The Islanders spent much of the latter part of last season on John Tavares watch, when it became clear that they would be in the running for the top pick in the draft.
Well, they got that pick — and Tavares — and now they hope that this year doesn’t turn into Taylor Hall watch.
Hall currently is the consensus No. 1 prospect in 2010, but the Isles, still in the early stages of rebuilding, say they would rather not be in the running for such a high selection.
“We’re not here to finish 30th,” Josh Bailey said of last year’s place in the standings at the bottom of the league. “We’re here to make the playoffs, and there’s more pressure on young guys to perform.”
Nevertheless, the postseason figures to be an unrealistic goal, as the Islanders begin their season tonight at the Nassau Coliseum against Pittsburgh, last year’s Stanley Cup champions.
The Coliseum may not be their home for much longer if owner Charles Wang doesn’t get approval for his Lighthouse Project — a refurbished Coliseum and the development of the land surrounding it — by today from the town of Hempstead. He has said that if it doesn’t come through, he would be willing to move the franchise.
As for the product on the ice, coach Scott Gordon and general manager Garth Snow say they believe the playoffs are within reach, but it’s clear that success figures to be further down the road, something Kyle Okposo seems to realize.
“I don’t think those are too good markers for us,” Okposo said of reaching .500 or making the playoffs. Okposo suffered a concussion in the preseason, but hopes to be ready tonight. “If they happen, great. But we want to get better as a team.”
That shouldn’t be too hard, considering how last year went. Unlike last year, when the Isles also were done in by Rick DiPietro’s left knee injury, there are two capable goalies in his place- Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron.
“Goaltending makes a huge difference,” said Snow, the former goalie. “Having that gives everyone else confidence.”
Which is something this team is trying to get. The increased time young players such as Bailey and Okposo got a year ago, should pay dividends this season.
“You hope that you built a foundation going into this year,” Gordon said. “The young guys played bigger minutes, played a lot on the power play, killed a lot of penalties and that should leave us ahead of where we would have been if they hadn’t.”
The arrival of Tavares should help, too.
“He looks good,” Okposo said of the 19-year-old center, who had a somewhat lackluster preseason. “He’s a gifted player and so smart on the ice.”
How quickly that translates into wins is still a question, one for which Bailey is curious to see the answer.
“Last year, we were so far back in the standings, we missed what Doug [Weight] talked to us about: the jitters before big games,” Bailey said of the veteran, who was voted captain by his teammates and is questionable for tonight with a groin injury. “You don’t get that when you’re out of it. I want to be a part of it.”
He’s not alone.
“We know how it feels to lose a lot of games and not be in the playoff race,” said Mark Streit, who was named as assistant captain, along with Okposo, Brendan Witt and Richard Park. “It’s not fun at all.”
No, it wasn’t. And this year will not be, either, if the team’s young players don’t develop — and Wang decides he can’t keep the team on Long Island.
Then Islanders’ fans would be in even worse shape than last year.