The Islanders announced today that they have sent Kirill Kabanov to juniors, and Dylan Reese and Trevor Frischmon to Bridgeport. This finalizes their 23-man roster for Saturday night's season opener against the Florida Panthers. The following is the team's roster as of today:
Forwards
8 - Ryan Strome
11 - Brian Rolston
12 - Josh Bailey
15 - P.A. Parenteau
16 - Marty Reasoner
17 - Matt Martin
21 - Kyle Okposo
26 - Matt Moulson
29 - Jay Pandolfo
40 - Michael Grabner
51 - Frans Nielsen
57 - Blake Comeau
91 - John Tavares
Defense
2 - Mark Streit
3 - Travis Hamonic
4 - Mark Eaton
10 - Mike Mottau
24 - Steve Staios
27 - Milan Jurcina
47 - Andrew MacDonald
Goaltenders
20 - Evgeni Nabokov
35 - Al Montoya
39 - Rick DiPietro
Injured Reserve
14 - Trevor Gillies
25 - Nino Niederreiter
37 - Jeremy Colliton
49 - Rhett Rakhshani
71 - Mark Katic
CH: There you have it. That's the lineup going into Saturday's game. There's a few things on the list I take issue with, most notably the inclusion of top prospect Ryan Strome. Strome is nowhere near physically ready to handle the NHL. Comparisons to the treatment of Josh Bailey could be spot on, and Bailey was older and bigger in 2008 than Strome is today. Granted, it's certainly possible that Strome is sent to Niagara the second Niederreiter and/or Gillies comes off IR. But the fact is that he should not play one second of the season. There is no question whatsoever that Strome has a very long career ahead of him. I'm not quite sure what the rush is and what the big deal is if he waits another year. Strome went through all of training camp with the big deal, which was undoubtedly a fantastic experience for him. I know everyone is eager and excited to see him play, but the time is not now. There is no reason to push the issue.
My only other pet peeve rests in choosing Trevor Gillies over Micheal Haley. I think Haley makes a perfect 13th forward that can easily be switched in and out of the lineup with Jay Pandolfo, depending on the opponent. Gillies is a nice guy to have in the room, so it would make sense for the team to waive him and send him to Bridgeport on paper while keeping him on Long Island. The Devils did something similar with Brian Rolston last season. That way, his value can truly be felt and if he is needed, he is not far away. There is no question that Haley provides more to the Islanders than Gillies does.
The rest of the roster shapes up nicely. First the first time since 2008, the Islanders don't have an extremely young lineup. They have a few Cup champion on the roster, and some more who got close. The success of the team will lie on the foundation of the team: the young core. That has certainly been the plan, for better or worse.
Finally, the inclusion of Rakhshani, Katic, and Colliton are because they are on injured reserved. Once they are ready to return, they should be sent down to Bridgeport in a paperwork transaction.
AT: I'm going to have to agree with Carey here on all points. First off, Strome. Look, the kid is going to be something special. And I'd think almost definitely it wouldn't be more than the 9 game tryout most prospects receive in their draft year before being sent back to juniors. I was completely fine with it for Nino Niederreiter because he already had a body that was very close to being NHL ready. He performed okay for 9 games and then was sent down. All said and done. But Strome? Strome looks very physically immature, and his stats (6'0", 177) tell that story just as well as seeing him in person would. He's going to be going up against players like Erik Gudbranson, Brian Campbell and Ed Jovanovski. He's most likely getting third line duties, but in general I would rather not risk him getting hurt in the NHL and risking his development time in Niagara. The IceDogs are one of the strongest teams in the OHL this year and primed to head to the Memorial Cup, and without Strome for 2-3 weeks they will find it a bit harder to get off to a slow start. Strome may even be a scratch for certain games and toil away in the press box. What good does that do for Ryan's development? Absolutely nothing. I understand Niederreiter is injured, and I also understand the Islanders are in a tough callup position with both Colliton and Rakhshani injured. I'd just rather see Matt Martin on the 3rd line and someone like Haley called up to fill in on the 4th line. This doesn't make any sense from any standpoint and screams of the Isles trying to fit him into a roster that is generally set.
As for Gillies, I think having him as the 13th forward was kind of a given at this point. Fans love him, management loves him, his teammates love him and he's not going to be seeing much playing time and/or games started. Yes, Haley would be a better option there but due to his poor camp he was sent down to Bridgeport. It is what it is.
Other than that, Carey said it perfectly in that we finally have a nice mix of veterans on the team. Pandolfo, Reasoner, Nielsen, Moulson, Staios, Streit, Eaton, Rolston and a few others are all over 25. It gives a nice balance and lets the team have some great leadership in the lockerroom. This is a good looking roster on paper. Though obviously nobody is a fan of having Mottau playing on Saturday due to Jurcina's injury, it is only temporary.
Let's get this season started!
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