Can the New York Islanders Establish the Right Chemistry Between Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal?

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Hi and welcome to the Lockdown Islanders Podcast, part of Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm your host, Gil Martin. I'm an Islanders columnist and historian, and I wrote the book Ice Wars, which covers the complete history of the Islanders rivalry with the Rangers from 1972 to the modern era. And welcome everybody to the Tuesday edition of the Lockdown Islanders Podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Want to thank everyone who makes Lockdown Islanders your first listen every day. Don't forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts or you can get new episodes as soon as they drop. You could also now find us on SiriusXM, on the SXM app. Let's do a search for Lockdown Islanders. We have got a lot to discuss on today's show, but first, if there's something Islanders related on your mind, feel free to send us an email to locked on Islanders at gmail.com. If you've got a question, a comment, maybe something you'd like us to discuss on a future episode, send us that email, and if you mention your first name and where you're from, we're happy to mention you on the show when we discuss whatever's on your mind. You can also follow the show on Twitter at locked on aisles and you can follow me, Gil Martin on Twitter at Ice Wars, N-Y-R-V-S-N-Y-I, we'll keep you up to date on all things Islanders from training camp to the preseason to all the 82 games of the regular season, we'll have it all for you here on locked on Islanders every Monday through Friday, and don't forget every day as we are back on a Monday through Friday schedule now, so we're back in full season mode from here until probably mid-July, so enjoy the ride with us as the Islanders get ready for 2023-2024. We're going to start looking at some of the important things that the Islanders kind of need to accomplish in order to make this season successful, and I guess the first thing is figuring out the chemistry between Bohorvat and Matthew Barson, now we're going to talk a little bit about this more or less every day between now and the start of the season, and again this is sort of going to be important, all of the factors that we're bringing up in determining how successful the New York Islanders are going to be, and you go back and the Islanders brought in Bohorvat to be a guy who brings out the best in Matthew Barsol and vice versa, and to add more offense. And obviously last year that didn't quite happen, not the way the Islanders planned it out, and why, well one, there were a lot of factors, let's not kid ourselves, but one of them was that after, what was it, six games into the, after the trade, Matthew Barsol injured, misses the rest of the regular season, yeah comes back for the playoffs, but isn't in, you know, playoff shape, and just did not get enough time with Bohorvat to really establish that chemistry, so Bohorvat ends up playing 30 games for the Islanders after the trade, seven goals, 16 points, barely a point every other game, and you go back to those six games before the injury, and the trade actually goes through on the 30th of January and the first game that they had was February 6th, his debut with the Islanders does not Bohorvat know points, then against Seattle, a goal against his former team Vancouver, a goal and an assist, a goal the following game in Montreal, and then two games with no scoring, realistically in those six games you have three goals and one assist, which is certainly a better point production than you got from Bohorvat after Matthew Barsol got hurt, but it's tough, it's really tough to say that in those six games there was real chemistry between those two players, they were still in the stage of sort of getting a feel for what the other player does and how it works, and you know if I do this where can I expect the other one to be, so there still is something that needs to be worked out between those two players, and obviously they were brought in to complement each other and to help each other, but there are a lot of caveats, and one of them is that obviously if these two guys are going to be linemates, one of them has to move from their natural center position while the other one has to go to the stick at center, one is on the wing, Bohorvat basically say hopefully we can rekindle what we had, I mean it was a lot of fun to play with him when he was healthy, it was tough for him, especially him coming back into a playoff series the way he did, that's never easy, and I'm just looking forward to both of us getting a training camp under our belt, and kind of hitting the ground running. Meanwhile, Bohorvat tells the hockey news that they are going to be together, he says that's the plan right now, like I said last year when he first got in, we were flying and then the playoffs, I was coming back from an injury, so I couldn't really quite find it like we probably wanted to, but you look at the skill sets and what not, having us together should work, so I'm looking forward to it, and look if this works, it's going to be huge for the islanders to get both of these players going, but there's one other thing that you have to take into consideration, and that is who fills that third spot on the line with Barsal and Boh, and again every dayers know that in my opinion it should not be Andrews Lee, and that's not to say Andrews Lee is not the best available left wing on the roster right now, he probably is, but his style is too similar to Bohorvat's, and having them on the same line just wouldn't be efficient, and wouldn't maximize the talent of either player, so who do you need? In my mind you want somebody who is going to shoot the puck, why? Well, you would have Bohorvat in front of the goal for tips, deflections, rebounds, and the like, you'd have Matthew Barsal to pass and to skate the puck into the zone, and then you'd have that shooter to shoot the puck set up Bohorvat for tips, rebounds, and deflections, and get the puck on net, ideally that's the chemistry you want, so while I am confident that Bohorvat and Matthew Barsal, given a full training camp and a pre-season and some time to work together, can get the job done, getting somebody who's not afraid to shoot the puck as that third line mate I think remains a key for this team, who is that going to be? You got a number of possible candidates on this roster, I have to think that Oliver Wallstrom is a candidate, I have to think Pierre Engvall is a possibility, Anders Lee is going to remain a possibility, even though I don't think he should be, and could you possibly move Casey Cezzykis up, I don't think that's a good fit, I think that's more or less Uncle Leo on the first line all over again, although Cezzykis I think is a little better offensively than Uncle Leo was, but overall I want to see a shooter, whoever it's going to be on that top line with Boh and Barsal, the question remains whether or not Lane Lambert and Lula Morello find somebody to fit that role and get the most out of all three players, all right we have got a lot more to discuss on today's episode, we are going to talk about Alexander Romanov's status training camp opening for veterans later this week, he probably will not be ready to play then, plus a few odds and ends to tie up from rookie camp, and our Islanders bursting of the day, an original Islander who won the Stanley Cup the year before the Islanders were born and enjoying the Islanders who then had the worst record in the history of the NHL up until that point, let's see if you can guess who that is, we've got all that and more on today's locked on Islanders podcast. 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While it's almost time for your favorite NHL team to start the Chase for Lord Stanley's Cup, you might have a cup of your own to chase after, so check out Lockdown Podcast Networks Lockdown Fantasy Hockey to help secure your own fantasy championship. For 30 minutes every day, our all-star team of Steel Rodin and Flip Living Stone bring you the latest player insights, trend-setting draft strategies and trade secrets to propel you to the top of your lead. Don't settle for mediocrity, aim for fantasy greatness with Lockdown Fantasy Hockey, available on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. So a little update on Alexander Romanov and I know this came out last week, but we sort of let it slip through the cracks. As of right now, Romanov dealing with a shoulder injury had surgery during the off season and still no word officially from either Lulamorello, who last week basically said that Romanov may not be ready, but he probably will be close and Lane Lambert, who finally spoke to the media earlier this week and basically did not give an update on Alexander Romanov. So officially an upper body injury, the question is whether or not Romanov will be ready to start training camp. And you know what? I'll say this, if let's say it takes a week that Romanov is not ready. Let's even say 10 days, two weeks, whatever it is. As long as it's not a significant amount of time and he has time to get ready to play, to be in hockey shape by the time October 14th rolls around, I'm not worried and I'll tell you why. It gives the islanders a chance to take a longer look at some of the young defensemen. And the first guy, look, you have two players on the left side battling for what is likely the, you know, third pair left defensemen spot. And you're talking about Sebastian Aho on the one side, on the one hand, and Samuel Boldouk on the other. And you'll be able to see more of both of them in the first week of camp. You'll also be able to take a look at Robin Salo, who is a left shot defenseman. Isaiah George is a left shot defenseman, Dennis Chalowski, a left shot defenseman. Give these guys a little more ice time and a little more work to do and get a better feel for how they are. The good news is that nobody seems to think that this injury delay with Alexander Romanov is going to be significant. And, you know, Alexander Romanov, when a lot of people forget, he's still only 23 years old. He is roughly the same age as Noah Dopson. But everybody seems to view Dopson as a young kid and Romanov not as much. So I think it's important to understand that Romanov, who looked much better in the second half of the season than he did in the first, still hasn't probably reached his full NHL potential and can become a solid second pair physical defensive defenseman. If he could just, you know, take his game up another notch. He certainly did a very good job of it this past year down the stretch. And, you know, after adjusting to the Islander system and to his teammates and to life on the island, I think he's got a pretty good chance of taking it up another notch this year. So if it goes according to plan and Alexander Romanov misses, let's say, four days a week, a week and a half of the beginning of training camp. That doesn't worry me. It gives you more of a chance to look at Bolduke, to look at Aho, to look at some of the other young players and give them a chance to make an impression on the coaching staff, get more reps with the experienced NHL players. All of these things really will benefit the Islanders in the long run. And again, if it's not a long break for Romanov and he's ready to start the season, I think it's all good as far as the Islanders are concerned. So hopefully, again, this injury is nothing, you know, significant. The surgery took place during the off season. He should be ready to go in time for the regular season. And maybe there is still a chance that he is ready to go when training camp gets underway. And I for one, I am very eager to see if Romanov can take his game to the next level. It's important in my mind that, you know, if he can do that, we've talked about a number of keys for the Islanders to get better even though the roster is more or less the same. And I think Alejandra Romanov, making that jump in his second season with the team is another one of those factors that really could help the Islanders out. And again, getting a look, a longer look at Bolduke and Aho and some of the other kids also a very good thing for the Islanders organization. And, you know, to me, that battle is probably the biggest battle in training camp, where one player is going to make the roster. The other one probably also make the roster, but not going to see the ice as much. Wouldn't shock me if both of them end up playing for the first 10 games, maybe even alternating games, or Lane Lambert ends up playing the hot hand. All of these things will be determined during training camp preseason and the like. So we'll see how it goes, but I think overall, not worried at this point about Alexander Romanov and that injury and really looking forward to seeing what he can do during the year. Alright, we have got even more to talk about on today's show. We'll tie up rookie camp, which came to a conclusion. And, you know, some news about some of the players in rookie camp. Always looking forward to training camp. And we'll talk a little bit about that as well. Plus our Islanders birthday the day all that and more on today's Lockdown Islanders podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by Jace Medical Jacek. Everyone should be empowered to care for themselves and their loved one during the unexpected. That's why Jace Medical offers the Jacek case. The Jacek case provides five life-saving antibiotics for emergency use and gives you a piece of mind so that you're not just hoping that you have access to medication in an emergency. Jace Medical make sure you have the medication in hand. Jace Medical is simple. They handle everything from the online evaluation to license pharmacy medication delivery and ongoing consultation and care. So don't get caught on prepared save more than $360 by getting these life-saving antibiotics with Jace Medical plus an additional $20 off by using code Lockdown at checkout at jacemedical.com. That's J-A-S-E medical.com promo code Lockdown. If you're a business owner listen up. Your company could be mentioned right here. With the NHL season right around the corner Lockdown has a special local's only NHL kickoff package. Two local businesses yes only two local businesses can sponsor this podcast for the upcoming NHL season. Find out how you can get this exclusive sponsorship and hear your business on this podcast. Text the word advertising to 33777 or visit LockdownPodcast.com slash advertising and let us know who you are. Our team will assist you to achieve advertising success with Lockdown. Once again, text the word advertising to 33777 or visit LockdownPodcast.com slash advertising. We look forward to hearing from you. Rookie Camp coming to a close and pretty excited. All things considered a little bit of news now. Cali Odilius heading back to Europe right now. His plan is to come to North America and play in Bridgeport not this year but for 2024 2025 so he will be back in Sweden this year and I think there is an advantage to that he will be playing against adults and playing in the best league in Sweden so I think you sort of have a look at that and again little news on Odilius Rick Kowalski who is now the head coach of the Bridgeport Islanders had this to say about Odilius he moves well a good skater. It's the first time seeing him for me but it looks like there's some offensive ability there. I was impressed overall with the one-on-ones and how he defended and competed down low and you know Odilius basically admitting that there wasn't adjustment for him coming to a the the narrower North American rank. He basically said it's much faster here you have to make quicker reads here than back in Sweden. So Odilius going to be back in Sweden this year with the expectation that he comes to probably Bridgeport in 2024 2025 so that is the plan as of right now and again hopefully that pans out meanwhile rookie camp going to come to a close and then what do we have? Well Wednesday the veterans all report when they come in they will take their physicals and then Thursday for the first time the full Islanders roster or at least those players that are healthy will hit the ice for the 2023 2024 season so really looking forward to that it is again one of those things where you just sit there and say yeah hockey is in the air and we are very much looking forward to seeing how this team looks and how they do when they go out there and hit the ice so exciting times now always you know always a lot of anticipation I really look forward to the start of training camp there is a certain amount of optimism yeah I know I know that this team is very much similar to the team that lost in the first round and barely squeaked into the playoffs but hey every dayers if you follow us for the rest of the training camp and preseason we're going to go over some reasons why this team really could be better and what the keys are for making this team improve this year and I think it's possible I'm not saying they're magically going to become a Stanley Cup contender but I think there's enough talent on this team especially in goal to have this team fight and compete for a playoff spot and when you've got one of the better goalies in the NHL if not the best goalie in the NHL in Ilya Sirokin you can steal and win any playoff series so lots to think about hopefully this will be an entertaining and better season for the New York Islanders but look we'll take it one game at a time I feel that nip in the air it's hockey weather and I am really really looking forward to the start of the new season all right time now for our Islanders birthday of the day and there's a lot of really good Islanders birthdays this week let's see if anyone got the Islanders birthday of the day right an original Islander who turns 83 years old today he won a Stanley Cup in 1971-72 with the Boston Bruins and then join the Islanders who only won 12 out of 78 games in their first season of course I'm talking about the captain Ed Westfall first captain in Islanders history and a player after he retired who went on to work along with Jigs McDonald on television broadcast and was really a big part of Islanders culture during the the Dynasty years not as a player but as a broadcaster so Ed Westfall always great one of the better penalty killers in the NHL and also could put the puck in the net 25 goals and 59 points for the Bruins and 70 71 22 goals for the Islanders and 74 75 and another 25 and 75 76 during the long 7 1975 playoff run in 17 games five goals 15 points so 18 a big part of the Islanders success we look at one of his better games with the Islanders October 28th 1974 at the old barn the Nassau Veterans Memorial Colosseum the old California golden seals visit and Ed Westfall shining in this game he gets one of two hat tricks that he had as a New York Islander Billy Smith the goalie for the Islanders Gary the Cobra Simmons gets the start for the seals and for Ed Westfall he hadn't scored yet here were the Islanders playing in their eighth game and he didn't have any goals in the first seven gets two in the second period including one on the power play and then one in the third Islanders crush the seals by a score of 10 to 1 in this game Islanders finished with 47 shots on goal compared to just 28 for the seals in addition to the hat trick for Westfall a hat trick and an assist for Billy McMillan three assists for Ralph Stewart in this game and Dennis Potman added three assists as well one-sided win and Ed Westfall the one thing you can't forget about Westfall how much leadership he added especially in 1975 when most of the Islanders players didn't have a lot of playoff experience it was guys like Ed Westfall and Jew Drew An and J.P. Parisa's axe dad who really helped the Islanders get through that playoff run with you know getting those young guys to feel more comfortable with the playoff situation I want to thank everyone again for making locked-on Islanders your first listen every day every day or tomorrow on the show we're going to have some more factors that are key to the Islanders success and improvement coming up this year plus some more notes as rookie camp comes to a close have a great day everybody stay safe and of course let's go Islanders James Allen dot com is the online destination to easily design a customized engagement ring and save up to 50 percent compared to traditional stores you pick a diamond whether it's lab created or Earth created James Allen has over 200,000 conflict free stones then you pick your ring setting and metal and if you need some help they have real-time diamond consultations available where an expert can walk you through it all get 25 percent off your order at james Allen dot com code locked on that's james Allen dot com code locked on if you're a business owner listen up your company could be mentioned right here with the NHL season right around the corner locked on has a special locals only NHL kickoff package to local businesses yes only to local businesses can sponsor this podcast for the upcoming NHL season find out how you can get this exclusive sponsorship and hear your business on this podcast text the word advertising to 33777 or visit locked on podcasts dot com slash advertising and let us know who you are our team will assist you to achieve advertising success with locked on once again text the word advertising to 33777 or visit locked on podcasts dot com slash advertising we look forward to hearing from you