CarterHud

   Casey Cizikas helps the New York Islanders in many aspects of hockey. First, he excels at penalty killing, and can even generate scoring chances on the PK. He\’s also a very gritty 4th line center, and can win draws. The Toronto, Ontario native was drafted 92nd overall (4th round) by the Isles in the 2009 NHL draft. In 2015-16, the Isles 4th line of him, Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin was considered one of the best 4th lines in NHL history by many. Cizikas, 26, has 108 points (37 goals and 71 assists) in 349 career NHL games, all for the Islanders.
   At his teammate Anders Lee\’s Kan Jam event, I was able to catch up with Casey. Here\’s the questions I asked him.

   Me: \”How has the team changed from December to now?\”
   Cizikas: \”It\’s exciting. As a group we came together and decided what our fate was. Especially with Dougie [Weight]. He came into our locker room and talked to the guys and made sure we\’re all on the same page, and got things going.\”

   M: \”How has Joshua Ho-Sang impacted the team in his short time here?\”
   C: \”He\’s been unbelievable. He\’s brought a lot of energy into the team, and he\’s been playing really, really well. He\’s done a lot of good things. It\’s exciting to watch [him]. He\’s done a really good job since being called up.\”

  M: \”You\’ve missed many games this season due to a hand injury. Is it tough to sit out for many games?\”
  C: \”It\’s always fun to play. It\’s tough watching from up top, so to be out there with the guys, battling and playing the sport we love, it\’s a lot of fun.\”

  M: \”What do you think of this event Anders Lee is running?\”
  C: \”He\’s doing an unbelievable job, and he\’s doing it for an incredible reason. He\’s put together this Kan Jam event, and he\’s gotten a lot of response from it. Everyone is coming together. They\’re bringing awareness, and that\’s the main thing. He\’s put together one great event here, and it\’s nice to see all the support he\’s having.

   Brock Nelson is a top goal scorer for the New York Islanders. The Minneapolis, Minnesota native has scored around 20 goals in each of his last 3 seasons. He was drafted 30th overall (first round) of the 2010 NHL draft, by the Isles. He\’s also an ironman, playing in at least 72 games in all 4 seasons, and he played those 72 games in his rookie season. Nelson, 25, has 150 points (79 goals and 71 assists) in 314 career NHL games, all for the Isles.
    At his teammate Anders Lee\’s Kan Jam event, I was able to catch up with Brock. Here\’s the questions I asked him.

    Me: \”How has the team changed from December to now?\”
    Nelson: \”I wish I knew the answer. I think we\’re just playing smart, and [have] got a few lucky bounces.\”

    M: \”What do you think of Joshua Ho-Sang in his short time here?\”
    N: \”He\’s pretty electric. He makes a lot of plays out there, a lot of skill. It\’s fun to watch him play out there.

    M: \”What do you think of this event Anders Lee is running?\”
    N: \”It\’s pretty awesome. He\’s a special guy to put on an event like this. We\’ve raised a lot of money for a very good cause. It\’s fun to be here.

 
  If I was a goalie in the NHL (which I\’m not), I\’d prefer to have a big group of defensemen protecting me. New York Islanders goalies Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss must like having 6\’4\” Scott Mayfield in front of them. Mayfield is also the tallest player on the Isles. The St. Louis, Missouri native was drafted 34th overall (2nd round) of the 2011 NHL draft by the Islanders. Mayfield, 24, has 9 points (3 goals and 6 assists) in 33 career NHL games.
    At his teammate Anders Lee\’s Kan Jam event, I was able to catch up with Scott. Here\’s what I asked him.

    Me: \”You\’ve come to be the tough guy on the team. Have you always been the big guy throughout your career?
    Mayfield: \” I think being one of the bigger guys is my strength as a player. I\’ve always fallen into that. It\’s a really big piece.

    Me: \”What do you think of this event Anders Lee is running?\”
    Ma: \”It\’s a lot of fun. We all came out here to support Anders and his cause. We raised a lot of money. It\’s pretty impressive, and we\’re all having fun doing it.

  

Travis Hamonic helps the New York Islanders a lot. He is physical, strong, and pretty big (6 feet, 2 inches and 205 pounds), traits that help NHL defensemen. The St. Malo, Manitoba native was drafted 53rd overall (2nd round) of the 2008 NHL draft by the Islanders. He has 146 points (26 goals and 120 assists) in 444 career NHL games, all in New York. A problem occurred during the 2015-16 season, and Hamonic requested a trade. He said the reason was a family matter. After nearly being traded to his hometown Winnipeg Jets, Hamonic rescinded the request in the offseason, saying the matter was stabilized.
     At his teammate Anders Lee\’s Kan Jam event, I was able to catch up with Travis. Here\’s the questions I asked him.

   Me: \”How has the team changed from December to now?\”
   Hamonic: \”As a group we expect a lot out of each other, and we expect to win every time. It\’s fun to get back in the playoff race.

   M: \”A couple times this season, you\’ve missed many games due to injuries. Is it tough to bounce back from injuries?
   H: \”Yeah, it is. Especially this time of year when everyone else is playing at such a high level, and you\’ve been out for a couple months. You need to get back up to speed quickly.

   M: \”Was it tough to go through the pressure when you first requested a trade?\”
   H: \”I love being an Islander. You can see all of us are very good friends. It wasn\’t. Everyone was very, very supportive, and I think that\’s the most important thing.

   M: \”What do you think about this event Anders Lee is running?\”
   H: \”It\’s important. When you do an event like this, you realize there\’s a lot of people that are less fortunate than others, and you can raise a lot of money, and try to do a lot of good in the world. I think it\’s really important.\”

   

A big part of hockey is physicality. A stat that shows a lot of physicality is hits. The New York Islanders have one of the best hitters in the game in Cal Clutterbuck. He has less than 200 hits in a season just once in his career (not counting 2007-08, where he played in just 2 games). He also has over 300 hits 4 times. The Welland, Ontario native was drafted 72nd overall (third round) of the 2006 NHL draft by the Minnesota Wild. After 6 seasons there with 110 points (62 goals and 48 assists), Clutterbuck, 29, was traded to the New York Islanders along with a 3rd round pick for Nino Niederreiter. He was joined by Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas on the Isles 4th line, and by 2015, that line was considered one of (if not) the best 4th lines in hockey history. Martin is also a big hitter, and Cizikas is a gritty centre. In 4 seasons with the Isles, Clutterbuck has 78 points (39 goals and 39 assists).
    At his teammate Anders Lee\’s Kan Jam event, I was able to catch up with Cal. Here\’s the questions I asked him.

     Me: \”How has the team changed from December to now?\”
     Clutterbuck: \”The team has always been the same. Sometimes when you have someone different giving you instruction, it changes your outlook on things. [Doug Weight] has flipped the script a little bit.

     M: \”What do you think of rookie Joshua Ho-Sang since his call up?\”
     C: \”He\’s a talented guy. He\’s a flashy type of player. I think people are taking a liking to that. You can hear them every time he touches the puck, and they\’re getting excited, oohing and ahhing. He adds another dimension to the offense of our team.

     M: \”What do you think about this event Anders Lee is running?\”
     C: \”I think it\’s great. Obviously it\’s a good cause. Cancer is a tough thing. I think everybody is affected by it. It\’s nice for us to be able to come out and have some fun with the fans, to enjoy ourselves. I think it\’s a great day.\”