be an NHL general manager.  Don't bet against him.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Roloson and Kelly Ryan

Rob Carlin tweeted about this yesterday.

But if you haven't read this story, you should. Now.
http://www2.tbo.com/sports/lightning/2011/may/19/23/menewso1-a-little-boys-short-story-melts-the-ice-ar-208492/

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Memorial Cup: Casey Cizikas

Casey Cizikas is the only Isles prospect still playing hockey.  He'll represent the home team in the Memorial Cup, which begins tomorrow.  A large number of the games will be televised on NHL Network US.

Hear's the schedule of Cizikas' games:

Sat., May 21 Saint John vs. Mississauga 9:00 a.m. (tape delay from 5/20)

Sun., May 22 Mississauga vs. Kootenay 7:00 p.m. (LIVE)

Thurs., May 26 Mississauga vs. Owen Sound 12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/25)

There's a tie-breaker game (if needed) on May 26, with the semi's on May 28 and the finals on May 29.

Fri., May 27 Tie-Breaker (if necessary) 12:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/26)

Sat., May 28 Semi-Final 1:00 p.m. (tape delay from 5/27)

Sun., May 29 Championship Game 7:00 p.m. (LIVE)

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Grabner cap hit

Published reports indicating that it is a 3 million cap hit per year (with salary of $1m-$2m-$3m-$4m-$5m). Katie confirmed those figures with the NHLPA.  http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/isles-files-1.812028/michael-grabner-signs-5-year-15-million-deal-with-islanders-1.2874746?showAll=true

To put his cap hit in perspective, the Flyers currently have 6 forwards, 5 defensemen (and, as brutally obvious in the playoffs, no goaltenders) who will carry cap hits over $3 million.  The Rangers have 7 players (one of whom is Wade Redden) with a $3 million+ cap hit while the Penguins and Devils each have 9 (NJ doesn't include RFA Zach Parise).

DiPietro, Streit, Tavares and Moulson are the other Isles with cap hits of at least $3 million for next year.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Team has confirmed to Katie Strang that deal has been signed.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

---

Sent: Fri, May 13, 2011 10:04:26 AM
Subject: Grabner tweets: I'm an Islander for next 5 years

<<grabs40‎: I am happy to announce that I will be an Islander for the next five years.new building,new contract and new baby.what a great year!!!!!>>

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Grabner tweets: I'm an Islander for next 5 years

<<grabs40‎: I am happy to announce that I will be an Islander for the next five years.new building,new contract and new baby.what a great year!!!!!>>

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Sedins pass Sutters

<<From Elias: Daniel Sedin scored the game-winning goal in the Canucks' series-clinching win in Nashville, with an assist by his brother Henrik. The Sedin twins have played in all 78 of the Canucks' playoff games since they joined the team nearly 11 years ago. Monday's game gave the Sedins sole possession of the NHL record for most playoff games played as teammates by a pair of brothers, breaking a tie with Brent and Duane Sutter, who played 77 such games.>>

 
The Isles actually played 87 palyoff games during the six year period that Brent and Duane played for them; however, Brent missed one game in 1984 with a knee injury and missed nine games in 1987 with a groin injury.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Tavares Starring at Worlds

For the second straight year, John Tavares is capping off his season with a strong performance at the World Championships.

Tavares' Canada team finishing the qualifying round with a perfect 6-0-0-0 record and will play Russia in the Quarter-Finals on Thursday (2:15 ET).

Tavares is tied for the tournament lead with 9 points (5-4-9).  Only Norway's Marius Holtet has more goals (6).  Tavares also is +6, tied for the best +/- among all forwards in the tourney.  Despite averaging less than 13 minutes per game, Tavares leads Canada with 24 shots on goal.

 
The US will play the Czech Republic in another QuarterFinal matchup on Wednesday (10:15 AM ET)  Al Montoya was perfect in relief of Ty Conklin today.  Montoya is 2-1 in the tourney with a 2.60 GAA.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Move over Frans, here comes Mads (at least for one day)

At least for 1 day, Frans Nielsen may not be the most famous Danish hockey player.  In fact, he might not be the most famous to come from Herning, Denmark.

Fellow Herning native Mads Christensen scored twice in regulation and also added a shootout winner as Denmark beat Latvia to advance to the 2nd (Qualification) round of the World Championships.  (Christensen has never played in North America)

The US, already assured of a spot in the Q-Round, plays Sweden at 2:15 ET.  The game will not be shown live in the US.  Rather, it will air after NHL coverage on Versus tonight (11pm ET).

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Bergenheim

Stumbled across this little ditty I wrote 7 1/2 years ago for islanders.nhl.com

<<(Originally published 10-8-03)

NOW WEARING #10, Sean Bergenheim

By Eric Hornick, FSNY

 

Maybe, just maybe, Sean Bergenheim was born to be a World Class athlete.  After all, he was born on February 8, 1984, the day the Olympic flame was lit in Sarajevo.

 

The 18-year old Bergenheim has made the Islanders Opening Night roster and when he makes his NHL debut he will become the first Islander to be born after the club won the last of its four consecutive Stanley Cups in 1983.

 

Sean is nearly 2 ½ years younger than Rick DiPietro, who relinquishes his title as the youngest Islander.

Bergenheim was the 22nd pick overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.  Only five of the 21 players picked ahead of Bergenheim played in the NHL last season; five others have made NHL rosters this season.

 

Bergenheim will keep the number 10 he wore in Finland, playing for his hometown Jokerit squad. 

 

Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, it could be argued that the speedy Finn is the most offensively talented player to wear #10.

 

Lorne Henning wore the number with pride and distinction in each of the first nine seasons, notching 184 points.  Of course, Lorne was more known for his defense and penalty killing, as well as a particular pass from his own blue line that led to the 1980 Cup Winning Goal.

 

Alan Kerr also wore #10 for parts of seven seasons, totaling 154 points.  He scored a career high 24 goals for the Isles in their Patrick Division championship season of 1988.

 

For the past decade or so, however,  #10 has bounced from player to player. From Micah Aivazoff and Corey Foster to Joe Sacco and Jason Dawe, over a dozen players in all.  Mats Lindgren wore that sweater during his stay on Long Island and Eric Manlow wore it briefly last year.

 

But now it's Bergenheim's.  With a three-year contract in his back pocket, the Islanders hope that it will be his number for many years to come.

 

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.>>

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Two remarkable games at World Championships

Canada 3, Swiss 2 (OT)

Germany 3, Slovenia 2 (8 round shootout)

The story in both games was the losing goalie. 

Leonardo Genoni had 57 saves for Switzerland before Alex Pietrangelo won the game in overtime for Canada.  John Tavares also scored (3 shots, +1).

Robert Endras had 58 saves for Slovenia -- 15 different Germans had at least three shots.

While Endras was named Slovenia's "best player", Genoni was not.  That honor went to Andres Ambuhl, who beat James Reimer with 82 seconds to play to cause OT.

Both Canada (group B) and Germany (group A) won their respective groups.

The US will play Sweden tomorrow with a chance to do the same.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick