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Ex-Isles: Where Are They Now Game

September 5, 2010, 9:36 AM ET [ Comments]
Dee Karl
New York Islanders Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The signing of Mike Comrie to a league minimum deal with Pittsburgh made me think about the game in my head I like to play once the season starts. But as I really don't have anything going on until I meed with the team's PR people next week, let's play it now.

"Ex-Isles: Where are they Now" game.

Well Mr. Toe Drag himself is in Pittsburgh and they just got more PR out of US weekly than they could have ever hoped for. To counter the Dateline: Hollywood press the Penguins will get, I am going to plead with Entourage's Kevin Connolly to please continue to sneak Isles logos into everything he does in front of the paparazzi. Thank you.

Aaron Johnson was signed by Nashville. Cute kid, didn't live up to expectations but did have a nagging knee (I think) injury.

RaF-FI Torres! One of the great chants in the barn by young girls wearing over sized Torres jerseys. Do the young girls in Vancouver chant like that?

Aaron Asham has taken his afro wig and grit to Pittsburgh. Expect to see a lot of him when they visit. Just because.

Freddy Meyers, who played his last season to be noticed, wasn't noticed by the Islanders but managed a contract with the Thrashers. We'll see if he stands out in their jersey.

When Tampa Bay comes to town it will be difficult to see Sean Bergenheim sporting a Bolts jersey and I will attempt to get to see him because I don't think Tampa has a "no blogger" policy. (Right Jon Jordan?) Sean has some ex-Isles to keep him company in his new surroundings with Nate Thompson still there and big and scary but skates like a gorilla, Mitch Fritz.

Dave Scatchard, or as we used to call him "Go-Go Scatchard" because when he smiled he looked like Inspector Gadget, managed to ink a deal with St. Louis. I still remember Scatchard getting pummeled by ex-Isle, then Ranger, Chris Simon and Jason Blake attempting to come to his defense only to be almost choked to death by Mark Messier. No one knew Dave had a brace on his shoulder and couldn't lift his arms to fight. I'm still never forgiving Messier for making Blake turn purple. Never.

Andy Sutton will block shots for Anaheim while the guy I would always confuse him with, Tim Jackman will be happy to play for Calgary. I really liked Tim. He was always so humble and appreciative of his job.

Chris "I'm not getting enough playing time here on the Island" Campoli is once again inked with Ottawa. My daughter still has his signed jersey that she won on fan appreciation day. She won't let me have it since it is made out in her name. Little brat.

Ryan O'Marra was a prospect that only played in Bridgeport during the '05-06 season. The Oilers signed him again after only playing 3 games with them last season.

Remember 34-year-old Brad Lukowich? He played 57 games with the Isles in '05 and was the only man brave enough to call out the team for not communicating enough. They shipped him off the next month.

Trevor Smith played all of 7 games with the Isles in '06. Maybe we'll see him again when the Ducks come to town in December. Maybe we won't.

The Goalie with the duck feet, Joey MacDonald is now with Detroit while my favorite wolf-eyed net minder will now back up King Henrik with the Rangers. (Um, and if you think you can keep THIS blogger away from Marty Biron post game -- think again.)

Oh, Jiffy Jeff Tambellini will probably want to make a statement when Vancouver plays against the Isles. It may be a shout or it may be a whimper. We'll see.

Ex-Isles that are still without a new job is a shorter list with most notably Richard Park at the top. Both Wade Dubielewicz and Yann Danis haven't been inked yet and they are both quality back-ups. I was surprised to see Marc Andre Bergeron (MAB) on the list, although he used to frustrate the hell out of Islander fans most of the time. But he was excellent at shattering the glass with that powerful shot of his. And veterans Miro Satan, Mark Parrish and Billy Guerin are all still looking for jobs. Miro seems to always be a late season signing and the other two seem to not want to go the retirement route.

This is a young man's game and it seems there really is talent cast system developing. There can only be so many "Ilya Kovalchuk" deals out there especially since there so very few "Ilya Kovalchuck" talents in this world. But every year a new prospect class comes up and takes that challenge. Every year, a new star in this league emerges.

Drop the puck already! PLEASE!
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