Isles Drop Another, Okposo Debut on Tuesday
March 16th, 2008 by murph
After a 3-0 drubbing at the hand of the Montreal Canadiens last night and Islanders’ golf season just 3 weeks away, the Isles answered the only remaining question of the season with a press announcement. Kyle Okposo the Islanders 2006 first round draft pick, will make his NHL debut at home on Tuesday night vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Okposo, selected seventh overall by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL Draft, is considered one of the top prospects in hockey. After playing for Team USA at this year’s World Junior Championships, the 6-foot, 200-pound wing left the University of Minnesota and signed a three-year contract with the Islanders on January 11. He started his pro career in the Islanders organization by playing for their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In 29 games with the Sound Tigers, Okposo had 8 goals and 16 assists for 24 points. He had an assist in Bridgeport’s 4-2 over the Philadelphia Phantoms on Saturday night.
“It’s the right time to give Kyle the chance to show what he can do at the NHL level,” said Islanders general manager Garth Snow. “From the beginning we said that when it came to Kyle we would do what was best long-term for both him and our franchise. He has played well in Bridgeport and deserves a look. Our organization is very excited to see Kyle in an Islanders unifom, and I’m sure so are our fans.”
When run through Google Translator (using the new bullshit to english translator), Snow’s statement reads like this.
We looked at the schedule and realized there were still 5 home games left. 4 of which are not against the Rangers. He has played well in Bridgeport and we need to put some fannies in some seats for those games. Now is the right time for Kyle’s debut, even though the Soundtigers could really use him for the AHL playoff push. Besides, half the guys he’s been playing with in the AHL have been called up already.
In other somewhat Islanders related news, the NHL re-reviewed the tapes from the Chris Pronger skate stomping incident and decided that it warranted an 8 game suspension after all.
Duck’s GM Brian Burke was quick to point the finger at Richard Zednik’s scary skate injury, rather than the media/blog outcry of a double standard, or *gasp* repeated offender Chris Pronger.
“I think what’s happened here is there’s a lot of sensitivity to anything related to skates right now,” said Ducks general manager Brian Burke, a former NHL disciplinarian. “I would have to hope and believe that the NHL disregards any kind of outcry when they evaluate these kinds of things.
“I have a lot more confidence in Colin Campbell that he’s never going to respond to media pressure. I know I never did when I did that job.”
