I suspect that for people who want to come see NHL stars in their backyard, this may be a little underwhelming array: No Ovi (hey, that was a dream), no Tavares, etc., though a little Braden Holtby tonight, and Brooks Orpik is back in town. For those who love the prospects and the nuts-and-bolts of training camp (like this lunatic here), this is probably cool, with the Islanders’ four young first-round draft-pick forwards all dressed and all three bubble defensemen in the lineup and a few Bridgeport-bound PTOs joining them.
I’m curious how those in between feel. Or maybe I’m off-base entirely. Wouldn’t be the first time. At any rate, the early indications are that tonight’s crowd will look more like the time the Devils were here in 2006 than the three times the Bruins were here (including two sellouts). But a decent-enough group walked into the bowl as doors opened, so maybe people are walking up.
The Islanders sent Bracken Kearns and Ben Holmstrom down to the Sound Tigers after they cleared at noon. Expecting a Bridgeport camp roster tomorrow, when they meet for the first time. One tryout has been spilled already: Reading defenseman Derik Johnson, son of longtime NHL defenseman and coach Jim Johnson.
/cut /paste
BRIDGEPORT
F: Kearns (A)-Cliche-Collberg
Florek-B.Holmstrom (C)-Halmo
C.Jones-Fritz-Greco
Dal Colle-Gomes-Markison
D: Wotherspoon-Mayfield
Czuczman-Cullity
Lafranchise-Burroughs
G: Gibson
Williams
TORONTO
F:
Whoops. /select-all /delete
N.Y. ISLANDERS
F: Lee (A)-Beauvillier-Bailey (A)
Quine – Barzal – Ho-Sang
Dal Colle-Fritz-Markison
Johnston-C.Jones-Bernier
D: de Haan (A)-Pulock
Pelech-Mayfield*
Cullity-Graham
G: Berube
Gibson
WASHINGTON
F: Johansson (A)-Eller-Williams (A)
Vrana-Boyd-Galiev
Carey-Stephenson-Connolly
O’Brien-Malone-Barber
D: Orpik (A)-Lewington
Ness-Schmidt
Djoos-Bowey
G: Holtby
Vanecek
R: D. Lewis, L’Ecuyer. L: MacPherson, Cormier.
Kimber Auerbach, Aaron Ness, Kevin Putzig, Brooks Orpik in the house. @WaltonCaps sitting behind me. What year is this?
— Michael Fornabaio (@fornabaioctp) October 1, 2016
*-As it was in the beginning, is now…