Day 1, Group 2

Computer’s in midseason form.

Don’t Call It Bridgeport. But there was something resembling Bridgeport on the ice together in Syosset this morning while a different group went at Nassau Coliseum.

Forward lines:
Halmo-Quine-Kabanov
Gallant-Clark-Johnson
Diamond-Miller-Lee
Persson-Wetmore-Bruton

Defensemen, not necessarily in pairs (not least because there was still an odd number and they changed up) but an I-think-I-saw-them-this-way-once kind of thing:

Finley-Martinek
de Haan-Dalhuisen
Cantin-Jackson
Ness-Mayfield
Pedan-Pulock
Keenan

Saw a bit of Keenan on the right, too, I thought, and maybe de Haan. Hit traffic and was kind of scrambly to get down who was who.

And in goal, Nilsson/Reiter.

Probably the most notable that stayed up with the main group (16 forwards including Clutterbuck, eight defensemen, two goalies) were Ryan Strome, Johan Sundstrom and Brock Nelson up front and Matt Donovan on defense. Obviously most notable in the Iceworks group were Joe Finley and Radek Martinek.

They stress that this is just a second group of New York Islanders camp. They had the NHL crest and TV numbers on the front of the helmets and everything, and there are NHL preseason games this weekend to come. If they switched things up on the margins, hey, things are possible.

The later group, on the other hand, was the official on-ice start of Bridgeport Sound Tigers training camp. Six forwards (Mathieu Coderre-Gagnon is skating up front, and a late addition was another Stockton-contract forward, Ryan Hayes) and four defensemen, plus goalie Parker Milner, went through about an hour of skill-development drills.

“It was really good, especially with the smaller group here, to evaluate individual skills,” Scott Pellerin said. “We talked about communication, calling for the puck, laying all the foundation for the Sound Tigers. Bernie (Cassell) did a great job setting up the development process of the skills they have.”

It’s a young group, even with the NHL defensemen tacked on.

“I like the team,” Andrey Pedan said. “It’s a tighter group of guys. It’s more of a team.”

….

Post on rules changes a little later. They’re few in number, though a couple are of note.

Speaking of which, really, I only had one question today. And Brett Gallant wanted to stress that he didn’t go out there for that second fight, when he and Krys Barch took each other’s helmets off to avoid the extra minors, looking to make a joke or a statement or anything.

“I wasn’t trying to make a mockery of the NHL,” Gallant said. “They put rules in place to keep players safe. (Barch) doesn’t have to wear a visor. I’ve got to wear a visor. I know what it’s like to hit a visor. You can really cut your hands up. I wanted a fair fight.” Barch obliged and away they went.

Got a couple of features (maybe more) coming during the week, but more tomorrow for sure.

Michael Fornabaio