Just Around the Corner

The dog days of summer are behind us.  Earlier today the cool ocean breezes were bumping the early autumn leaves off the trees.  The kids are all back at school.

These are all signs of one thing... the 2010-2011 NHL season is just around the corner!  

A new NHL season means the players are getting prepared to endure their annual right of passage... Training Camp.  In only a few days we will get our first look at the 2010-2011 Islanders. Like most other teams, the Isles will open camp with some familiar faces (Okposo, Bailey, Tavares, Streit); some new faces (Wisniewski, Eaton, Jurcina, Konopka and Parenteau); some old faces (i.e., Weight & Sim); and lots of young faces.  Many of these "faces" will be trying to prove they belong on the top 2 lines or as one of the top 4 D-men; while many others will be fighting just to make the roster.

There will be lots of excitement as camp opens.  We'll get our first look at 2010 draft picks Nino Niederreiter, Brock Nelson, and Kirill Kabanov, along with returning prospects Calvin de Haan, Casey Cizikas, Travis Hamonic, Dustin Kohn, Dylan Reese, and others.  All of the above will not only be fighting to make an impression on Scott Gordon and the staff -- but to hopefully make the big club.

But do they even have a shot?  According the Isles website, they already have 14 forwards, 8 defensemen, and 2 goalies on the roster.  That's 24 players... and NHL rosters are limited to 23.  So, somethings gotta give.  It's obvious that some guys are guaranteed a spot -- Bailey, Hunter, Moulson, Okposo, Tavares, Weight, Streit, Martinek, Hillen, Wisniewski, Eaton, Roloson and DP (that's 13).  A few of the guys listed on the roster are likely to have only a little to worry about -- Neilsen, Schremp, Comeau, Jurcina, and MacDonald (that's another 5).  I think it's fairly obvious that the remaining guys are going to be fighting for their very lives (Sim, Gilles, Konopka,  Martin, Parenteau, and Gervais).  So... in reality, there is probably only 6 slots that are clearly open for competition.

When camp opens we'll have a clearer picture of where guys stand.  But for now... it looks like there are enough unconfirmed roster spots to make pre-season interesting.

Next Up:  Blog Box Update.