Preseason Update

As of Friday evening, the Isles have compiled a 1-1-2 record in four preseason games while circulating many of the boarder line players who are competing for the final roster spots on the opening night roster. The players competing amongst each other consist of Andy Hilbert, Jeff Tambellini, Sean Bergenheim, Richard Park, and Jon Sim. While the main competition will be more ice time at the start of the season, the competition will probably lead one of the above players with out a job after Chris Simon finishes his suspension. The good news is that Hilbert seems the likely candidate to be the odd man out.

The lines that Ted Nolan has used, and we all hope will keep intact, are as follows:

Fedotenko-Comrie-Guerin
Satan-Vasicek-Tambellini
Hunter-Sillinger-Sim
Bergenheim-Park-Simon

Hilbert will probably start the season in place of Simon, but unless Bergenheim struggles, look for Hilbert to be gone as soon as Simon gets back in the mix. Another scenario could include a platoon situation with Bergie, Park, Simon, & Hilbert all getting a chance to receive fourth line duty. I hope Nolan sees Hilbert for his true value—a hard working checking forward who just doesn’t do enough to belong in the NHL. At some point, you have to produce.

Tambellini and Sim are probably safe. Tambellini has netted a goal and an assist in limited action this preseason, while Sim has already netted two goals. If Sim could chip in a 20 goal season, we will all recall the big day of free agent signings when the Hockey world mocked this signing. I have a feeling Sim will do exactly that. Tambellini, a former first round pick, should finally have the chance to play a full season at the NHL level. The speedster has better hockey smarts and a better scoring touch than Jason Blake, and is also 10 years younger. Granted Tambellini has never accomplished anything at the NHL level, but remember Jason Blake never really did anything till he reached his thirties. My sleeper pick this year is Tambellini chipping in 30 goals. At some point this season, he will be the Isles first line left-winger.

Now looking toward the defense, the competition probably comes down to two: between Campoli and Gervais. Martinek, Witt, Sutton, and Bergeron are all shoe-ins for the opening night roster. Since Tambellini and Bergenheim will probably make the team, Nolan will surely find away to satisfy his veteran craving by giving Berard a chance to start the season at the NHL level. He would then have to decide between Gervais and Campoli which will be no easy task. Campoli has already racked up a goal and an assist in the preseason, but Gervais is the sounder defensive player. If Nolan has already agreed to keep both Bergeron and Berard, it might be foolish to add a third extremely offensive-minded defenseman in Campoli. If Berard is out, then the two kids make it, but I don’t see it happening that way.

Overall, Garth Snow’s additions of Guerin, Comrie, Sim, and Vasicek should be able to equal the production of the Isles lost in the off season. The defense crew of Martinek, Witt, Sutton, Bergeron, Berard, Campoli/Gervais I believe is better than the defense that the Isles used in the playoffs last season. But a bigger question remains. Can the Isles find a way to repeat its miraculous run to the post-season from a year ago? It should be tough with a much stronger Rangers team, a revamped Flyers team, and another year under the belt of the up and coming Penguins. Oh and the Devils are in our division too. If the Isles can find a way to outwork their opponents on a nightly basis, along with some heroics from Rick DiPietro, they should be right in the fold at the beginning of April. But if the Isles suffer a few injuries to some important players, and/or DP doesn’t play like Superman, we wont have to wait until July 1st for a roster turnover. Comrie, Fedotenko, Vasicek, and Hunter could all be gone by the trading deadline.

This and That - Isles Acquire Ben Walter

In the blockbuster move of the summer, the Isles traded away former first round pick Petteri Nokelainen for Ben Walter, the MVP of the AHL's Providence Bruins. At first glance, one might note that Walter was a fifth round pick, and it seems odd that a former fifth rounder would be traded for a former first rounder. But the key word is “former.” Anyone who knows a thing or two about drafting knows how hard it is to project how a player will develop on draft day. Each of these players was drafted in 2004, but have followed very different paths over the past few years.

Nokelainen has been plagued by knee injuries (he might still be hurt) and has never found a consistent offensive game in North America when healthy. However, since both he and Walter played full seasons in the AHL last season, we could start by comparing the seasons each player had last year.

Nokelainen played 60 games, with 6 goals and 10 assists, and a -11 +/- last season. Walter on the other hand, played 73 games, with 24 goals and 43 assists, and a +23 +/- last season. So there goes the argument that we got robbed by sending a first rounder for a fifth rounder. It’s the AHL granted, but Walter outscored Nokie by 51 points and had better +/- by 34. That is quite a substantial difference. Also, Walter was the leader, the MVP of his AHL club, while Nokie was more of the spare part in Bridgeport. I'm not sure what Snow knows that we don't, but on paper it sure looks like a pretty ok deal to me.

Walter is probably a better prospect than Ryan O'marra (who was a similar player) ever was, and probably will help the Isles more than Nokie ever could. Blockbuster? No not quite. But seems to work well and maybe, just maybe, Walter can crack the lineup in a year or two.