The Islanders are in last place, most of their better young players have battled injuries or ineffectiveness, and veterans such as Doug Weight and Bill Guerin lead the way in scoring.
So much for the youth movement, at least for this year.
Well, on the ice, anyway.
Off the ice, things are going better for players such as Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, Bruno Gervais and Nate Thompson, who all live under the same roof.
“It’s kind of like a frat house,” Okposo said.
Though the living arrangements haven’t translated into much success for the team, Okposo said he thinks that will change.
“It’s absolutely going to help,” said Okposo, who could miss another month after aggravating his sprained right wrist. “Any time you spend with your teammates builds chemistry, so if you’re with each other all the time, that only makes it better.”
He said he already has started seeing results.
“Me and Josh played well together right away, but we were really getting to know each other,” Okposo said. “Then I got hurt.”
That’s been an issue with everyone there, since all four have gotten banged up and missed time at various points during the season.
“We watch a lot of movies,” said Okposo, who stayed with Gervais and former Islander Aaron Johnson last year when he first came up. He and Gervais then invited Thompson after he joined the team during the season, followed by Bailey. “There’s not much else we can do.”
But that doesn’t mean they’re not working on their games.
“It’s actually kind of a gamer house,” Okposo said. “We’ve been playing NHL . The other night I played Bailey and Thompson played Bruno. We might have a tournament.”
Of course, he would rather get back to playing with them for real.
“We’re a young team and we all expect to be together a while,” Okposo said. “This is frustrating right now, but we’re coming together this way, and I think at some point that will translate onto the ice.”