New York Islanders: Midseason Report Cards for Every Player

Okay, so maybe it isn't midway through the season anymore. That doesn't mean we can't send out midseason report cards to show you how all your favorite Islanders have played for most of the season.

While most would call this a successful season for the Islanders, I call it a failure. After a strong second half in 2011, most Islanders fans, myself included, had this team pegged as a dark-horse team and a team that definitely could make the playoffs.

Instead, the team came out completely flat and, just like the past few years, found themselves trying to dig themselves out of a hole they made early in the season.

While the team has struggled, that doesn't mean every single player has struggled. Players find themselves ranked on an A to F system.

So, school's out. Which players passed with flying colors and which players are headed for summer school?

D Mark Streit

C+

Is Mark Streit having a bad season? No.

Is he having a season the Islanders hoped for out of Streit? Probably not.

Still, there are plenty of positives to point out in the season Streit has had. He has 28 assists in 60 games and has stayed healthy all season despite missing all of last year with a shoulder injury.

Still, there is plenty of room for improvement, starting with Streit's minus-22 rating on the ice. While that plus/minus doesn't fall fully on Streit, his play does have to do with it, and as he improves the rating, the team will improve too.

D Milan Jurcina

B

One of the most improved players on the team since last season. Jurcina looks like a different player. His skating, hitting, and booming slap shot have all improved.

While it doesn't show on the stat sheet, he may be the most improved defenseman from last season.

D Andrew Macdonald

B-

Andrew Macdonald has been an unheralded hero for the New York Islanders this season.

While he doesn't put up the gaudy offensive numbers, he still takes plenty of shots and has seen time on both the penalty kill and power play for the Isles this season.

His defense has looked questionable at times, but for the most part he has been very good in the defensive zone for the Isles. He leads the Islanders in blocked shots with 133 in 53 games.

D Travis Hamonic

B+

If every prospect the Islanders have develop the way Travis Hamonic has, the Islanders will have an NHL powerhouse for years to come.

While the offensive numbers will eventually come for Hamonic and his powerful slap shot, his defensive numbers are there: He is among the league leaders in hits and blocked shots.

His importance to the Islanders team has been clearly seen the past couple weeks as the team has struggled ever since the defenseman went down with a broken nose against the Buffalo Sabres on February 4.

D Mike Mottau

D

Mike Mottau is one of two Islanders defenseman that have just looked completely lost on the ice this season.

The journeyman defenseman has played very poorly and has been out since December with a concussion. In the 28 games he played, he had 2 assists and a minus-9 rating.

D Steve Staios

D+

Steve Staios is the second defenseman that has struggled for the Islanders this season.

Unlike Mottau though, Staios has improved as the season has gone on and at this point is a serviceable defenseman for the Islanders.

Staios is among the team leaders in blocked shots with 103 of them and has seen plenty of time on the penalty kill for the Islanders this season.

It seems that both Staios and Mottau are just cheap solutions to temporarily occupy the fifth and sixth defenseman spots for the Islanders while prospects such as Calvin DeHaan and Ty Wishart fully develop.

C John Tavares

A+

I only ranked Tavares an A+ because I couldn't rank him any higher.

What can't you say about Tavares's 2011-12 season? He ranks 15th in points with 58, 18th in goals with 24 and 18th in assists with 34.

His skating and leadership have taken a jump into the elite level and has left little doubt that when Mark Streit's tenure is over on Long Island, Tavares will be the captain.

LW Matt Moulson

B+

Matt Moulson, not John Tavares, has been the most consistent goal scorer for the Islanders for the majority of the season.

Moulson currently sits at 25 goals in 60 games and, barring injury this season, seems like a lock to eclipse the 30-goal plateau for the third time in as many seasons.

Moulson and Tavares have been entrenched on the same line since they first started playing for the Isles, and they may be one of the NHL's most popular scoring duos for years to come.

RW Kyle Okposo

B-

Kyle Okposo's season hasn't really been a disappointment, but the Islanders may think otherwise about his career thus far.

Okposo has 13 goals and 18 assists for the Islanders and the majority of that has come from playing alongside John Tavares.

Playing on the second line with Frans Nielsen and Michael Grabner, Okposo has produced close to nothing, and that has to be a problem in the eyes of the Islanders, as Okposo has struggled to produce offense on his own.

C Frans Nielsen

B-

Frans Nielsen may have entrenched his role with the Islanders for the next decade.

The Islanders best defensive center has centered a penalty-kill unit that has ranked in the top half of the league for the majority of the season.

Along with his play during the game, he has become the most reliable shooter in the shootout for the Islanders.

RW Michael Grabner

C-

Michael Grabner can probably be considered a disappointment this season.

After leading the Islanders in goals with 34 last season, Grabner has struggled to find the back of the net this season. He has also struggled with injuries.

Grabs currently has 15 goals in 59 games and has to hope to improve on that next season.

RW P.A. Parenteau

B+

P.A. Parenteau is another player who has taken a large step forward for the Islanders.

He has 12 goals and 42 assists, already surpassing his point total from last season in 21 fewer games.

Parenteau played alongside John Tavares and Matt Moulson for the majority of the year, but his production continued even on the second line, playing with Nielsen and Grabner. 

C Josh Bailey

C

Something clicked when former Islander winger Blake Comeau was placed on waivers.

Since then, Josh Bailey has looked like a different player. He has shown some of that potential that the Islanders saw when they drafted him in the first round in 2008.

Bailey has centered the third line for the majority of the year and has looked great on the penalty kill as well. Bailey currently has six goals and eight assists on the season.

LW Matt Martin

C+

It has been a solid season for Matt Martin, a fan favorite of the New York Islanders.

Martin leads the NHL in hits and looks like a future third- or fourth-line forward for the Isles.

He has seven goals and seven assists on the season and has seen time on scoring lines and the power play, although it doesn't really look like he belongs there.

LW Nino Niederreiter

D+

El Nino has not put up great numbers on the Islanders, but you can't fault him. He has really not been given the opportunity to show off his prolific scoring potential, playing on a line with Jay Pandolfo and Tim Wallace the majority of the season.

Niederreiter has just one goal and no assists in 37 games played. Niederreiter also suffered an ugly concussion early in the season off a hit to the head by Mark Fistric.

Coaching and management can also be blamed as they have not put Niederreiter in the best situations this year, claiming that they have put him in a position to "learn the game."

C Marty Reasoner

F

I understand Marty Reasoner has not been playing on scoring lines, but I have to think the Islanders were expecting a lot more out of Reasoner than they have received.

In 40 games, he has zero goals and five assists after scoring 14 goals and 18 assists with the Florida Panthers a year ago. His impact has been minimal on the Islanders this season.

LW Brian Rolston

F-

Brian Rolston falls into the same category as Marty Reasoner. After a solid season with the Devils last season, Rolston has disappointed with the Islanders.

In 48 games played, Rolston has four goals and five assists. However, his season has been even more disappointing than Reasoner.

Unlike Reasoner, Rolston has seen time on scoring lines and the power play, so it has been an ugly season for Rolston.

G Evgeni Nabokov

A-

It has been a tossup on the issue of team MVP this season: Evgeni Nabokov and John Tavares are equally deserving.

Nabokov has single-handedly kept the Islanders in a number of games this season, and if it were not for him, the Islanders wouldn't even have a shot at the playoffs—even if it is a very slim one.

Nabokov has made games like the 45-save shutout in Philadelphia seem routine. He's made the Islanders goaltender issues a thing of the past—at least for now.

Nabokov's only problem this season has been his inability to shake off the occasional injury.

G Al Montoya

B

After the first month of the season, Islander fans were forgetting about Evgeni Nabokov and Rick Dipietro. The reason for that was Montoya's play.

Unfortunately, he was not able to keep that up. On December 20, Montoya suffered a concussion against the Winnepeg Jets and has not looked the same since.

The Islanders hope that he can regain his form and give the Islanders a chance at the playoffs down the stretch, especially if they end up dealing Nabokov.

G Rick Dipietro

D

I won’t do it. I won’t give Rick Dipietro an F. I refuse to fail a player who continues to rehab and work hard to come back from injury and play the game as hard as he does, no matter how poorly he plays.

Unfortunately for him, he has already been kicked out of school in the perception of Islander fans, as they have lost patience with him.

Even with his long contract, his next comeback might be his last.