Bridgeport Islanders Discussion 2023-24: Youngblood

[PK Cronin]

New thread for the upcoming season.

Previous thread: Bridgeport Islanders Discussion 2021-22: Playoffs Start May 2

Last post from previous thread:

Could easily have been tied at 2 games a piece now, at least

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[MJF]

Why hasn’t Tommer been fired yet?

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Why hasn’t Tommer been fired yet?

How can you remove the guy when his son is putting up 35 some goals for the Sabres???

 

[MJF]

Some AHL contract signings.

 

[PK Cronin]

Tikkanen is the big fella, right?

 

[seafoam]

Tikkanen is the big fella, right?

Correct.

 

[SI90]

Interesting. Also, I thought we lost Tikkanen rights? I’m assuming this isn’t an elc and is an AHL deal?

 

[seafoam]

Interesting. Also, I thought we lost Tikkanen rights? I’m assuming this isn’t an elc and is an AHL deal?

NYI didn't want to waste a contract spot on him, but clearly still had interest in him on a minor league deal.

 

[seafoam]

Sevigny is left handed shot, 6'3", was the Captain of Saint John

 

[The Real JT]

NYI didn't want to waste a contract spot on him, but clearly still had interest in him on a minor league deal.

Considering our minor league goalie depth, he made a wise decision.

Hope he doesn’t suck.

 

[beach]

Sevigny is left handed shot, 6'3", was the Captain of Saint John

Signing Sevigny is a great stealth move by Lou. Has leadership (was team captain) skills as well as talent. Only 21.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Signing Sevigny is a great stealth move by Lou. Has leadership (was team captain) skills as well as talent. Only 21.

Well, a move by Chris L.

Sevigny is solely an AHL addition.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

I am glad to see Tikkanen brought over for BPort.

I thought they had permanently cut ties, but this is a fine move.

Tikkanen actually had a very good season in Sweden last year and my contacts in both Sweden and Finland say he's so unique from a size/movement standpoint, that a team simply has to give him a shot and see what they can make of him in North America.

Of course, I'm expecting some big-time difficulties with the ice size and angles to kick things off. It's understandable for all European goalies playing here for the first time, but even more so for a man of this size.

 

[leeroggy]

Sevigny is left handed shot, 6'3", was the Captain of Saint John

64 total points in 62 games. Clearly an overager but why not? Worth a one year look.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Things I'm excited about...

Seeing how these two goalies fare this season. It's really time for Skarek to take another step, if at all.

Likewise, Tikkanen was outstanding in Sweden last season (like 13-4 with MoDo in the Allsvenskan, then had one dominant outing in the SHL). He's huge and will surely have a lot of adjustments to make with the smaller rink.

Very exciting.

Seriously, where's Bolduc in this equation? Not sure why he wouldn't be listed here?

Then again, no Wotherspoon either (was an RFA). Wasn't he re-upped while Vandesompel was allowed to walk?

I'm forgetting, but I know Bolduc is still under contract, so this is weird.

Cosgrove and Sévigny will be interesting to follow, although they'll likely spend time in the ECHL.

I wouldn't be surprised if Krygier (who wanted a 5th year of college, but hasn't found a taker for a switch) is added on a two-way minor league deal.

I'm basically assuming Panik will be out of the picture. Could he get the way of Komarov?

As for the rest, this picture is incomplete. For example, Iskhakov got his ELC this summer and is definitely Bridgeport-bound. I'd be shocked if McLean isn't still part of this (expected him to be given an ELC), especially now that his father has been brought in as an assistant on the Island.

And where the heck is Jenkins? He's still on contract.

Durandeau is an RFA and will likely first be mentioned whenever all the other RFAs are mentioned. Might be the case with Wotherspoon as well.

The above team is very light on vets. Terry and Czarnik did a lot of the heavy lifting offensively last season. No reason to think Andreoff, Bardreau, and Kubiak are going to assume that burden.

And I'm not sure if the team just let Coskey walk...

The keys though are our own prospects. Koivula looks like #5 on the center depth chart while the (further) development of Raty (unlisted), Holmstrom, Dufour, Iskhakov, and even Durandeau is essential. I'd have hoped that one of Adams, Jenkins, and Newkirk would have made his presence in the system be known by now.

Anything that would come of AHL signings Lambert and Bender is just a sidenote.

All in all, Eliteprospects isn't showing as many of the players as CapFriendly does, but we basically see the team filled out just now. There were a lot of NHL/AHL bubble players on the market this summer, several of which with ties to Long Island and/or the greater metropolitan area.

Maybe someone has been added that we won't hear about until the Dobson, Romanov, and Bellows contracts are announced.

 

[xECK29x]

And where the heck is Jenkins? He's still on contract.

He is still playing NCAA, not signed to an ELC.

Seriously, where's Bolduc in this equation?

EP has him on the main roster.

The above team is very light on vets.

I think we have enough guys with AHL experience where we don't need to waste vet slots on guys who have been AHL lifers (Chris Terry was a great add for them last year though and I wish he stayed). I think we have enough long time guys in the org who can fill those vet spots which means more development time.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

He is still playing NCAA, not signed to an ELC.

You're thinking of Jefferies.

Blade Jenkins was an OHLer and he's still got one more year on his ELC.

EP has him on the main roster.

Nope, not if you put in the 22-23 roster:

I think we have enough guys with AHL experience where we don't need to waste vet slots on guys who have been AHL lifers (Chris Terry was a great add for them last year though and I wish he stayed). I think we have enough long time guys in the org who can fill those vet spots which means more development time.

Perhaps. I felt that way in the past too.

I just know that the vets we have now are perhaps glue guys, but not ones who carry an offense. I'd love that to be the responsibility of Koivula, Holmstrom, Raty, and Iskhakov, but if it backfires, then kids can suffer a bit in their development.

Hope Chris L has an eye on this.

 

[seafoam]

There's a serious cap crunch league wide and a lot of these fringe veterans are unfortunately caught in the fire.

You're going to see a lot of movement with PTO/league min. deals the week before training camp and likely a few surprising trades/players hitting waivers the week after training camp. I'm thinking Chris Lamoriello understands this and will add a veteran body or two if they "make sense" for both NYI and BPT.

Otherwise, it's time to hand over the car keys to Bolduc/Hutton/Salo/Wotherspoon on the backend and Andreoff/Bardreau/Dufour/Durandeau/Holmstrom/Koivula/Kubiak/Raty up front.

If they can mold one of Cosgrove/MacKinnon/McCarthy/Sevigny into a useful defenseman and one of Adams/Bender/Iskhakov/Jenkins/Lambert/Newkirk into a useful scorer that will also help.

I wonder if the organization plans on waiving Sebastian Aho and signed him to a multi year deal to increase the chances that he passes through waivers.

I know he's nothing special, but when I look at a team like Chicago I can definitely see them plucking Aho off of waivers to give their prospects more developmental time in the minors.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

There's a serious cap crunch league wide and a lot of these fringe veterans are unfortunately caught in the fire.

You're going to see a lot of movement with PTO/league min. deals the week before training camp and likely a few surprising trades/players hitting waivers the week after training camp. I'm thinking Chris Lamoriello understands this and will add a veteran body or two if they "make sense" for both NYI and BPT.

Good points

If they can mold one of Cosgrove/MacKinnon/McCarthy/Sevigny into a useful defenseman and one of Adams/Bender/Iskhakov/Jenkins/Lambert/Newkirk into a useful scorer that will also help.

Considering he was a 2nd rounder in a strong draft at a time where plenty of other talent was available, some of which is already playing NHL hockey, Iskhakov needs to be that guy.

And he has a whole season of Liiga and DEL play under his belt. For all intents and purposes, he's already a "proven" pro and needs to be a top six level offensive player here.

I wonder if the organization plans on waiving Sebastian Aho and signed him to a multi year deal to increase the chances that he passes through waivers.

Looks like they wanted him here as a #7 unless they sign someone else, in which case they wouldn't really worry about losing him in waivers, if it'd come to that.

But as of right now, it sure looks like they continue to see him as a depth option.

I know he's nothing special, but when I look at a team like Chicago I can definitely see them plucking Aho off of waivers to give their prospects more developmental time in the minors.

I mean heck, 2-10-12 in 36 games last season after several seasons as an AHL all-star. There would surely be a team or two out there interested in giving him a look.

 

[xECK29x]

You're thinking of Jefferies.

Blade Jenkins was an OHLer and he's still got one more year on his ELC.

Whoops, that's what I get for posting before coffee

 

[SI]

UPDATED
with no other AHL signings here is your depth chart @ bridgeport -

Andreoff - Raty - Dufour
Holmstrom - Koivula - Fasching
Durandeau - Iskhakov - Bardreau
Adams - Kubiak - Panik
Jenkins - Newkirk - Bender or Lambert

Cholowski or Salo- Hutton
Bolduc - Ladue
Wotherspoon - Mackinnon
Sevigny - McCarthy
Cosgrove

 

[seafoam]

with no other F signings here is your top 15 F -

Andreoff - Raty - Dufour

Iskhakov - Koivula - Holmstrom

Durandeau - Bardreau - Panik

Adams - Kubiak - Lambert

Jenkins - Newkirk - Bender

Panik was loaned to the Chicago Wolves last season if I remember correctly. I assume that will be the case again this season.

They need one more proven AHL scorer to round out that lineup because they usually carry 15 or so forwards for the weekend games where they play 2-4 games in 5-6 days + injuries. Bender and Lambert is likely ticketed for the ECHL.

 

[SI]

Panik was loaned to the Chicago Wolves last season if I remember correctly. I assume that will be the case again this season.

They need one more proven AHL scorer to round out that lineup because they usually carry 15 or so forwards for the weekend games where they play 2-4 games in 5-6 days + injuries. Bender and Lambert is likely ticketed for the ECHL.

I think Panik was loaned for the playoffs - he is back with Isles and I assuming he will be waived and report to Bridgeport

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Salo (NHL?) - Hutton
Bolduc - ????
Wotherspoon - Mackinnon
Sevigny - ????

ECHL
Cosgrove - McCarthy

Goodness, I'd love to see this team add the still unsigned Dennis Cholowski to a two-way contract with the intent of having him kick things off on the farm.

Schuldt, Pasichnuk and Krys could likely be had on purely AHL contracts at this point too.

And it looks like there's no space for Toronto prospect Joe Duszak in that organization. He's a righty shot, NY-native who put up 52 points in 61 games for the Marlies last season. He became a UFA this summer

If Chris would get the green light, there are some options out there to not only round out this blueline nicely, but bring in guys who may still may be salvagable on the NHL front too.

 

[seafoam]

Goodness, I'd love to see this team add the still unsigned Dennis Cholowski to a two-way contract with the intent of having him kick things off on the farm.

Schuldt, Pasichnuk and Krys could likely be had on purely AHL contracts at this point too.

And it looks like there's no space for Toronto prospect Joe Duszak in that organization. He's a righty shot, NY-native who put up 52 points in 61 games for the Marlies last season. He became a UFA this summer

If Chris would get the green light, there are some options out there to not only round out this blueline nicely, but bring in guys who may still may be salvagable on the NHL front too.

I'm all aboard for CholoCop and Duszak is highly intriguing considering Dobson & Wilde are the only U-27 right shot defenseman under contract next season.