International veterans keep Islanders loose and on task
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The New York Islanders have a reason to be grateful for the fourmonth National Hockey League lockout: the bond between their captain, Mark Streit, and their budding star John Tavares.
Streit persuaded Tavares to join him on S.C. Bern, his hometown team in Switzerland, during the lockout.
Tavares, 22, led the team in scoring, preparing the way for a breakout NHL season. Streit, 35, had the chance to savour a return home at the pinnacle of his hockey career.
Their shared experience may also help the Islanders reach the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2007.
The Islanders have been on a roll recently, moving into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the rival Rangers.
Tavares, the top overall pick in the 2009 draft, has elevated his game in his fourth NHL season, leading the Islanders and tying for third in the league with 24 goals.
Thanks to Streit, Tavares experienced all he could of life in the Swiss Alps.
Streit is popular off the ice at home and arranged for Tavares to meet Switzerland’s brightest star, Roger Federer.
“I thought Roger would just say hello and that would be that, but we all ended up spending t wo and a half hours talking,” Tavares said.
“His generosity was amazing, and to see his focus and competitive nature up close was incredible for me, a thrill.”
While Tavares leads on the ice, he credits the professionalism and relentless levity of the teams’ veteran defensive core for keeping the young team in the right frame of mind.
Augmenting Streit’s fortitude and experience on the blue line and in the locker room, the Islanders have 37-year-old goaltender Evgeni Nabokov of Kazakhstan and 36-year-old defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky of Slovakia.
“They never stop,” said Tavares, who has a perfect view of the banter between the international threesome from his corner stall in the Islanders’ locker room.
“They are always joking with each other, which keeps us loose, but the bottom line is we all have immense respect for those guys and what they’ve accomplished.”
Streit’s path to the NHL was most unusual. He played nine seasons in the top Swiss league, helping Zurich win the league championship in 2001 and Continental Cup titles in 2001 and 2002.
He later captained Zurich and the Swiss national team.
He briefly ventured to North America in 1999 as a 22-year-old free agent to watch and learn, playing for three minor-league teams.
Streit participated in the Winter Olympics and many junior and world championships for Switzerland, but he went undrafted by NHL teams until 2004 when the Canadiens picked him in the ninth round, 262nd overall.
“That year I didn’t even know the draft was going on,” Streit said.
“A journalist called to ask if I’d heard the news, that I was drafted by Montreal. It caught me off guard, a good positive shock. Since that day, I have been working even harder to get better.”
After three seasons in Montreal, where he also played forward occasionally, Streit signed a five-year, $20.5-million contract with the Islanders in July 2008.
His work ethic and a surplus of international experience made him the natural choice for the captaincy in September 2011 after Doug Weight retired.
“The guys see the commitment level of a leader like Mark and that is worth a lot,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “Anytime you have guys like him, Nabby and Lubo in the room, that represents another important voice on the ice. Mark has done a lot with his opportunity. You have to give him credit.”