Staples Twitter: NYI @ OTT Split Squad Rosters

[CaptDenisPotvin]

So you attack me for 'cherry picking' stats, then cherry pick your entire argument with what ifs and qualifiers?

So Nielsen only outproduced Bailey by 7 points at ES, so they are essentially the same then, right? Nielsen was promoted to the top line last season when Tavares went down, so that's why he racked up those 7 extra points. Also, he played 200 more minutes.

I'm pretty sure Bailey played the whole season last year on the RW, so, he was a RW last year. And notice how you say ES points puts Bailey at 150th among forwards...what happens when we sort those forwards by position? Bailey finishes 39th in ES points out of RW. If you want to look at LW, like you want to, he finishes 42nd next to Rick Nash. Again, that puts him clearly in the top half of production for 2nd line wingers.

You're going to play the injury game? Guys get injured, it happens, but it's impossible for you to accurately calculate what those players would've done if they were healthy. The fact is that Bailey finished in the top half of production for wingers.

Kulemin is supposed to be a solid player, and I'm really pleased we have him, but don't pretend as if Bailey isn't tasked (along with Nielsen and Grabner) to play a shutdown role. Bailey excels defensively and has one of the highest corsi numbers on the team. Kulemin is definitely more physical than Bailey, but I don't think that makes him leaps and bounds better.

I just hate it when the Bailey haters go around, in every thread, and talk about how he needs to go blah blah blah and ramble off a bunch of useless jibberish that isn't quantified at all. I've broken it down, time and time again, Bailey is in the top half of production for wingers in the NHL. He's defensively responsible. He's good at the PK. He's very versatile up front in terms of what position he can play. So if your gripe is that he isn't physical or shouldn't be on the top PP unit (which he's not), then fine, those are fair arguments. Harping on his not scoring a goal in 30 whatever games and how he doesn't produce, well, even without scoring a goal in that set number of games he still produced well enough to be in the top half of the NHL for wingers. It's a ridiculous argument. Argue consistency, not lack of production.

I completely agree with the bolded, to have someone tell me Bailey is a top flight 2nd line winger in the NHL after they watch him play even a hand full of games is very much....a ridiculous argument.

In fact, its close to incoherent and nonsensical

 

[_illicit_]

i respect what you're saying, but using those stats don't mean much. Like always, Bailey always seems to rack up those points when the season is over (last year after 50 games). He seems to do this EVERY year. He teases you in the start of the season, then disappears for 40+ games, then racks up points when the games don't matter.

Did he not also put up points during the playoff year when the games did matter?

I think Bailey can be a valuable player for us or used as a trade chip. Either way, I am fine with. I don't agree with the notion that he is this horrible hockey player that doesn't even deserve a spot on a 3rd line in the NHL (not saying you said that).

 

[Islanders1932]

And just to get it back on track, here are the highlights from the 2nd game last night.

http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/?id=632171&catid=1415

Wow loved that pass from Conacher to Grabovski. The Bailey goal was on a two on one, didn't seem like he fully got much on it, but a goal is a goal and hopefully that will do a lot for his confidence.

 

[airbus220]

So you attack me for 'cherry picking' stats, then cherry pick your entire argument with what ifs and qualifiers?

So Nielsen only outproduced Bailey by 7 points at ES, so they are essentially the same then, right? Nielsen was promoted to the top line last season when Tavares went down, so that's why he racked up those 7 extra points. Also, he played 200 more minutes.

I'm pretty sure Bailey played the whole season last year on the RW, so, he was a RW last year. And notice how you say ES points puts Bailey at 150th among forwards...what happens when we sort those forwards by position? Bailey finishes 39th in ES points out of RW. If you want to look at LW, like you want to, he finishes 42nd next to Rick Nash. Again, that puts him clearly in the top half of production for 2nd line wingers.

You're going to play the injury game? Guys get injured, it happens, but it's impossible for you to accurately calculate what those players would've done if they were healthy. The fact is that Bailey finished in the top half of production for wingers.

Kulemin is supposed to be a solid player, and I'm really pleased we have him, but don't pretend as if Bailey isn't tasked (along with Nielsen and Grabner) to play a shutdown role. Bailey excels defensively and has one of the highest corsi numbers on the team. Kulemin is definitely more physical than Bailey, but I don't think that makes him leaps and bounds better.

I just hate it when the Bailey haters go around, in every thread, and talk about how he needs to go blah blah blah and ramble off a bunch of useless jibberish that isn't quantified at all. I've broken it down, time and time again, Bailey is in the top half of production for wingers in the NHL. He's defensively responsible. He's good at the PK. He's very versatile up front in terms of what position he can play. So if your gripe is that he isn't physical or shouldn't be on the top PP unit (which he's not), then fine, those are fair arguments. Harping on his not scoring a goal in 30 whatever games and how he doesn't produce, well, even without scoring a goal in that set number of games he still produced well enough to be in the top half of the NHL for wingers. It's a ridiculous argument. Argue consistency, not lack of production.

Sure, Bailey isn't bad on PK, he showed that years ago. But what did Isles coaching staff do last season, they didn't use him on PK. After his first 15 games Bailey had 26 seconds on PK, after his first 29 games he had 4:30 on PK.
Same issue with Clutterbuck, everbody knows he's a very good Pkiller, but Isles coaching staff used him 1:51 on PK for his first 15 games. At the same time he played 14:35 on PP.
Give me a good coaching staff who knows what they are doing and everything will be different and I mean much much better.

 

[PK Cronin]

Did anyone else notice Strait wearing an A?

I didn't notice that, eek.

Is Bailey NOT a forward? Unless you can prove that Bailey played all of his minutes a right winger and all of the other forwards played all of their minutes at the position they are listed in then using that as the total universe of players to compare them too is seriously flawed. I would think Broadway Jay would not only understand that but be an advocate of that but apparently not.

Comparing forwards to forwards is a much fairer comparison but that's my opinion.

Btw Josh Bailey may have played 200 less minutes than Frans but that's because.of.special teams. Unlike bailey, Frans is a special teams dynamo on both ends of the ice.

Bailey actually played 25 MORE minutes than Frans on even strength. Mind boggling.

If you include centers in the discussion, you're going to get 3rd line centers who have outproduced second line wingers. We could combine the LW and RW numbers, and he'd still be in the top half of 2nd line wingers in the NHL. It makes more sense to compare him to other players at his position.

i respect what you're saying, but using those stats don't mean much. Like always, Bailey always seems to rack up those points when the season is over (last year after 50 games). He seems to do this EVERY year. He teases you in the start of the season, then disappears for 40+ games, then racks up points when the games don't matter.

It's just not true. What about the year we made the playoffs? Bailey produced at the end of that season too. He, for whatever reason, racks up points late. It doesn't seem to matter at all whether or not the games are meaningless or not.

The highlights are that Bailey is good defensively and a good possession forward who continues to improve. I actually think his spells of low production are not a terrible thing at all. What happens when Bailey puts it all together and produces at his "hot" pace all the time? I like him.

That's my thinking. If this is as bad as Bailey gets, we're in good shape with keeping him. If/when he puts it together, he'll be pretty darn good. If he doesn't, he's still a real good shutdown 3rd line player, and guys like Strome and hopefully Nelson can put up more points for our secondary/primary scoring than Bailey, Nielsen, and Grabner have in years past.

 

[PK Cronin]

Sure, Bailey isn't bad on PK, he showed that years ago. But what did Isles coaching staff do last season, they didn't use him on PK. After his first 15 games Bailey had 26 seconds on PK, after his first 29 games he had 4:30 on PK.
Same issue with Clutterbuck, everbody knows he's a very good Pkiller, but Isles coaching staff used him 1:51 on PK for his first 15 games. At the same time he played 14:35 on PP.
Give me a good coaching staff who knows what they are doing and everything will be different and I mean much much better.

It's true that they coaches didn't utilize anyone properly. Bailey has received less PK minutes each year for the past few seasons, each year our PK has gotten progressively worse. I'm not suggesting that Bailey is the reason it's getting worse, but I'd say that it's probably likely that pairings are part of the problem.

 

[InformTheMasses]

I don't agree with every application of facts from either of you, I'd prefer something a bit more rigorous. I will say that I think Bailey has a lot more value than folks make out, and if we'd like to have that conversation we can start a new thread for it but I've seen it get played out quite a bit.

Okay, humour me then please. Which of the following do you disagree with and why:

Bailey's offensive production (when both output and consistency are factored in) is that of a third line player.

Bailey's offensive production (when both output and consistency are factored in) makes him unsuitable on either powerplay unit.

Shot suppression on penalty kill data indicates that Bailey is not in the top 4 forwards on the islanders roster at present which renders him an unsuitable option for pk1 or pk2

Josh Bailey plays better defensively as a LW than as a c or rw. This isn't backed up by data but I think it's painfully obvious after watching him play a thousand minutes a season for 7 or.so years.

Given this set of data is it unreasonable to call Josh Bailey an average THIRD line lw with some upside?. I say average THIRD liner because while being above average as a third liner as far as defensive/offensive/puck control his inability to be a really effective player on both the power play and penalty kill lessons his value as a player significantly as other players have to chew up all of this minutes. It also makes Bailey a very one dimensional option on the roster.

 

[BroadwayJay*]

Okay, humour me then please. Which of the following do you disagree with and why:

Bailey's offensive production (when both output and consistency are factored in) is that of a third line player.

I don't really believe there is a difference between a "third line" and a "second line" player other than where they fit on THAT team. Bailey is a second-liner on most teams though.

Bailey's offensive production (when both output and consistency are factored in) makes him unsuitable on either powerplay unit.

Lineup how it is now? Probably, yes. Tavares-Okposo-Nelson-Grabovsky-Strome-Lee-Nielsen are probably all more effective choices on the PP. On many other teams that wouldn't be true. Despite what people seem to think, the Isles have one of the more potent offenses in the NHL.

Shot suppression on penalty kill data indicates that Bailey is not in the top 4 forwards on the islanders roster at present which renders him an unsuitable option for pk1 or pk2

Link the data for me that you're using and I'll go through it. I would think that is probably true. Grabner and Kulemin are elite PKers. Clutterbuck is very good too. I imagine Frans Nielsen is in the upper echelon as well (although I wouldn't choose to use him in both special teams roles, where I the coach).

Josh Bailey plays better defensively as a LW than as a c or rw. This isn't backed up by data but I think it's painfully obvious after watching him play a thousand minutes a season for 7 or.so years.

It is an easier job, even more easy depending on what defensive strategies you employ. Center is easily the most challenging and Bailey is capable of being a responsible defensive center. I think he's a capable defensive forward, in fact he thinks he's an especially good one. He's an outstanding possession player.

Given this set of data is it unreasonable to call Josh Bailey an average THIRD line lw with some upside?. I say average THIRD liner because while being above average as a third liner as far as defensive/offensive/puck control his inability to be a really effective player on both the power play and penalty kill lessons his value as a player significantly as other players have to chew up all of this minutes. It also makes Bailey a very one dimensional option on the roster.

I don't think in those terms because I don't really think there is any demonstrable difference between what we call our lines. It is just a name. I will say this though: I think there are a lot more teams that he'd be on the second line than on the fourth.

 

[ULF_55]

Kulemin is supposed to be a solid player, and I'm really pleased we have him, but don't pretend as if Bailey isn't tasked (along with Nielsen and Grabner) to play a shutdown role. Bailey excels defensively and has one of the highest corsi numbers on the team. Kulemin is definitely more physical than Bailey, but I don't think that makes him leaps and bounds better.

Hopefully, your coach permits Kulemin to play some offense this year. He has a good shot, and good wheels, not great at carrying the puck though. On an offensive line he's usually the first player back, and the first player to cover off for a pinching defender.

Last year Kulemin had 34.9% offensive zone starts. (Bailey had 46.2 O-Zone Starts). behindthenet

Carlyle had McClement and Kulemin face the toughest minutes of all the forwards, and I think that's one of the reasons (IMO) Kulemin had little interest in staying in Toronto, and his agent worked out the deal for both Grabovski and Kulemin.

I don't see a problem having both Bailey and Kulemin in the line-up. Kadri had a great year playing 3rd. line behind Grabovski and Kulemin a couple seasons ago. More opportunity for some players on the third line if the top 2 lines are a bigger threat.

 

[qmjhlisles]

Does anyone know if Ross Johnston is still there or did he get sent back to his Junior club?

 

[SLAPSHOT723]

...so no pictures?

 

[seafoam]

Do we even have physical evidence that this game was played and won by the Islanders?

 

[msv957]

So you attack me for 'cherry picking' stats, then cherry pick your entire argument with what ifs and qualifiers?

So Nielsen only outproduced Bailey by 7 points at ES, so they are essentially the same then, right? Nielsen was promoted to the top line last season when Tavares went down, so that's why he racked up those 7 extra points. Also, he played 200 more minutes.

I'm pretty sure Bailey played the whole season last year on the RW, so, he was a RW last year. And notice how you say ES points puts Bailey at 150th among forwards...what happens when we sort those forwards by position? Bailey finishes 39th in ES points out of RW. If you want to look at LW, like you want to, he finishes 42nd next to Rick Nash. Again, that puts him clearly in the top half of production for 2nd line wingers.

You're going to play the injury game? Guys get injured, it happens, but it's impossible for you to accurately calculate what those players would've done if they were healthy. The fact is that Bailey finished in the top half of production for wingers.

Kulemin is supposed to be a solid player, and I'm really pleased we have him, but don't pretend as if Bailey isn't tasked (along with Nielsen and Grabner) to play a shutdown role. Bailey excels defensively and has one of the highest corsi numbers on the team. Kulemin is definitely more physical than Bailey, but I don't think that makes him leaps and bounds better.

I just hate it when the Bailey haters go around, in every thread, and talk about how he needs to go blah blah blah and ramble off a bunch of useless jibberish that isn't quantified at all. I've broken it down, time and time again, Bailey is in the top half of production for wingers in the NHL. He's defensively responsible. He's good at the PK. He's very versatile up front in terms of what position he can play. So if your gripe is that he isn't physical or shouldn't be on the top PP unit (which he's not), then fine, those are fair arguments. Harping on his not scoring a goal in 30 whatever games and how he doesn't produce, well, even without scoring a goal in that set number of games he still produced well enough to be in the top half of the NHL for wingers. It's a ridiculous argument. Argue consistency, not lack of production.

Interesting post about Bailey. However, most of the points for Bailey came down the stretch last year when he played on the first line due to injuries to Tavares and Okposo. So, it seems this rationale that Bailey produced at a high 2nd line level is a bit misleading. It would be interesting to see where Bailey would stand if we took away his first line points he had and then pro-rate what his production was when he was floating around the perimeter doing very little on the third line.

I tend to think many of the "2nd line and 3rd line" players who finished around 30-90th for RW points would be able to increase their production give the chance to play on the first line for an extended time like Bailey had.

 

[YearlyLottery]

Interesting post about Bailey. However, most of the points for Bailey came down the stretch last year when he played on the first line due to injuries to Tavares and Okposo. So, it seems this rationale that Bailey produced at a high 2nd line level is a bit misleading. It would be interesting to see where Bailey would stand if we took away his first line points he had and then pro-rate what his production was when he was floating around the perimeter doing very little on the third line.

I tend to think many of the "2nd line and 3rd line" players who finished around 30-90th for RW points would be able to increase their production give the chance to play on the first line for an extended time like Bailey had.

This brings up an interesting question though. When Bailey has been given the time on first line he has looked good, but can he be consistent through the whole year?

I would argue that he is better than Boyes was BUT we need to aim higher. Maybe Bailey doesn't produce like a first liner but he looks damn good on the third line.

Solid defensive player who can go on occasionally hot streaks and possibly even carry the team some nights. So what's the problem? The position he was drafted is the problem.

 

[rikker]

Interesting post about Bailey. However, most of the points for Bailey came down the stretch last year when he played on the first line due to injuries to Tavares and Okposo. So, it seems this rationale that Bailey produced at a high 2nd line level is a bit misleading. It would be interesting to see where Bailey would stand if we took away his first line points he had and then pro-rate what his production was when he was floating around the perimeter doing very little on the third line.

I tend to think many of the "2nd line and 3rd line" players who finished around 30-90th for RW points would be able to increase their production give the chance to play on the first line for an extended time like Bailey had.

a different perspective...

Bailey started out with 3G and 4A, and was a +4 in his first 10 games (while averaging about 15 min per game). so much for the "he only plays good at the end of the season, when it doesn't matter" argument. and as someone has also pointed, and i have many times as well, he played great down the stretch two years ago, as we headed into the PO's. he was also one of our top scorers in the PO's.

Bailey started playing 1st line minutes last year, with 10 games left, and scored 10 points, and was a +3.

he is not a scrub. he could play on the 2nd line, no problem. he is inconsistent, that we all know. he played RW which is his off wing, because we were short on RW's, and that is not an easy adjustment to make.

thankfully, the guys on this board that want to give him away, are not the GM. the same guys, that call players washed up when they are 23 or 24, would have traded KO away, when he was 23.

 

[PK Cronin]

Interesting post about Bailey. However, most of the points for Bailey came down the stretch last year when he played on the first line due to injuries to Tavares and Okposo. So, it seems this rationale that Bailey produced at a high 2nd line level is a bit misleading. It would be interesting to see where Bailey would stand if we took away his first line points he had and then pro-rate what his production was when he was floating around the perimeter doing very little on the third line.

I tend to think many of the "2nd line and 3rd line" players who finished around 30-90th for RW points would be able to increase their production give the chance to play on the first line for an extended time like Bailey had.

He had 10 points when he was on the first line at the end of last year, which isn't really most of his 38, but it's a large percentage.

Bailey didn't play on the 3rd line at all last year.

It's interesting to see that with increased minutes, Bailey performs pretty well. He was essentially playing on a 2nd line, who was getting top line minutes because of all the injuries, and put up 10 points in 12 games. When he played with Tavares in the playoffs, he put up points as well.

If you look at his numbers from the lockout year, where he only played on the 2nd line, his ranking dipped, but he was still within the top half of wingers in the NHL. Same for the year before the lockout, he was in the 50's then.

This brings up an interesting question though. When Bailey has been given the time on first line he has looked good, but can he be consistent through the whole year?

I would argue that he is better than Boyes was BUT we need to aim higher. Maybe Bailey doesn't produce like a first liner but he looks damn good on the third line.

Solid defensive player who can go on occasionally hot streaks and possibly even carry the team some nights. So what's the problem? The position he was drafted is the problem.

I've always said that roster moves need to take into account how it impacts the team as a whole. If Bailey playing on the top line helps the team as a whole, then he should go there, no matter what. The same is true if he doesn't help the team there, he shouldn't go there.

My belief is that Nelson can adapt to play more roles than Bailey can, and that he'll still be able to put up more points than Bailey throughout the lineup. I don't think there would be much of a difference though between the production of the first line with Nelson vs Bailey, so we're better off finding Nelson a different spot to play. Maybe he's better on the PP though, so I'd have no issue with him going there. Even if Bailey ends up on the 3rd line in a defensive role, that's really fine, as long as he excels at it like he has in the past.

 

[redbull]

Isles get two shiny new toys (Grabo, Kuly) and we're all ready to dump Bailey. Have you seen Kulemin's stats the last few years? Wonder why nobody wanted Grabovski, why the Leafs bought him out, why Washington didn't want him back? Think these players aren't also risky and/ or flawed?

Do we really believe that Strome, Nelson, Lee are ready to make consistent contributions, at both ends of the rink, that makes Bailey expendable? I wish the Islanders had the luxury of 21 straight playoff appearances to make such decisions with confidence, backed by pedigree.

Bailey is a good hockey player and it's not any more complex than just that. His output (like with most NHLers) will vary greatly with context but he's effective when he's on the ice and if you don't see that, watch more closely.

He has consistency issues but so do a lot of NHLers. Tavares was also very inconsistent earlier in his career. Okposo up until the lockout year, last 20 games.

Let's not be quick to dump on our own just because there is a new name on the team or a hot shot rookie who excels in scrimmages. Justin Papineau scored 5 goals in a preseason game not too long ago.

#goislesgo

 

[LVIsles*]

Isles get two shiny new toys (Grabo, Kuly) and we're all ready to dump Bailey. Have you seen Kulemin's stats the last few years? Wonder why nobody wanted Grabovski, why the Leafs bought him out, why Washington didn't want him back? Think these players aren't also risky and/ or flawed?

Do we really believe that Strome, Nelson, Lee are ready to make consistent contributions, at both ends of the rink, that makes Bailey expendable? I wish the Islanders had the luxury of 21 straight playoff appearances to make such decisions with confidence, backed by pedigree.

Bailey is a good hockey player and it's not any more complex than just that. His output (like with most NHLers) will vary greatly with context but he's effective when he's on the ice and if you don't see that, watch more closely.

He has consistency issues but so do a lot of NHLers. Tavares was also very inconsistent earlier in his career. Okposo up until the lockout year, last 20 games.

Let's not be quick to dump on our own just because there is a new name on the team or a hot shot rookie who excels in scrimmages. Justin Papineau scored 5 goals in a preseason game not too long ago.

#goislesgo

Comparing Bailey to JT is a bit ridiculous, and Okposo made major changes such as seeing a sports shrink and training with JT to improve his game. What has Bailey done?

 

[GusTheo]

Comparing Bailey to JT is a bit ridiculous, and Okposo made major changes such as seeing a sports shrink and training with JT to improve his game. What has Bailey done?

He's comparing Bailey to young NHL players in general. He hasn't even hit his prime yet. And you don't know what Bailey has done, I don't think it was being promoted that KO was seeing a sports shrink, its something that came out later on. Maybe Bailey is doing the same, who knows.

But the hate that he receives on this board is unfathomable. They wonder why he disappears for 30 games at a time but don't question why he's playing with Jay Pandolfo, Marty Reasoner, Peter Regin, PMB, etc etc...

Whenever he's had a chance to play with talented line mates he's been effective. His passes are actually turned into opportunities instead of fumbled away.

People tend to crap on his hockey sense and vision, but I tend to think that he has very good vision. He just doesn't usually play with guys who can convert. He's not on JT's level (no duh) that he will make guys better around him even if they're scrubs. But that's ok, theres a handful of guys that are able to do that.

Put some talent around him, some guys that will be where they're supposed to be, creative guys, and watch him rack up 45+ assists playing with JT and KO while being defensively sound.

I'm not saying he's the end all be all. I know he's inconsistent, no ones pumping him up as the best thing since sliced bread. Just that he can be a very useful player for the Isles who was rushed, improperly utilized, and his development and use has been botched from day 1.

 

[First Blood]

He's comparing Bailey to young NHL players in general. He hasn't even hit his prime yet. And you don't know what Bailey has done, I don't think it was being promoted that KO was seeing a sports shrink, its something that came out later on. Maybe Bailey is doing the same, who knows.

But the hate that he receives on this board is unfathomable. They wonder why he disappears for 30 games at a time but don't question why he's playing with Jay Pandolfo, Marty Reasoner, Peter Regin, PMB, etc etc...

Whenever he's had a chance to play with talented line mates he's been effective. His passes are actually turned into opportunities instead of fumbled away.

People tend to crap on his hockey sense and vision, but I tend to think that he has very good vision. He just doesn't usually play with guys who can convert. He's not on JT's level (no duh) that he will make guys better around him even if they're scrubs. But that's ok, theres a handful of guys that are able to do that.

Put some talent around him, some guys that will be where they're supposed to be, creative guys, and watch him rack up 45+ assists playing with JT and KO while being defensively sound.

I'm not saying he's the end all be all. I know he's inconsistent, no ones pumping him up as the best thing since sliced bread. Just that he can be a very useful player for the Isles who was rushed, improperly utilized, and his development and use has been botched from day 1.

Bailey is going into his 7th NHL year, but granted he was poorly developed and was on some pretty bad Islander teams early on.

But he's also going to be 25 and has yet to crack 40 points.

When we look at his TOI (time on ice), he averaged 15:50 a game. When we compare that to other forwards with a similar TOI, he's right where he should be point production wise.

The thing with Bailey though is consistency... It always has been. But when we look at his PPG, 0.49, that's pretty impressive for a guy that Isles fans (including myself) like to chastise. He honestly wouldn't be that bad in a 3rd line role. If he wants top 6 minutes, he's going to have to earn it through camp.

I'm not afraid to admit this though - We drafted Bailey having the intention that he was going to be a top 6 forward. He hasn't proved that yet, but he is still a solid 3rd line player. When he is hot he is hot, but then he disappears. I think if he is still on the roster, he's going to surprise some fans this year. He is one of my big candidates for a break out player for us this year.

 

[First Blood]

Also if I may, he did set a career high in points last year. He's got no where to go but up, and the perpetual hating on him isn't going to change things. He is a player on our team, so it's childish to hate him. Although he is very frustrating at times

 

[LVIsles*]

He's comparing Bailey to young NHL players in general. He hasn't even hit his prime yet. And you don't know what Bailey has done, I don't think it was being promoted that KO was seeing a sports shrink, its something that came out later on. Maybe Bailey is doing the same, who knows.

But the hate that he receives on this board is unfathomable. They wonder why he disappears for 30 games at a time but don't question why he's playing with Jay Pandolfo, Marty Reasoner, Peter Regin, PMB, etc etc...

Whenever he's had a chance to play with talented line mates he's been effective. His passes are actually turned into opportunities instead of fumbled away.

People tend to crap on his hockey sense and vision, but I tend to think that he has very good vision. He just doesn't usually play with guys who can convert. He's not on JT's level (no duh) that he will make guys better around him even if they're scrubs. But that's ok, theres a handful of guys that are able to do that.

Put some talent around him, some guys that will be where they're supposed to be, creative guys, and watch him rack up 45+ assists playing with JT and KO while being defensively sound.

I'm not saying he's the end all be all. I know he's inconsistent, no ones pumping him up as the best thing since sliced bread. Just that he can be a very useful player for the Isles who was rushed, improperly utilized, and his development and use has been botched from day 1.

He has not earned first line duty so why place him there? He does not even go into the dirty areas of the game. Which would mean more wear and tear on JT. No thanks.

 

[scott99]

Let's talk about the gorilla in the room, Kevin Poulin. Apparently he played an excellent game and has had a good camp. Probably will secure the #1 spot at Bridgeport,but will also should be the first call up in case of injury (please hockey gods, no more goalie injuries).

 

[charlie1]

Sounded like Leggio played well also. Should be a healthy competition in BP.

 

[seafoam]

Can we even wait until we see Bailey live before we start bashing him?