On the Islanders Beat

All along, coach Ted Nolan said his lineup for the final exhibition game this afternoon at Boston would be very close to the one that begins the regular season Friday in Buffalo. Well, here it is, and there are a couple of surprises.

The top two lines are as expected. Mike Comrie is centering Ruslan Fedotenko on his left and Bill Guerin on his right, and Mike Sillinger is with left wing Jonathan Sim and right wing Trent Hunter. Third line center Josef Vasicek is paired with right wing Miroslav Satan, as they have been throughout training camp, but veteran Andy Hilbert is starting at left wing on that line in place of Jeff Tambellini.

If Tambellini is going to have an impact, he needs to be playing on a line that gets significant ice time, but he has been dropped to left wing on the fourth line with center Richard Park and – here’s another surprise – enforcer Darryl Bootland at right wing. Maybe Bootland is going to hold Chris Simon’s spot until he finishes serving the final five games of his 25-game suspension from last season.

Noticeably absent from the forward lines is Sean Bergenheim, who has a one-way contract. Could it be that Tambellini, who has a two-way deal, is being given a last chance to show something before being sent to Bridgeport and replaced by Bergenheim?

The top two defensive pairings are obvious – Brendan Witt is back with Radek Martinek now that the latter has recovered from his fractured left leg, and Andy Sutton is with Marc-Andre Bergeron. The third pairing includes free agent Bryan Berard with Bruno Gervais. That leaves vets Chris Campoli and Freddy Meyer as the odd men out along with Aaron Johnson, who has a two-way deal. Rick DiPietro is the starting goaltender, of course, ahead of Wade Dubielewicz.

Berard has not yet been signed by the Islanders. That decision likely will be made on Monday. If he gets a contract and winds up quarterbacking the power play, then, the Isles have to decide if they will carry Campoli and Meyer as extra defensemen rather than send them to the AHL and expose them to waivers. They ran a lean ship last season when they only rarely had as much as one extra body on the NHL roster, but the need for defensive depth might change that approach.

Coach Ted Nolan is said by the team to be scheduled to return to Long Island today after attending his brother’s funeral. But he is not in Boston to coach or comment on the lineup. So, most questions will have to wait until later in the week for good answers.

You don’t see many games anymore like the fight-fest the Islanders had against the Rangers Monday night at Nassau Coliseum, and when you do, it’s usually in the preseason when points in the standings aren’t at stake. But that doesn’t mean tough guys have gone the way of the dodo bird in the NHL.

The Isles failed to re-sign free agent Arron Asham last summer when he asked for a raise over the $900,000 he was making after an 11-goal season, so, now they’ll have to face him every time they play the division rival Devils. But it’s not as though Islanders general manager Garth Snow ignored the need for toughness over the summer. The list of free agents he signed includes Darryl Bootland, Kip Brennan, Gordie Dwyer, Tim Jackman and Matthew Spiller, all of whom pack a wallop.

Most likely, they will spend the majority of their time with Bridgeport this season, which should be fun for Sound Tigers fans, but there undoubtedly will be times when the Isles call on their services. For instance, Bootland, Brennan and Jackman are expected to dress for tonight’s Rangers rematch at the Garden because the Islanders likely will sit out veteran Chris Simon, who was the target of so much Rangers venom on Monday, and goaltender Rick DiPietro, who came to Simon’s defense after he was jumped by two Rangers.

Earlier this week, the Rangers’ Sean Avery, who sat out the game at the Coliseum, said he was looking forward to the resumption of hostilities at the Garden. “He talks a lot,” Brennan said. “Obviously, everybody wants to be playing in a high-energy game like that. He’s a player who likes that kind of play as well.”

Avery is known as more of a pest than an enforcer, with all his yapping and his provocative tactics to get opponents off their games, and he had enough skill to total 18 goals and 48 points last season. If he takes on a guy like Brennan, it will be a surprise.

“I’ve been playing long enough that I know my role,” said Brennan, who was ejected on Monday after a fight with Rangers enforcer Colton Orr. “I know what I have to do. They’ve brought in a few players this year to help out the team. It’s definitely a tough job. You have to be willing to go out there on any given night and fight for your teammates. That’s what it’s all about, brawling and scratching at the end of the line.

“You have to definitely like it to do it. It’s part of the game. It’s taken a different [tack] in the last couple years, but it’s still there. You have to have toughness in the lineup so no one gets to take cheap shots.”

Asked if he thought Orr and the Rangers’ Ryan Hollweg were running around trying to take shots at Simon, who still has five games left on his 25-game suspension for a stick-swinging incident last season in which he hit Hollweg, Brennan drew a distinction between true tough guys and the pseudo variety.

“I know Orr,” Brennan said. “He’s a respectable player. He doesn’t take cheap shots. Hollweg was definitely trying to stir things up.”

Like Avery, Bootland was on the sidelines Monday for the Islanders, and he’s looking forward to getting a taste of the action tonight at the Garden. He’s been in the Detroit organization the past four seasons, so, the Eastern Conference is new to him. Bootland has some real hockey skill. He had 27 goals and 29 assists two years ago with Grand Rapids in the AHL and scored another 18 goals as part of his 31 points last season with the same team. But he knows the primary reason the Islanders wanted him.

“It doesn’t make it tougher when you have to go out and fight,” Bootland said. “Just enjoy it. I’ve always said I play better when somebody’s trying to kill me. It’s definitely part of my game. If I can come in and fill spots and I can bring a little toughness to the game, that’s what I’ve got to do out there. I know that, and I’m prepared for it.”

Boxing is part of the summer training regimen for all enforcers. In Bootland’s case, he works in Ontario with a trainer named Jamie Fawcett who has experience in ultimate fighting and kickboxing. Of course, fighting on ice adds a different degree of difficulty.

“You try to get stronger, and the more you fight, the more you learn,” Bootland said. “We do a lot of boxing on the ice and off the ice. When you’re skating since you were two years old, you can stand up a little easier than the average guy. Balance is one of the big things, and you work on it every day.”

In addition to the technique he has picked up from Fawcett, Bootland said, “You watch everybody. You watch guys fight before you play against them. It’s a good thing for youtube.com. That’s all I’ll say.”

Asked if he keeps a book on potential opponents, Bootland said he also relies on scouting reports from fellow combatants. “You just know because you talk around,” Bootland explained. “I ask Si and I ask Kippy and everybody that knows. They all help each other out.”

You know, like brothers in the same foxhole.

Chris Simon enters the 2007-08 season with five games remaining on his 25-game suspension for his two-hander to Ryan Hollweg’s chops back on March 8. But after the Islanders-Rangers melee Monday night at Nassau Coliseum, it’s possible more time could be tacked on to Simon’s suspension because of the match penalty he received after three tilts with Hollweg in the Isles’ 5-4 exhibition win in overtime. That will be up to the commissioner's office and dean of discipline Colin Campbell.

“I saw he got a match penalty,” Islanders coach Ted Nolan said of Simon. “That was no way a match penalty. We saw it on tape. Everything in preseason, they’re a little rusty. That’s one of those things where Garth [general manager Snow] will speak on that later.”

In two of the altercations between Simon and Hollweg, the referees could have called a third man in penalty against the Rangers, but they didn’t. Colton Orr received a high-sticking minor when he came at Simon while he was engaged with Hollweg early in the second period, and Jason Strudwick received a minor in the second period brawl that resulted in six players being thrown out of the game, including Simon, Kip Brennan and Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro along with Strudwick, Orr and Rangers goaltender Al Montoya.

“I believe in man-to-man combat, not man-to-two-men combat,” Nolan said. “Somebody can take care of themselves, but not having two guys jump on one guy all the time. That’s what they did. Simon handled himself the first time pretty good, but he got jumped the second time from behind, so, that’s why Ricky jumped in.”

The last thing the Islanders need is to see DiPietro get hurt, especially in something as silly as a brawl. But there was the franchise goaltender going to Simon’s aid by pulling Strudwick off his back and wrestling him to the ice, where DiPietro punched away. When DiPietro got to his feet and saw Montoya come skating past him, he called on the Rangers’ goaltender to do the honorable thing and shed his gear for a fight, which Montoya did. DiPietro had the courage to challenge former teammate Arron Asham, a proven dangerous NHL fighter, in a practice bout last year, so, Montoya wasn’t going to be much of a problem. But when he pulled Montoya down on top of him, DiPietro landed on his back with his unprotected head inches from the ice. Considering DiPietro’s two concussions last season, it was a dangerous spot, but he was able to get out from under and fire several punches at Montoya.

Despite the risk to his own health, it was hard not to like the competitiveness DiPietro displayed and the loyalty to his teammates. “You don’t usually worry about a guy like Si, but when he’s trying to fight two guys, you’ve got to get your nose dirty,” DiPietro said. “Whatever I can do to help out a teammate in need, I’m going to do it.”

Asked if he considered the risk of another concussion, DiPietro said, “No, at that moment, you’re worried about your guys. That’s all that matters at that moment is protecting your guys, protecting each other. I thought we did a good job of sticking together. That’s what good teams do. They stick together and fight and do whatever they have to do to get a win. We did that tonight.”

Not only did the Islanders fight for each other, but they also came back from a 4-1 deficit to win the game. A host of top Rangers were scratched, including Jaromir Jagr, Scott Gomez and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who avoided a confrontation with the feared Ice Girls, but in such a crazy game, those details don’t really matter. What matters is the esprit de corps shown by the Islanders. It’s the kind of thing that got them to the playoffs last season and that could go a long ways toward bringing them together for a fast start this season.

Of course, when it comes to a potential rematch Friday at Madison Square Garden, discretion might be the better part of valor. Avoiding any unnecessary injuries before the season seems like a good idea, but you know DiPietro will play in the Garden and Nolan would not say whether Simon will be in the lineup with a target on his back.

“Simon has to get game-ready because he’s going to miss the first five games of the regular season,” Nolan said. “We didn’t play him in the game tonight to [fight]. We played him to get him ready for when he misses five games at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, that happened, so, we’ll make up our lineup in the next couple days heading into the Garden.”

Having once been a part of the Battle of Alberta between Calgary and his former team in Edmonton, new Islanders center Mike Comrie understands that the rivalry doesn’t stop just because it’s the preseason.

If anything, a laughing Comrie said at this morning's skate before making his home debut against the Rangers tonight, “It’s usually a little bit worse. You’ve got guys from both sides trying to make names for themselves and impress management. We’re all trying to get ready for the first regular-season game, but we all want to work hard and show each other we’re ready to play. It’s always a lot of fun playing against an organization’s rivals.”

New Isles captain Bill Guerin, who will play on Comrie’s right wing didn’t downplay the importance of tonight’s contest, either. He understands how far these games go toward helping the Islanders and Rangers define themselves.

“It’s pretty important,” Guerin said. “For us these are the biggest games of the year against the Rangers, and we’re at home. You want to get off on the right foot. You don’t want to stumble out of the gate. The best thing is just to relax and play, but there is some importance for us.

“You’ve got the guys who were there all the time, but the new guys coming in want to be a part of it right away. They want to show they belong. The best stage to do it on is against your biggest opponents.”

New Rangers centers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury were among the free agents to whom the Isles made offers on July 1, so Comrie realizes his performance will be measured closely against theirs. But Comrie has extensive experience against Drury, who played for Colorado and Calgary when Comrie was with the Oilers.

“He’s a great hockey player,” Comrie said of Drury. “The Rangers made some very good acquisitions, but you win as a group and lose as a group. As athletes, we worry about ourselves and what we have to do as a team and not so much about our opponents as individuals. Playing with Billy and Ruslan [left wing Fedotenko], we know we’ve got to be ready to play, especially the eight games that we play against each of our division rivals.”

Islanders coach Ted Nolan said he expects to go with a predominantly veteran lineup in the Rangers games tonight and Friday at Madison Square Garden and in the final exhibition Sunday in Boston. More young players will be added to the lineup for road games against the Devils Wednesday at Lowell, Mass. and in a rematch Saturday night at Bridgeport.

Five of the Islanders’ six free-agent signees will be in the lineup tonight, including Comrie, Guerin and Fedotenko on the top line, second-line center Josef Vasicek and defenseman Andy Sutton. Only Jonathan Sim will sit out along with linemates Mike Sillinger and Trent Hunter. Others scratched tonight include veteran center Richard Park, forward Darryl Bootland and defensemen Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais.

Vasicek will center a line with Miroslav Satan and Jeff Tambellini; Sean Bergenheim, Andy Hilbert and Blake Comeau, likely will skate on the third line, and the fourth line consists of Chris Simon, Jeremy Colliton and Kip Brennan. It won’t be surprising if the latter line mixes it up with the Rangers.

“I still think the intensity will be there whether it’s an exhibition game or a playoff game,” Nolan said. “The intensity’s always there when you play your archrival, but we have to take into consideration that it’s still training camp and we’re still evaluating. We’re trying to give people a chance to make the final roster.”

The remainder of the training camp roster has been assigned to AHL Bridgeport with the exception of the five players who were returned to their juniors teams Saturday. The Islanders’ 29-man roster now numbers 18 forwards (including injured Shawn Bates), nine defensemen and two goaltenders.

The numbers game says Blake Comeau likely is headed back to Bridgeport for another season before he’s ready to make a serious run at an NHL job. But Islanders coach Ted Nolan says no one should take their position for granted.

That means Jeff Tambellini, Sean Bergenheim and Andy Hilbert, all of whom came to training camp ahead of Comeau on the depth chart, shouldn’t look back because Comeau might be gaining on them. All four forwards are scheduled to play in the Islanders’ exhibition game against Montreal tonight at Bell Centre.

On Wednesday in Moncton, Nolan gave Comeau a shot to play on a line with veterans Mike Sillinger and Trent Hunter in the Isles’ 3-1 win over the Canadiens. The coach liked what he saw.

“We want the 20 best players,” Nolan said. “Sometimes, people think you have to get the best skill players. No, we’re looking for the right players. Comeau is making a good fight for it right now. I just like his hockey ability and his hockey sense.”

On the surface, it would seem Comeau, who totaled 12 goals and 31 assists in 61 games with the Sound Tigers last season, might need to step up his scoring to make the big club. But Nolan said, “You look at Andy Hilbert last year, and I don’t think he had a point for 25 games. We just want people who have some intelligence and compete.”

Nolan has praised Hilbert for his work ethic and for the way he played hurt in the playoffs, but Hilbert could be dropped to the fourth line. Veteran Jonathan Sim is penciled in with Sillinger and Hunter, while Tambellini and Bergenheim tentatively are listed with the second and fourth lines, respectively. However, it’s clear Nolan always has been partial to Comeau.

“I think he’s got a bit of confidence in me,” Comeau said. “He’s put me out there in situations where I’m killing penalties and playing four-on-four. I think he wants to give me an opportunity in preseason to see the kind of player I am and see what I can do. I like to play the power forward style and play physical. If I do end up making the team, it’s going to be because I am playing gritty and working hard.”

For now, Comeau is trying not to get too excited about his prospects or read anything into the opportunity he’s being given. “You start thinking a whole lot,” Comeau said, “and your game usually goes downhill. I’m trying not to think about it.”

NOLAN’S SPEECH: When camp opened, I mentioned the Islanders planned to make a gesture to the Moncton community related to the deaths of four 16-year-old high school boys in a tragic car accident. Ted Nolan made good on that pledge with a passionate speech to an assembly at Harrison Trimble High School recently. The Islanders’ coach was introduced as a person who had overcome adversity in the form of his father’s sudden death when Ted was 14 and the loss of his mother seven years later when she was killed by a drunk driver.

Choking back his own emotions, Nolan related his personal misfortune to that of the students when he spoke of how he wished his parents could have seen him play in the NHL. “I look up in the stands all the time for every game that I’ve played or every game that I’ve coached,” Nolan said, “and they have the best seats in the world. Your friends are probably watching over you from the best seats. Never forget them…enjoy your lives, but don’t forget.”

CORRECTION – Several readers were quick to catch two recent errors I made. The Isles’ first goal in their 3-1 win over Montreal on Monday did come on the power play. I was incorrect when I called it in to the paper even though my notes showed a power-play goal. In another recent story, I said former Islander Gerry Hart’s name was on the Stanley Cup. That was wishful thinking on my part. Unfortunately, he was traded the year before the Isles won the first of four straight Cups in 1980. Hey, it’s training camp for writers, too.

For Shawn Bates, the highlight of his days at training camp has been the afternoon rounds of golf he’s played with buddy Rick DiPietro. If not for that, Bates said the other day, he’d have nothing to take his mind off the long hours of rehab for his abdomen injury and his uncertain future on the ice.

Back in the spring, Bates was pushing to come back from a groin injury in the hope of playing by the end of the Islanders’ first-round playoff series in Buffalo. He pushed too hard.

While the team was in Buffalo, Bates suffered a major setback after a solo workout at the Isles’ practice facility in Syosset. “I knew it was bad,” Bates said. “I was skating by myself and feeling good. It was one of those days where I went home, and I started internally bleeding and had to get rushed to the hospital. I spent the whole day in the hospital. It was a tough thing to go through.”

Bates still is going through problems related to the injury. The combination of undergoing surgery for a sports hernia and trying to strengthen the groin and abdomen area that is crucial to his ability to be a strong skater still is bothering him after six months of rehabilitation. He’s continuing to work out on his own at camp, but no comeback will be attempted until he is 100 percent healthy.

“Right now, no, I don’t think it’s career threatening,” said Bates, who has two years remaining on his contract. “It’s a matter of getting the proper rehab and the proper strengthening. It’s going to take some time to get back. With this type of injury, you don’t want to come back at 75 percent because you’re vulnerable to doing something [to reinjure it] if you’re compensating. You want to be sure it’s 100 percent. I wouldn’t be the happiest person if I came back and got hurt in the first week.”

When Bates finally does return, he’s going to find a crowded situation at center. The Islanders signed free agent Josef Vasicek to center the second line and are using veteran Richard Park to center the fourth line. Prospect Frans Nielsen has added 15 pounds of muscle and is looking good in camp, and the Isles also traded for Ben Walter, who scored 67 points for Providence in the AHL last season.

Speaking of general manager Garth Snow, Bates said, “Snowy has a job to do, and that’s to put a team out on the ice. I’m not ready to start the season. You need four lines, and that’s what he’s done. I’m not worried about it, but I’m working hard to get back. We’ll see what happens when the time comes.

“It gets to you mentally. But you can’t let it bother you because it will just get worse and worse. You try to keep a positive attitude and come to the rink every day and work hard.”

CAMP NOTES: Former Moncton Wildcats Chris Gaudet and Andy McDonald will be in the lineup for Wednesday night’s exhibition game against Montreal at the Moncton Coliseum. Blake Comeau, Gordie Dwyer and Tim Jackman also will get a look among the prospects. Free agent signees Mike Comrie, Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko and Andy Sutton also will make their exhibition debuts as Islanders. Rick DiPietro is expected to play the first two periods in goal before giving way to Wade Dubielewicz.

Coach Ted Nolan wasn’t too impressed with his team’s performance in the second exhibition game, a 3-1 loss to Boston that came after a long day on which the Isles flew to North Bay, Ontario for their opening 4-3 overtime loss to Atlanta and then made the long flight to St. Johns, Newfoundland to meet a Bruins team that had a veteran-dominated roster. But Nolan said free agent center Josef Vasicek followed a poor opening game with a solid effort against the Bruins, including a fight he won with Andrew Ference. “You look for guys to step up,” Nolan said. “Vasicek, with his skill and the way he can dish the puck, certainly can do that. The one thing we’re looking for is a little bit more competitiveness. In the second game, he showed that, so, now we know there’s something to build on.”

The reviews for two other young forwards, Sean Bergenheim and Jeff Tambellini, were not so glowing. “Bergenehim was a little bit rusty in the first couple of games, but we’re sure he’ll get better and better as we go,” Nolan said. “Tambellini was the same thing. He played okay, but we’re looking for better than okay. Okay, to me, is not very good. He can play a lot better.” Nolan praised the play of Comeau and goaltender Joey McDonald in the first game.

With the exceptions of Trent Hunter, Radek Martinek, Richard Park, Jonathan Sim, Chris Simon, Andy Hilbert and Freddy Meyer, most of the Islanders’ seasoned veterans were not required to go on the trip for tonight’s exhibition opener against Atlanta in North Bay, Ontario and the second game against Boston tomorrow night at St. Johns, Newfoundland. Coach Ted Nolan kept his top players at the Islanders’ base camp in Moncton, New Brunswick, where they will spend the next couple of days working on the power play because of the importance of special teams.

The vets named above each will play only one of the first two games except for Meyer, who is fighting for a regular defense spot, and Simon, who will miss the first five regular-season games while on suspension. In addition to the prospects who will play, young regulars slated for the most work are new linemates Josef Vasicek and Jeff Tambellini and defenseman Chris Campoli, all of whom are scheduled to play both games. Forwards Sean Bergenheim, who spent last season in Sweden, and Frans Nielsen, who saw some playing time with the Isles, also will play in both games along with free agent defenseman Aaron Johnson, who spent last season with Columbus. Goaltenders Joey McDonald and Mike Morrison also are down for both games.

The Isles’ roster for the exhibition opener in the NHL’s “Hockeyville” game in remote North Bay includes forwards Bergenheim, Kip Brennan, Blake Comeau, Tim Jackman, Olivier Labelle, Nielsen, Park, Sim, Simon, Tambellini, Vasicek and Ben Walter. The defense includes Campoli, Bruno Gervais, Johnson, Dustin Kohn, Meyer and Matthew Spiller.

Against the Bruins the next night in Newfoundland, the Isles will go with forwards Bergenheim, Darryl Bootland, Brennan, Gordie Dwyer, Hilbert, Hunter, Labelle, Nielsen, Simon, Tambellini, Vasicek and Walter. On defense, the Isles will have Campoli, Drew Fata, Johnson, Martinek, Meyer and Spiller.

The Isles’ third game in three nights will come against Montreal on Wednesday night in Moncton. Coach Ted Nolan said that’s when the bulk of the veterans will make their exhibition debuts, possibly including goaltenders Rick DiPietro and Wade Dubielewicz. The Islanders play a rematch with the Canadiens Friday night in Montreal before breaking camp Saturday morning and traveling to Prince Edward Island for an intrasquad scrimmage before returning to Long Island that night.

Fans interested in watching the exhibition games can do so online via Islanders TV. ITV is offering a free preview of all the exhibition games to fans who complete a simple registration process. For access, go to newyorkislanders.com and click on the Islanders TV link.

The Islanders’ new No. 1 center made his first appearance in a training camp scrimmage today, and he couldn’t have been more impressive. Mike Comrie showed off his quick hands by scoring a hat trick to lead Team Gillies to a 4-2 victory over Team Bossy in regulation time before a shootout narrowed the final margin to 4-3.

Team Bossy took an early 2-0 lead when defenseman Andy Sutton and left wing Jonathan Sim scored against goaltender Rick DiPietro following plays on which he roamed well out of his net and was left scrambling. But Comrie came from behind the net to tuck a quick backhand past Maxime Ouellet at the left post before Tomas Marcinko scored on a rebound to tie the game at 2 after the first half of 45 minutes running time.

In the second half, Comrie netted a rebound in front of goaltender Joey McDonald and completed the hat trick with a nice move on a breakaway to beat McDonald on the short side from just left of the slot.

There was a smile on coach Ted Nolan’s face, and his tongue was planted firmly in his cheek after the scrimmage when he said, “Oh, I don’t know if you noticed that Comrie kid out there, but I said, ‘Boys, we’ve got ourselves a player.’

“The one thing I’m really impressed with is his leadership. Even in practice [on Friday when Comrie’s team didn’t scrimmage], he was taking control, asking questions and skating. He doesn’t go through the motions and wait until the season starts. We talked about it before coming here, and he wanted to be the go-to guy. He wanted to be the man. Early indications are that he’s demonstrating it with his actions.”

When Comrie wasn’t scoring, he was generating opportunities for linemates, Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko, whose physical play in the corners and in front of the net helped give the diminutive Comrie room to operate. Not that he needs a lot of space to thread a pass or make a move that puts a defenseman on his heels.

“He’s a good passer, but you also have to have players who know how to jump in holes,” Nolan said. “Guerin knows how and Fedotenko knows how. Whoever has the chance to play with Comrie has to have that hockey sense like he does. Like [Miro] Satan has great hockey sense, but he also has to have people playing with him who can get him the puck. Whoever plays with Comrie, there won’t be a lack of getting in the holes, I’m sure.”

CAMP NOTES AND QUOTES: Judging by the first couple of scrimmages, forward Andy Hilbert is in danger of being displaced by free agent Sim as left wing on a line with center Mike Sillinger and right wing Trent Hunter. Sim is strong, plays a physical game and has an underrated scoring touch. It looks to Nolan like a good fit. “I like the way Sim is playing the last couple of days,” Nolan said. “The thing that really impressed me about him is his feistiness. He’s got the skill, and he loves to compete. That was one of the things Garth [GM Snow] and I talked about. Sim plays all aspects of the game. You look at Fedotenko and Guerin, these guys can play both ends of the rink. They’re not just one-dimensional.”

The 6-6, 245-pound Sutton was the Isles’ major free-agent signing on defense. He and partner Radek Martinek did a good job controlling play in their end today. “I thought Sutton was OK yesterday, and he was much better today,” Nolan said. “Those big guys take a little while to get that big engine warmed up. He’s going to get better and better, and he has a little meanness to him. We like what we see for sure. He skates well. I wouldn’t want to be a forward going into the corner with him too often.”

In Friday’s scrimmage, Team Trottier was a 4-0 winner in regulation over Team Bossy. The goals came from free-agent center Josef Vasicek, who also had an assist, and forwards Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau and Justin Bourne, son of Islanders great Bob Bourne, who is attending camp along with former Isle Gerry Hart, whose son, Jordan, is playing defense for Team Trottier. Vasicek was impressive working with Tambellini and Satan.

ADVISORY TO READERS POSTING COMMENTS: As my Newsday colleague Steve Zipay recently noted on his Rangers blog, editors and writers at Newsday.com share the concerns of readers about the level of vulgarity and profanity that has appeared in the comment sections of our blogs. Most of it is a result of a small number of posters determined to ruin the enjoyment of the majority who are interested in a lively hockey discussion in which a variety of opinions not only are tolerated but welcomed so long as the debate doesn’t degenerate to name-calling.

Policing the boards is a time-consuming task for writers with several other responsibilities. In the case of the Islanders Beat blog, I had no time to edit comments while away on vacation in August and while I was occupied with matters related to a death in my family. Although many readers have submitted comments to the first blog from Islanders training camp, a temporary hold invoked by Newsday.com has prevented them from being published. I’m not certain when the comment section will resume, but now that I have returned to work, I can assure you that I will be monitoring the comments whenever time permits.

However, I want to caution all readers about posting vulgar, offensive or slanderous comments. This includes readers who are responding in kind to those type of comments. In the past, I have attempted to selectively edit out the most crude comments. In the future, that approach will change, and some serial posters will find their reasonable commentary will be eliminated together with their unacceptable comments. It’s a much easier and much faster way of editing the content. Therefore, those interested in making acceptable contributions to the discussion should not engage in vulgar exchanges with others if they hope to be published on a regular basis. Thanks for your understanding and support in maintaining the high standards Islanders Beat has achieved in the past.

The puck drops today for the beginning of the Islanders’ 2007-08 season, and it doesn’t come a moment too soon for fans who are anxious to find out if the surprise team of the Eastern Conference last season can bounce back from the disappointing loss of Ryan Smyth in free agency to contend for another playoff berth in Ted Nolan’s second season. The move from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Moncton, New Brunswick for training camp adds to the excitement because of the local support for Nolan, who re-started his coaching career two years ago by leading the Moncton Wildcats to the finals of Canada’s Memorial Cup.

The Isles’ arrival was the good news yesterday on the front page of the Moncton Times & Transcript right next to the tragic news of the funerals for three of the four local 16-year-old boys who died in a terrible traffic accident last Saturday. The fourth service will be held today in nearby Beresford, and the Islanders are exploring ways to make a goodwill gesture to aid a community in mourning.

For some, the opening of hockey season will provide an escape from their grief. Moncton has scheduled a Hockey Night in Downtown celebration tonight, featuring a parade led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police band and players from the Islanders as well as four local university and youth teams. On Saturday, there will be a Road Hockey Challenge for kids ages 5 to 10 to launch the opening of the season for the Wildcats, now coached by Danny Flynn, who was Nolan’s top assistant last season with the Islanders and previously in juniors with Moncton and Sault Ste. Marie.

So, the Islanders find themselves in a place loaded with fans who believe in Nolan’s ability to make a team more than the sum of its parts. Nolan and general manager Garth Snow emphasized their goal in free agency was to add players with character and grit to the foundation that was begun last season. The addition of Bill Guerin, who matched his age last season with 36 goals, as the captain to replace departed Alexei Yashin is a clear message the Islanders want players who aren’t afraid to get their nose dirty.

If Nolan is popular with the fans in Moncton and on the Island, it might be because he has their entertainment value in mind when it comes to the style of hockey he demands. “When you go into a battle, you want competitors,” Nolan said. “Long Island fans are very passionate, and they seem to enjoy a very competitive type of team. The fans are very important to us. We want to bring people in who are going to entertain the fans and make this a place where people want to come and be a part of it and not get cheated [in terms of effort] in coming to one of our games.”

The battles begin today in camp, and Nolan has a pretty good idea of the line combinations he wants to look at first. Starting out, the top line will put center Mike Comrie with right wing Guerin and veteran free agent Ruslan Fedotenko at left wing. Free agent center Josef Vasicek, who previously was known to Nolan as the first European captain of Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL, will be teamed with Miroslav Satan as his right wing. Free agent Jonathan Sim and young Jeff Tambellini both will get a shot at left wing on what Nolan hopes will be a scoring line.

The one line that remains intact from last season is the so-called “third line” with Mike Sillinger centering right wing Trent Hunter and left wing Andy Hilbert. They were the Isles' best two-way line last season, generally matched against the opponents’ top line while still managing a major contribution on offense. Veteran Richard Park, who spent most of his time as a penalty killer last season, will center the fourth line, which will include either Tambellini or Sim on one wing and either Chris Simon or Sean Bergenheim on the other wing. Simon, of course, will miss the first five games of the season to complete his suspension for a stick-swinging incident last season.

Veteran center Shawn Bates is said to be still recovering from the groin injury and hernia surgery that sidelined him at the end of last season. Snow said Bates won’t participate in practices until he’s 100 percent healthy. But two young centers who could get into the mix are Frans Nielsen, who played well in his brief time with the Isles last season, and Ben Walter, who was acquired from Boston after scoring 67 points for AHL Providence last season. So, if there are injuries or if Vasicek fails to live up to expectations, there is some depth at the center position.

Adding depth on defense was Snow’s other priority. The top six defensemen on paper are Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek, free agent Andy Sutton, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Bruno Gervais and Chris Campoli. Veteran Freddy Meyer returns, and Snow picked up Columbus free agent Aaron Johnson and offered a tryout to former Isle Bryan Berard, who was sidelined most of last season by back problems. Bridgeport’s Drew Fata also saw time with the Isles last season.

Rick DiPietro, of course, is the mainstay in goal with Wade Dubielewicz having earned the backup role with his stellar play down the stretch of the Islanders’ amazing playoff run. But Snow signed free agent Joey McDonald and has Mike Mole already in the organization. Veterans Mike Morrison and Maxime Ouellet also are in camp on a tryout basis.

One key element to watch throughout training camp and the exhibition season will be the performance of the defense. Nolan and new assistants Gerard Gallant and John Chabot have installed a new system and new goaltender coach Mike Dunham has worked out the communication system between the defense and DiPietro. “We’re not as big as certain teams, so, we have to rely on our positioning,” Nolan said. “We’re not as fast as certain teams, so, we have to rely on our puck movement. We designed a little bit different defensive scheme to compensate for things we’re lacking.”

Assistant Dan Lacroix also has a new role. Nolan said he will move upstairs to the pressbox to provide a live feed with his observations on how to make corrections during games.

Let the games begin.

Islanders fans know what was lost from last season’s surprising playoff team – Jason Blake’s perpetual hustle and career-best 40 goals, Ryan Smyth’s competitive instincts and inspiration, Tom Poti’s unsung two-way play on the blue line, Sean Hill’s grit, Arron Asham’s toughness and, last but not least, the enigmatic play of former captain Alexei Yashin.

Starting with the first practice of training camp on Sept. 14 in Moncton, New Brunswick, the Islanders must begin to understand how they’re going to replace all that. They’re giving free agent forwards Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko, Josef Vasicek and Jonathan Sim a chance to prove their ability in expanded roles. Defenseman Andy Sutton was signed to clear the crease for goaltender Rick DiPietro, and oft-injured defenseman Bryan Berard, who will attend on a tryout basis, has a chance to show he has something left in the tank.

But the most significant change might be the one at the top with veteran goal scorer Bill Guerin stepping in as captain to replace Yashin’s highly skilled play and reluctant leadership with his more physical and direct style that fits the vision coach Ted Nolan and general manager Garth Snow have of the team they want to build. It’s not often a playoff team undergoes such sweeping changes.

“It will have an all-around influence on everybody from top to bottom in terms of chemistry,” veteran forward Richard Park said after a conditioning skate Thursday with several teammates and a few players from other NHL teams. “That’s a word you’ll hear a lot. We added really quality players. Every one of them brings something to the table to help us get to where we want to be.

“I’m sure a lot of fans and media were hard-pressed, wondering who was going to come in. It’s a new opportunity for the guys that have come in. Even though they’ve been around for awhile, they could play a different role, possibly a more expanded role. The bottom line is that the backbone of the organization is as strong as it’s ever been. When you have that, you’re going to have success no matter who you bring in and who leaves.”

Considering what the Islanders stood to lose on the free-agent market, Snow, Nolan and owner Charles Wang took a bold chance in choosing to cut ties with Yashin via a $17.63 million buyout. But if they needed courage to make the move, all they had to do was recall last February when the Islanders were at their best while Yashin was off the ice rehabbing his sprained right knee.

“It’s hard to tell because we haven’t started camp, but I’ve heard great things about Billy Guerin, our newly appointed captain,” Park said. “In terms of Alexei, he was in the shadows, so to speak, that had been cast above his head for a number of years. I don’t think there’s a guy in the locker room last year that would have anything bad to say about Alexei. Things just didn’t work out; he had an injury.

“It’s not about bad-mouthing leadership in this locker room last year. The onus isn’t on one guy, and it never has been. It doesn’t matter if you have a letter on your jersey or you don’t. Everybody is a leader in their own way. If you say we’re going to have a better locker room this year, does that mean we had a bad one last year? I’m not going to say that because I was part of that locker room last year. But the guys we’ve added are very good character guys and have a lot of dignity, and we should be better off for it.”

Assistant captains Mike Sillinger and Brendan Witt were part of last season’s wave of free agents who were brought in to support Yashin. It was their leadership and the addition of Smyth that kept the Isles driving toward the playoffs when all seemed lost after DiPietro was sidelined near the end of the regular season because of a concussion.

Although Smyth was the first choice as Yashin’s replacement, Guerin’s credentials fit neatly with the Isles’ approach under Nolan. Forward Andy Hilbert said the character shown by the Isles when Yashin and DiPietro went down last season, should be enhanced by the new additions.

“When you bring a guy like Billy Guerin in, his reputation and what he’s done in the league speaks for itself,” Hilbert said. “Witter and Silly were big leaders last year. We have a great locker room. I’m just looking forward to getting to meet all the new faces. I’m a believer that chemistry in the locker room translates to the ice, and the players we brought in this year have great personalities.”

As the Isles demonstrated a year ago, preseason predictions don’t matter. It’s the chemistry in the locker room, be it combustible or coherent, that decides whether a team has the right stuff to succeed.