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The Sound Tiger Report with Phil Giubileo |
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The Sound Tigers are currently enjoying their best stretch of hockey this season. In their past 10 games Bridgeport has won 8 of those games and are climbing in the standings. Who better to talk to about the Sound Tigers than their play-by-play man; Phil Giubileo.
I asked Phil what was their reason for their recent success? “I think it’s a combination of a couple of things. It’s a really young team, and they’re finally starting to get some experience. I also think they’re finally developed a bit of an identity as a hard-working team that is willing to do the dirty work (stronger fore check, more commitment from the forwards on back checking, blocking shots on the PK, etc.)
Also, it hasn’t hurt that the club has had some talent return to the active lineup. John Persson and Johan Sundstrom had been out for long stretches, while getting Ryan Strome and Matt Donovan from Long Island has been pretty big. Scott Mayfield is a player who has been quietly consistent—he’s not a point producer like Donovan from the blue line, but he’s becoming a solid shutdown defenseman in the AHL. Given his size and ability, he’s going to get a look by the big club maybe as early as this season depending on what happens at the NHL trade deadline,” said Giubileo
Besides Ryan Strome; his line mates Anders Lee and Mike Halmo are playing fantastic hockey. Lee currently has 19 goals and 19 assists which is good for 38 points in 51 games. Halmo has set a career high in points with 17 goals and 18 helpers equating to 35 points. I asked Phil if these two are a product of playing with Strome or if their own abilities are shining through.
“Honestly, it’s a bit of both. Halmo has scored nine of his 17 goals on the power play, while Anders Lee has 8 of his 19 with the man advantage. Strome has 17 power play assists, and while not every one of them is tied to Halmo and Lee, most of them likely are. However, both are solid players in their own right. Lee certainly has a higher upside given his good size, his ability to fulfill either a top or bottom six spot and his ability to serve as a penalty killer. Halmo isn’t the biggest guy out there, but he throws the body around and opens things up a bit when he plays with Lee and Strome.”
Giubileo also touched on their NHL potential and ceiling. “In terms of NHL potential, I look at Halmo as a tweener—I can see him getting a look at some point—he came into the league as sort of a younger version of Micheal Haley, but he’s demonstrated more offensive upside while he doesn’t drop the gloves all too often (but will in a pinch). He does not shy away from using the body and loves to score from the crease, which are good things to have in a forward.”
In terms of Lee’s I asked specifically if Anders Lee could be a top six forward in the NHL or if the bottom six was a safer projection. “I think he can handle both roles, depending on who he is grouped with. More likely he projects out as a bottom six forward, but it’s apparent that with the right group, he can work on the power play as a net front presence. He’s big and nearly impossible to move from in front of the net. Great leadership potential as well, as he commands a lot of respect. He’s worn a letter at times this season when other players have been out of the lineup—it’s not often that a rookie earns that responsibility.”
Finally I wanted to touch on the season that Anders Nilsson is having. His number while improving do not blow anyone away but that is also a product of sitting on the bench in Long Island and playing with a young team in Bridgeport. I asked Phil for his take on the hulking netminder. “Nilsson has won three consecutive starts for the first time this season and was actually their best player in a 7-3 win over Albany this past Sunday, which on paper looks surprising when you see the final score.
The record of course isn’t very good, and with two call-ups to the Islanders due to injuries to Nabokov, he’s had rather long stretches of inactivity (at least w/the 2nd call-up—he did play a fair amount during Nabby’s first time away from the lineup). However, those recalls seemed to have improved his play. Here’s a breakdown that Mike Fornabaio from the CT Post posted on his blog:
Stint MP GAA SP
First (through 11/16) 605:02 3.57 .880
Second (12/14-1/4) 541:16 2.44 .910
Current (1/31-) 357:42 2.35 .913
Take away those first six weeks and I think most people would be happy with Nilsson’s numbers. So yes, I think he’s turned a bit of a corner. I also think it helps that the group in front of him is considerably better now than the first month of the season, when the team won only once in seven games (1-5-1-0).”
Phil also added that some of the young players from the ECHL have also fit in well and the team is finally coming together. For Islander fans it is encouraging as the prospects the Islanders desperately need to improve are having solid season. I want to thank Phil for taking time out of his schedule to shine the spot light on some future Islanders.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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