Islanders Team Report

Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports

Inside Shots

Islanders general manager Garth Snow is taking his time and talking to men of various experience levels in searching for Ted Nolan’s replacement as head coach.

Since Nolan was axed on July 14, ostensibly for not being on board with the franchise’s stated youth movement, Snow reportedly has interviewed at least five candidates. Those range from Bob Hartley and John Tortorella, who won Stanley Cup titles with Colorado and Tampa Bay, respectively, to veteran NHL coach Paul Maurice.

Former Bruins coach Mike Sullivan, who was an assistant to Tortorella last season with the Lightning, and AHL Providence coach Scott Gordon also were on Long Island in late July to meet with Snow.

According to Newsday, former St. Louis and Colorado coach Joel Quenneville also declined an invitation by Snow to interview for the vacancy.

Notes, Quotes

• The Islanders announced their 2008 preseason schedule, including one home game at Nassau Coliseum, Oct. 1 against New Jersey. With training camp to be held in Moncton, New Brunswick, for the second straight year, the Isles will play host to Boston at Moncton Coliseum on Sept. 23. They also will play Philadelphia in London, Ontario, on Sept. 25 and Florida in Sumerside on Prince Edward Island on Sept. 27. The Isles also play in New Jersey, Boston and Florida in early October.

Quote To Note: “Communication is key, along with the ability to provide structure to the team, to be able to discipline players and to hold players accountable. I’ll look for a coach who has integrity, an inspirational, motivational, knowledgeable coach. Those are the ingredients I feel a great coach has. I look forward to the process of finding our next head coach.”—GM Garth Snow, on the Islanders’ coaching search.

Roster Report

Draft Picks Of Note:

Corey Trivino, 6-1, 170, OPJHL Stouffville, 36th overall: The speedy center scored 69 points in 39 games in the Ontario Provincial junior A league, plus four goals for champion Team Canada at the World under-18 Junior tournament in January.

Aaron Ness, D, 5-9-1/2, 157, Roseau HS (Minn.), 40th overall: The undersized defenseman was Mr. Hockey in Minnesota in 2008, with 72 points from the blue line in 31 games for his high school team. Interestingly, Ness will attend the University of Minnesota and coach Don Lucia, who took issue with the Isles and with Snow for signing 2006 first-round pick Kyle Okposo away from the Golden Gophers in the middle of the college hockey season last winter.

David Toews, 5-10, 175, Shattuck-St. Mary’s HS (Minn.), 64th overall: The younger brother of Chicago rising star Jonathan Toews had 100 points in 51 games (44-56) for Minnesota’s top high school program. The younger Toews is headed to the University of North Dakota.

Kirill Petrov, 6-3, 198, RSL AK Kazan: 73rd overall: The Isles took a chance on Petrov, the No. 2-ranked European skater (behind No. 6 overall selection Nikita Filatov) by NHL Central Scouting. Petrov plummeted in the draft because he is under contract for the next two seasons in Russia. The right wing was named the top forward at under-18 worlds last winter with five goals in six games.

Free Agent Focus: After signing center Doug Weight, power-play quarterback Mark Streit and third-string goalie Yann Danis, the Isles boast 24 one-way contracts for 23 roster spots for 2007-08. When asked by Newsday if that means he’s likely done shopping on the free-agent market, GM Garth Snow replied, “I would say so, but I’ll still poke around and make calls.”

Player Notes:

• C Frans Nielsen, a Denmark product who has appeared in 31 games for the Islanders the past two seasons, received a four-year contract worth $2.1 million.

• D Bruno Gervais became the last returning Islander to land a new contract, signing a three-year deal worth $2.225 million on July 25.

From Newsday: The New Islanders

After trading down twice in the first round to take Windsor Spitfires center Josh Bailey at No. 9 on Friday night, the Islanders traded down once more in the third round yesterday with Chicago, adding another pick in the fourth round. That gave them a total of 13 picks in the NHL draft. Here's a look at the 12 chosen yesterday in rounds 2-6 to add to Bailey, including each player's overall draft number, position, height, weight, birthdate and junior team:

36. Corey Trivino

C, 6-1, 170, 1/12/90, OPJHL Stouffville: Scored 69 points in 39 games in the Ontario Provincial junior A league, had four goals to help Canada win the World under-18 Juniors in January.

40. Aaron Ness

D, 5-9½, 157, 5/18/90, Roseau, Minn. HS: Minnesota's Mr. Hockey in 2008 scored 72 points in 31 games (28-44-72) for high school team, member Team USA at under-18 Worlds, headed to University of Minnesota.

53. Travis Hamonic

D, 6-0, 192, 8/16/90, WHL Moose Jaw: Physical, stay-at-home D was 5-17-22 in 61 games in first season with Moose Jaw and was member of Canada's under-18 world champions.

66. David Toews

C, 5-10, 175, 6/7/90, Shattuck-St. Mary's, Minn. HS: Winnipeg native is younger brother of Chicago's Jonathan Toews. Had 100 points in 51 games (44-56-100) for Minnesota's elite high school program; speedy with good hands.

72. Jyri Niemi

D, 6-2, 192, 6/15/90, WHL Saskatoon: Finland native led WHL rookie defensemen in scoring with 34 points in 49 games (14-20-34), power-play QB shoots left and has slap shot clocked at 97 mph.

73. Kirill Petrov

RW, 6-3, 198, 4/13/90, RSL AK Kazan: No. 2-ranked European skater by NHL Central Scouting was 4-6-10 in scoring in 47 Russian Super League games; named top forward at under-18 worlds with 5-2-7 mark in six games.

96. Matt Donovan

D, 5-11, 185, 5/9/90, USHL Cedar Rapids: Oklahoma native was second-leading goal scorer among USHL defensemen with 12 and 18 assists for 30 points in 60 games with a plus-19 rating; headed for Denver University.

102. David Ullstrom

W, 6-3, 198, 4/22/89, Sweden HV 71-Jr.: Scored 54 points in 40 games (27-27-54) in his final junior season before move to Sweden's second tier; has strength, size, speed and finishing touch, but needs to improve defensively.

126. Kevin Poulin

G, 6-2, 210, 4/12/90, QMJHL Victoriaville: Seventh-rated North American goaltender had an 18-24 record with a 3.69 goals-against average and .887 save percentage that reflected his inconsistency.

148. Matthew Martin

LW, 6-2, 192, 5/8/89, OHL Sarnia: Rugged power forward scored 25 goals, 38 points and 155 penalty minutes in his second season with Sarnia and went 3-3-6 in nine playoff games.

156. Jared Spurgeon

D, 5-8, 175, 11/29/89, WHL Spokane: Had 43 points in 69 games (12-31-43) for WHL Spokane with a plus-36 rating. Helped lead Chiefs to the Memorial Cup championship.

175. Justin DiBenedetto

C, 6-1, 185, 5-11, 194, 8/25/88, OHL Sarnia: Scored 93 points (39-54-93) to finish just 12 behind teammate Steve Stamkos, who was drafted No. 1 overall. Had 10 points in nine playoff games.