Islanders Sign John Tavares

ISLANDERS SIGN TAVARES
2009 First Overall Pick Signs First Professional Contract

UNIONDALE, NY, July 15, 2009 -- The New York Islanders announced today the signing of John Tavares to a three-year entry level contract. Tavares was selected by the Islanders first overall in the 2009 National Hockey League Draft.

Tavares, a native of Oakville, ON, played in 247 career Ontario Hockey League games over four seasons, compiling 215 goals and 218 assists for 433 points. His 215 tallies surpassed Peter Lee's former OHL record of 214 goals, which Lee held for 33 years. In 2007, Tavares was named the Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year, after breaking the OHL record for goals in a season with 72, a milestone previously held by Wayne Gretzky. Tavares played in 38 career OHL playoff games, recording 20 goals and 36 assists for a total of 56 points.

"It's an exciting time for the Islanders organization as we develop our young talent into a contender," said Garth Snow, General Manager, New York Islanders. "John provides another important piece to help us achieve our ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup."

Last season, the 19-year-old center, led the OHL in goals (58) and points (104). Tavares recorded 50 points (32 goals and 18 assists) in 24 games after he was traded to the London Knights about halfway through the 2008-09 season and tied for the league lead in power-play goals with 14. Tavares also finished ninth in OHL playoff scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points.

"I'm excited to officially become a part of the New York Islanders organization and begin my professional career this upcoming season," said Tavares. "I look forward to joining the Islanders and be part of a team that's ultimate goal is to bring the Stanley Cup back to Long Island."

Tavares won back-to-back gold medals with Team Canada at the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships. He was named the 2009 tournament MVP and World Junior Top Forward. Tavares tallied eight goals and seven assists for 15 points at the 2009 Tournament to complete his all-time tournament scoring marks at 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points. His career World Junior goal total of 12, ties him with fellow Canadians Eric Lindros and Jeff Carter for most goals in a career at the World Junior Championships.

Tavares is the fourth number one overall pick selected by the Islanders. In 2000, the Islanders selected goaltender Rick DiPietro first overall. Denis Potvin was picked first overall at the 1973 NHL Entry Draft and in 1972 the Islanders selected forward Billy Harris.

Prospect Camp Day 3 - Media Scrums

Islanders Head Coach Scott Gordon:


John Tavares:


Josh Bailey:


Joel Rechlicz:

Prospect Camp Day 2 - Some Thoughts

UPDATE: Just your normal, run-of-the-mill prospect camp session with nothing too big of note coming out of the day.

A few thoughts though that caught my eye...

• Mikko Koskinen is a HUGE presence in net. The media notes list him as 6'5", he said 6'7" at the Draft, but nonetheless, he towers over the crossbar and takes up a lot of space. If he gets off to a good start in Bridgeport he can be a future star I believe.


• Had a talk with Joel Rechlicz as the first group was taking the ice. When I asked him how his summer was treating him, one of the things he stressed to me was "lots of rest." Smart guy, he travelled a helluva lot this past season. While resting, he did train a lot, but the rest helped him out a lot and he feels great and is ready for the season upcoming.


• Noticed Josh Bailey wired, probably for ITV. Expect something soon from that.


• Only scare of the two sessions were during a 2-on-1 drill where Casey Cizikas fell hard into Nathan Lawson as he was being taken down by invitee Nate Prosser. Cizikas joked afterwards his shins were killing him, but seemed to be fine.

Thoughts, opinions and everything else in between coming up later following today's session.

For more real-time updates, follow me on Twitter at the sidebar to your left or at The Tiger Track on Twitter

Mixin' 'Em Up - Sound Tigers Join Atlantic Division

With three new teams set for play this upcoming season in the AHL, and now with the suspension of another franchise, the AHL announced its new divisional alignment for the 2009-10 season.

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers will now move over to the Atlantic Division, and will now become true division-rivals with the Hartford Wolfpack.

Meanwhile, the Syracuse Crunch will cross conferences and take the Sound Tigers place in the East Division.

Here is the new alignment, with key changes in bold italics.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
--Bridgeport Sound Tigers
--Hartford Wolfpack
--Lowell Devils
--Manchester Monarchs
--Portland Pirates
--Providence Bruins
--Springfield Falcons
--Worchester Sharks

East Division
--Adirondack Phantoms
--Albany River Rats
--Binghamton Senators
--Hershey Bears
--Norfolk Admirals
--Syracuse Crunch
--Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

WESTERN CONFERENCE
North Division
--Abbotsford Heat
--Grand Rapids Griffins
--Hamilton Bulldogs
--Lake Erie Monsters
--Manitoba Moose
--Rochester Americans
--Toronto Marlies

West Division
--Chicago Wolves
--Houston Aeros
--Milwaukee Admirals
--Peoria Rivermen
--Rockford Icehogs
--San Antonio Rampage
--Texas Stars

Tavares Debut Most Anticipated Game of 09-10

Every so often, I go on various websites and see these fan polls and think nothing of them. But today I happened to venture over to NHL.com and noticed their latest fan poll. The topic? "Which game of the 2009-10 season are you most anticipating?"

It's a tight race, but right now John Tavares' debut is leading the pack with 24.11% of all votes. That just barely eclipses the 2010 Winter Classic, which has 23.93% of all votes.

The current results are as followed:

John Tavares debut: 24.11%
Winter Classic: 23.93%
Pittsburgh-Detroit rematch: 21.77%
Teemu Selanne's last game: 12.09%
Marian Hossa's return to Detroit: 11.6%
Victor Hedman's debut: 6.5%

As I had said before, the addition of John Tavares gives the Islanders tremendous marketability legs. When was the last time you've heard of fans anticipating an Islanders game?

You'll probably have to go back a long time for that.

John Tavares jerseys are already being sold on NHL.com, and his press conference introducing him to the media and fans hasn't even happened yet.

Not only are the fans and NHL aware of John Tavares, but now, they're finally aware of the Islanders.

Isles Make Minor Moves

ISLANDERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH THREE PLAYERS
Team Signs Munroe, Reich And Westgarth For Next Season

UNIONDALE, NY, July 2, 2009 -- The New York Islanders announced today that they have agreed to terms with three players. Goaltender Scott Munroe, left wing Jeremy Reich and defenseman Brett Westgarth all have signed one-year, two-way contracts.

Munroe, an undrafted goalie from Moose Jaw, SASK, has been a part of the Philadelphia Flyers organization for the past four seasons. He received his first call-up to the National Hockey League last year with the Flyers. The 27-year-old net-minder posted a career year last season with a record of 31-19-0-4, a save percentage of .926 and four shutouts. Munroe led the Phantoms to the Calder Cup Playoffs in each of the past two seasons. During the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs, Munroe made 65 saves in a five overtime contest against the Albany River Rats to earn the victory in the longest game in American Hockey League history.

Reich has played in a total of 99 NHL games scoring two goals and four assists while compiling 161 penalty minutes. The Craik, SASK native has been a part of the Boston Bruins organization for the past three years and played under Islanders head coach Scott Gordon his first two seasons with the team's AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Last season, the 6'1", 196 pound left wing, served as the team captain of Providence, setting single-season career high numbers of 21 goals and 13 assists for 34 points in 76 games. Reich was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round (39th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.

Westgarth played the last three seasons in the AHL. Last year, the 6'2", 215 pound defenseman played for the Worcester Sharks, AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, scoring nine points (2 goals and 7 assists) while totaling 137 penalty minutes. Westgarth, a native of Amhertsburg, ON, is a Princeton University graduate who skated for the Tigers from 2002-2007 where he compiled four goals and 20 assists for 24 points.

Dwayne Roloson Signs with Islanders: Newsday

2:39 UPDATE: When asked on NHL Live why he signed with the Islanders, he basically said "They offered the second year, and that's about it."

He also says he's got a good working relationship with Rick DiPietro, saying he knew Ricky while he was in college and in the pros, and that's he's excited to be working with him.

Greg Logan is reporting that goaltender Dwayne Roloson has signed a 2-year, $5 million contract with the New York Islanders

The Islanders have reached agreement with Edmonton's Dwayne Roloson on a two-year deal believed to be worth $5 million. Signing a veteran starting goaltender solves their top priority, which was to have a 1A-caliber backup for starter Rick DiPietro in the event his injury problems continue.

More to come.

Islanders to Introduce Tavares Next Weds

UPDATE: I read the release wrong. Its July 8, not tomorrow. My apologies, I saw Wednesday and immediately my brain said otherwise.

The New York Islanders have scheduled a press conference at the Nassau Coliseum to introduce this year's 1st Overall Draft Pick, John Tavares.

Also in attendance will be General Manager Garth Snow, and Head Coach Scott Gordon.

I will unfortunately not be in attendance, due to my day-job responsibilities, but hope to have any information that is conveyed from the press conference to this blog. ‪‬ ‪