NHL

Islanders claim Hickey, defenseman picked 4th in ’07

For the second day in a row, the Islanders claimed a defenseman off of waivers in hopes of bolstering the depth of their shallowest position.

On Monday, it was 6-foot-8 behemoth James Finley, waived by the Sabres, and on Tuesday it was Thomas Hickey, who was waived by the Kings.

Hickey was the Kings’ first-round pick (No. 4 overall) in 2007, but never has played in the NHL. The 23-year-old was named to his first AHL All-Star team last season, and has a plus-24 rating in 212 career AHL games. He was also the captain of Canada’s World Junior Championships team in 2009.

“Thomas Hickey is a guy I saw quite a bit in the AHL,” said coach Jack Capuano, who spent years coaching with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate. “It’s not a surprise we picked him up. He’s a good puck mover.”

Hickey’s name was put in lights on the big screen at the Coliseum on Tuesday, when about 150 fans were invited to watch the team practice for free. Finley, who is absolutely as big as he’s listed, was already on the ice. Add him to the offseason signing of defenseman Matt Carkner, no slouch at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, and the defense seems to be going through a transformation.

“It’s going to change a little bit of our dynamic on our D, with Finley and with Hickey and as we move forward,” Capuano said.

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Veteran defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky was not allowed by the Russia-based KHL to play in a scheduled game in Prague on Tuesday. Because of the contract he has with the Islanders, once the lockout was over, Visnovsky’s agreement to play with his hometown team, HC Slovan Bratislava, became void.

Under the agreement between the NHL and the KHL, Visnovsky is not allowed to resign with Slovan unless he is released from his contract by the Islanders and the NHL. That is very unlikely to happen, as the two leagues try to negotiate a equitable settlement.

Citing “personal reasons,” Visnovsky is choosing to stay in his native Slovakia, though his agent has said it is possible he will come to Long Island once those problems are resolved, with a rough time frame of 2 1/2 or three weeks.

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Three players who were expected to be in the mix for roster spots at training camp still are playing for AHL Bridgeport, where the franchise thinks their development is best aided.

The most notable of those is forward Nino Neiderreiter, 22, who is leading the team with 19 goals and 17 assists in 37 games. The team’s first-round pick (fifth overall) in the 2010 draft played 55 games with the Islanders last season, but is looking to develop into a consistent offensive threat.

“I think Nino right now, a) he’s working on his game,” Capuano said, “and, b) he’s playing with confidence, playing a lot of minutes down there, developing the proper way.”

The other two players who might get called up before training camp is over are defensemen Aaron Ness and Matt Donovan, both of whom logged time with the big club last season.

“This is still training camp,” Capuano said. “I’m not ruling out any possibility that someone else won’t be here tomorrow or be in the lineup Saturday night.”

The team starts the season on Saturday night when they play host to the Devils.

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Defenseman Travis Hamonic said he was fully recovered after suffering a concussion while playing for Bridgeport on Dec. 2. His first two games since returning were back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday he joined right in with the big-league Islanders for the start of camp.

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Forwards Josh Bailey (knee) and Jesse Joensuu (hand) were suspended by the team because they were injured playing overseas during the lockout. Bailey was hurt playing in Germany, and should be out 2-4 weeks. Joensuu was hurt playing in his native Finland, and is expected out another week or two. Both will have their suspensions lifted when they pass their physicals.