NYHN Daily: J.P. Parise’s Impact on the Island, Kaprizov Issues & More

Any Islanders fans worth their salt knows the significance of J.P. Parise’s goal 11 seconds into overtime against the New York Rangers during the best-of-three series in the 1975 playoffs. One person who has never forgotten the importance of that goal is J.P. Parise’s son and now a current Islander, Zach Parise. That goal 46 years ago helped set the stage for the Islanders’ run to four Stanley Cups five years later. And it’s something that the team’s illustrious alumni never forgot. “When Denis Potvin was calling our games, you’d chat with them after the game as well, and they always spoke very highly of my dad,” Zach Parise said. “For the longest time, we had some pictures of him scoring that goal and him shaking hands after the game. I’ve always said, he loved his time out there.” (NYI Hockey Now)

Here are some thoughts and observations from the first day of Boston Bruins rookie camp with all 23 of the Black and Gold hopefuls out on the ice ahead of the open of next week’s NHL training camp. (Boston Hockey Now)

The old lions, the upstarts, the middle child, and the wannabes. Welcome to life in the Metropolitan Division as the long-running domination of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will collide with the arrival of the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes. The division probably took a step back from the multiple Stanley Cup contender-laden lineups from last season, including the Boston Bruins. Now the division has an air of transition, just like those Pittsburgh Penguins and the rosters of a few of their longtime rivals. The times they are a-changin’. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

As the Washington Capitals continue informal skates and prepare to return for the official start of training camp on Sept. 22, the team’s prospects are ready to take the ice as well. The team will kick off its annual rookie camp on Saturday, Sept. 18, at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, V.A. Camp will run through Monday, Sept. 20, and then the team will have a day off before resuming for veteran camp. Washington released its official rookie camp roster on Wednesday. The roster features 10 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders. Out of the 20 players attending, 13 are Capitals draft picks. In addition to a number of signed and unsigned Capitals prospects, a number of free-agent amateur players will participate as well. (Washington Hockey Now)

First off, I don’t really know why anyone would have ever wanted to mess with the first Avalanche road uniform colors. I loved those old Avs road unis. Burgundy wine color, royal blue trim. Very, very striking to the naked eye. But, starting however many years ago it was when some marketing people tried to fix what wasn’t broken, NHL teams made the choice to go with white uniforms for road games. I disagreed with that then, and I disagree with it now. But beside that point, the Avs have tinkered with their road colors for many years now. And, this is the latest version. (Colorado Hockey Now)

Point, and counterpoint. Earlier this week, my new and valued colleague Steve Carp advocated the Vegas Golden Knights roll the dice and hit the NHL trade market for the big fish still on ice, Jack Eichel. It would fill a pressing need for the Golden Knights and be the most exciting thing to happen since the final pick of the 2017 expansion draft. You remember who that was, eh? (Vegas Hockey Now)

William Eklund arrived in San Jose last Friday. The San Jose Sharks hope that he stays for a while. The 2021 first-round draft pick’s quest to make the Sharks out of training camp begins in earnest this Friday in Arizona, when San Jose kicks off a three-game Rookie Faceoff Tournament against five other NHL teams. After that, Eklund will participate in training camp and surely see some exhibition action. At that point, the San Jose Sharks will have to decide whether to assign their top prospect to the NHL or the AHL. Eklund also has the option of returning to his SHL team Djurgarden. But the 18-year-old wunderkind says he isn’t looking that far ahead. (San Jose Hockey Now)

The Vancouver Canucks will conduct off-ice evaluations with their rookies on Thursday before the youngun’s hit the ice on Friday afternoon at Rogers Arena. As talented as some of them may be, it’s often easy to lose track of them once the big club gets going. For casual fans, it’s “out of sight, out of mind”, especially when your AHL team has been in Utica, New York. This season will be a bit different. A couple of these gent’s are a solid threat to crack the roster, or a given in a case or two, while the AHL’ers will soon be toiling just down the road in Abbotsford. Let’s look at a half-dozen of the current campers. (Vancouver Hockey Now)