Giving Weight (as in Doug) to the Isles Hopes
A veteran and rookie chat with Isles fans
Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 12:51 PMCoach-less, for the moment, but neither hopeless nor speechless, the newest Islanders — Doug Weight and Josh Bailey -- hosted an "Open House" on Saturday at Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum. The duet presented a fascinating point-counterpoint of veteran and the club's top Draft pick for 2008, and each offered a few choice pieces of their respective minds.
No question, Weight, who owns a Stanley Cup ring, and Bailey, fresh out of the Juniors, accentuated the positive, fielding questions before a three-person panel, as well as about 300 fans in the audience. Weight wasted no time pointing out that his good friend, Isles captain Bill Guerin, heavily influenced his decision to join the Islanders. Needless to say, Billy G was front and center, at the Coliseum, introducing Doug.
"It was Billy," explained Doug. "We had talked a lot over the last year and he pointed out good reasons why I should come here. For one thing I've always admired the franchise, going back to the days of Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, Denis Potvin and Bryan Trottier. And I know there are good schools here for the kids."
Bailey, whose immediate future with the Nassaumen will be determined by training camp performance, appeared intelligently cautious about his future when addressing the crowd. Wisely, he wouldn't set a target date for making the big club.
"The big thing with me is using my head," said the well-spoken Bailey. "I consider myself a good, two-way, playmaking center. I'm approaching my progress as 'one step at a time.' I don't want to get ahead of myself. Garth Snow will be the one making the final decisions about where I play."
The focus inevitably shifted to the Michigan-born Weight, whose first NHL game was a playoff contest in 1991 with the Rangers. Armed with 16 full major league seasons of experience, the 37-year-old is being counted upon by management to fortify the goal-scoring department.
"I want to be a big part of the offense," said Weight, with a no-ifs-ands-or-buts attitude. "I've taken good care of myself physically and feel in excellent shape.
"Without question, I expect to be a leader of the team, both on and off the ice."
If there was any skepticism among the Nassau faithful, it certainly was dissipated by Weight's unbridled enthusiasm about wearing the Isles livery. My sidekick, Alexis Rudman, who attended the Open House, described the event as, "exciting." She was especially impressed with Weight's confidence in his own abilities.
"I liked Doug's gung-ho attitude," said Rudman, "and his willingness to take on a leadership role with the hockey team."
A portion of the fans had hoped to hear some news about a replacement for ousted coach Ted Nolan.
General Manager Garth Snow, who attended, already has interviewed the likes of John Tortorella and Paul Maurice -- among the better-known candidates -- as well as a spate of minor league mentors. However, Snow remained mum. Although one rumor bruited about had it that Tortorella is not expected to get the job. An announcement should be forthcoming by August 20 if not sooner.
Weight stayed away from the coaching topic, preferring to point out how tickled he is to be playing alongside Rick DiPietro, who he ranks among the NHL's top goaltenders. But the fact that DiP wears number 39 means that Doug will not be able to secure that number, which he had worn throughout his career.
"I'll settle for 93," he chuckled when the jersey was unveiled. "I just flipped 39!"
Bailey allowed that he still has to beef up if he expects to make it to The Show, and the likeable lad revealed that he began playing "ball hockey" before he was three years old.
Ah, but that was long ago and, really, all Islanders fans care about now is the immediate future. Listening to the veteran and the youngster for one morning in Uniondale, one could only feel positive vibes.
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