As the mid-way point of the season approaches, things are interesting in New York. After dismantling their team during the off season, no one gave the Islanders much of a chance to finish anywhere but last. Although the season has not been great, the Islanders are showing that they will not be walked over. The following are some of the observations up until this point.

Top Player
Gustav Senderovitz

Last year, Gustav had a tough time adjusting to the Islanders style of play. Although he put up 42 points in 82 games, he was a horrific -28. This season, Senderovitz is the team leader in Goals, Assists, and is an acceptable -4, this while playing on the 2nd line.

Biggest Surprise
Dirk Perla

Perla had a strong training camp which earned him a spot on the roster. Many felt that he would have benefited from another year in the minors. Perla has proved them wrong. He is currently tied for the point lead among rookie defensemen and is a 0 in the +/- department.

Most Destructive (positivly)
Vitali Petlyuk

Petlyuk continues to strike fear into the opposition. Currently second in the league in hits, Petlyuk has started to get the attention from the rest of the league. He has been linked to several trade rumours, however GM Mike Allen has stated that he is not going anywhere

Biggest Disappointment
Gabriel Gamache

Although 2nd in team scoring, Gamache is well off the point a game pace he produced last year. That, combined with a horrific -16 is starting to make management wonder if he is the future top 10 scorer that management had beleived he would be.

No Surprise Here
Octavio Richer

Richer burst onto the scene accumulating over 550 penalty minutes in his first 100 games, many beleived that he would be a threat for years to come. However after spending the last 3 seasons playing only 15 professional games, some wondered if he was turning out to the be the next Link Gaetz. He recevied a second chance in New York and has not dissapointed. he is currently leading the league with 134 PIM in the first 31 games. Lost is the fact that he leads team defensemen with 4 PP points and has a respectable 48 shots. He will never be a Bobby Orr, however the team hopes that he can be more that just a player that scares the living hell out of the opposition.

Questions?

Do you expect to see Roszak in the pros anytime this season? He should for a deadly combination with Gamache.

And Nikolai Beregovoi should prove to be a great player after booming.

What is this style?
Some sort of motto? like the 'shake shake' from the samba boys :lol:

There is a possability that Roszak will make an appearance late in the year, however that will depend on how he performs in the minors. His development has been solid, however he still needs more time to work on his game.

Beregovoi has the talent to be a solid 2nd line player. His development has been slow, however the team wants to take their time as his potential as a top notch 2-way player is there.

We feel that this organization is headed in the right direction. We have at least 2 first round picks (3 this year in a not bad draft class), until 2020, so look for the Islanders to be a force within 4 seasons.