New York Islanders Season Preview: Defense

This series of articles will preview the New York Islanders for the upcoming season. I’ll cover the general overview of the team, the goaltenders position, the defense and the forwards.

Defense:

Brendan Witt, Andy Sutton, Radek Martinek, Mark Streit, Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais, Fred Meyer IV, Jack Hillen

Since the Islanders lack dynamic scoring from their forwards, their defense is going to have to play a huge role in determining the team’s success. While there are some up and coming players that may make a difference, this unit may have problems throughout the season.

First off, the injury bug has already hit them…hard. Both Andy Sutton and Chris Campoli will miss extended periods of time. This is especially distressing because Sutton is supposed to provide the physical presence behind the blue line and Campoli was expected to be a force in righting the power play.

Secondly, this defense is slow…not a good thing in today’s NHL. Brendan Witt is a hard-nosed banger who is often matched up with the opponent’s top line, but he’s getting on in years and will soon be on the downside of his career. Radek Martinek is another defensive specialist who draws that particular assignment, but his injury history portends that he won’t play the full year.

The one are that may have been improved upon is the offensive production from this unit. By acquiring Mark Streit in Free Agency, the Islanders gave themselves a legitimate power play quarterback who will play smarter than the man he succeeded, Marc-Andre Bergeron. The team is also looking for Bruno Gervais to finally take the next step in his career.

Fred Meyer IV and Jack Hillen are two players who probably won’t draw regular playing time but are good for the overall depth of the squad. Meyer IV, in particular, hits much larger than his size and could make an impact if pressed into duty.

While there are a few defensemen in the minor league system who could make brief appearances this year in relief duty, there’s no blue chip prospect for the future. This is an area you can expect the Islanders to address in next June’s draft (though they may make a minor move or two during the season as well.)