The Islanders are just 10 days away from Opening Night, and the roster is beginning to take shape. What will the 23-man squad look like? SNY's Brian Erni and Andy Graziano discuss...
Andy Graziano, SNY.TV Twitter
Welcome back to another season of Shooting from Point Blank Range, my man. We had lots of fun with this last year, so let's kick this season off by taking a look at the 'almost' final 23-man roster, which needs to be finalized by 5:00 p.m. on October 3. With some cuts already made, and Bridgeport camp underway, you can make some strong assertions of who will make the team and who won't. Any thoughts on how it's shaping up?
Brian Erni, SNY.TV Twitter | Archive Posts
Well, it certainly looks like Mathew Barzal has a spot. At least, that's what Doug Weight told the media on Monday night. And for good reason. He's been one of the best players in camp by a mile, and the Isles could certainly use his skill set to center one of the secondary lines.
Graziano
In the absence of trading for Matt Duchene, Barzal absolutely needs to be the guy behind John Tavares. I figured he wouldn't fall flat on his face in camp, and he certainly hasn't, so I can't envision any scenario coming out of this training camp where Barzal doesn't make the club.
Erni
I think the only question with Barzal right now is what will be expected of him from Weight. Does he put him right behind Tavares as the number two center? Or does he let Brock Nelson fill that role and take the larger minutes that come with it, ultimately easing Barzal into the NHL by having him center the third line?
Graziano
Good question. I'm putting him right there as second line center. Still, I'm reserving judgement on Barzal's overall impact. We really don't know how good he will be right now. Projecting anything based on a marvelous preseason goal against the Devils' C-squad is a little much for me. But the fact remains, for the Islanders to be successful, they are going to need all their youngsters to prove it....and quick.
Erni
At this point, I'd do the same. It's a little trial-by-fire, but that's okay. The Islanders are sort of tied to the success of guys like Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, and Josh Ho-Sang, because if they can be high-impact guys at low cap hits, it allows them to extend Tavares and carry over-market salaries for guys like Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck without it hurting too much. To me, the trickier situation is Beauvillier.
Graziano
All things considered, Beauvillier had a very good rookie season. But when Alan Quine is ready in four-to-six weeks, I think he could be sent to Bridgeport, especially since he's waiver-exempt. That's going to be a tough one to explain to fans, that New York didn't want to 'lose' Alan Quine. Don't get me wrong, nice complementary fourth-line player, but at the expense of Beauvillier, it would just be so Islanders.
Erni
The real question is whether the Isles can swallow the reality of players like Nikolay Kulemin and Jason Chimera (who carry a combined cap hit of nearly $6.5 million) essentially being role players who are shuffled in and out of the lineup. If so, then there's no reason Beauvillier shouldn't be in the lineup every day. But if not, he needs to go to Bridgeport and play big minutes every night.
Graziano
I see Kulemin as the bigger problem than Chimera in your example of wasted cap space. I think Isles have to find a way to move Kulemin, even if it's packaging him with some of those draft picks acquired in the Travis Hamonic trade. What are your thoughts on the defense, Brian? That is my biggest concern. Can they actually, you know, play defense?
Erni
It's going to hinge largely on whether Calvin de Haan can repeat his breakout season, and if Ryan Pulock is ready to play at the NHL level. I know Art Staple put Pulock's roster chances at 50-50, and that has me a little worried. I think it's time to see whether or not this guy can play at the NHL level.
Will the loss of Hamonic hurt? Not really, considering just how bad he was last season. But this is one of the biggest question marks about this team. Hopefully, between Pulock, Scott Mayfield, and Adam Pelech, they'll get enough from their rostered younger players to keep their heads above water.
Graziano
Pulock is a huge question mark for me. If he isn't more than just a shot, the Islanders then are down to relying on Pelech, who we still don't know that much about, and Mayfield, who, in my eyes, isn't a good enough skater for a full-time role. Maybe in that scenario, Dennis Seidenberg holds off father time for another season. But if not, I fear the playoff hopes we have for this team go down the drain rather quickly.
Erni
Let me say, though, that overall, I think this is a much better team than they're getting credit for. How much better? We'll discuss that in next week's season prediction post. But there's a lot of talent on this club. A lot has to go right for them to contend with some of the elite teams in the division, but it's far from unattainable.
