While points are very important at this time of year, there are still positives to be taken from the losses that come our way. Last night was no exception.
As we all watched that game, two things became blatantly apparent: Jack Hillen has become one hell of a defenseman and Kyle Okposo is sure to be the Islanders Captain.
The beauty of having such youngsters on a roster is being able to watch them mature before your very eyes. The process may seem slow and arduous, as it seems with the development of Bruno Gervais. Or it may be swift and inspiring, as it has been with Okposo.
I found myself in awe of Kyle's play last night. He may not hit the back of the net every time he shoots, but that is never all that matters in this game of speed and split second decisions. He is strong on his skates and has learned how to hold off an attacker without coughing up the puck. He can draw penalties leaving his opponents frustrated as they sit in the box. He is only 21 years old and we have watched him go from a boy straight out of College to a man ready to lead this team.
His interview with MSG’s Rob Carlin was telling. He didn’t call out his team mates in the truest sense, but he was looking to inspire them; to will them to play better, harder and smarter. He was looking for them to play up to his level. Not an easy task.
Kyle Okposo lead the team last season in goals with 18; a miserable stat on a miserable team. But he also lead all NHL rookies that year in takeaways with 76. In this season’s 51 games so far, he has 11 goals and 24 assists and is a -7. (Further proof that +/- is deceiving.) He also has four game winning goals and last night he made a save for Rick DiPietro in the crease. It was credited as his one blocked shot, but it was a save in the net for sure. He also had a goal and an assist. I’m pretty certain he would have had a fight too if he felt it necessary.
In the third year of his three year entry level contract**(Although, it may be technically year two as I'm told by Dan, since he only played 9 games his first year), Kyle has become one of the highlights on a young and continually maturing team.
Defenseman Jack Hillen is 24 today. (Happy Birthday Jack.) This season he is receiving high praise not only from Islanders' General Manager Garth Snow and Coach Scott Gordon, but also from the Hockey media -- ALL the hockey media.
Hillen was signed as a free agent by the Islanders out of Colorado College on April 1st 2008. He was brought to Long Island and it was a trial by fire as he played back to back games against the NY Rangers on April 3rd & 4th 2008. He played a little over 15 minutes in each game and earned his first NHL assist in his second game.
Jack played 33 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the ’08-’09 season and 40 for the Islanders. He ended his season with only six points and was a -9, but there was something about him that stood out.
One night last season, I broke the “no autographs” rule by begging PR Director Seth Sylvan to let Garth Snow sign a photo taken at the Scott Gordon introduction press conference. It was the first “real” press conference I attended and I sat in the front row with Mark Hermann and Katie Strang from Newsday in the row behind me. As silly as it sounds, it was a very important day for me.
After considerable nudging, Seth escorted me to the GM’s office. I'm surprised I wasn't blindfolded and spun around five times to lose my sense of direction for the quarter mile run (I wish I was kidding about that.) from the locker room to the executive offices. When we arrived at his office, it was Assistant GM Ryan Jankowski sitting at the desk pouring over a computer while the GM stood by the door. It was the first time I had met Jankowski. After a brief introduction, the Assistant GM tossed questions at me about players and prospects. I didn't know there would be a pop-quiz. What I remember most about that first meeting is his last question.
“What do you think of Jack Hillen?”
“I love the way he skates. It’s fascinating.” He smiled.
It wasn’t until last week while I listened to Garth Snow being interviewed on Toronto radio station, Fan 590, that my fascination with Hillen's skating was validated. Okay, so I guess I passed Jankowski’s aptitude test.
So while we here on Long Island already know that we have the hottest prospect to come out of the NHL draft of ’09, we also have quite a few shining stars on our horizon. We have young men with very promising NHL careers developing right before our eyes. And it’s something we can all feel good about.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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