Eyes on Isles – Islander Season Review – #11 Brian Rolston and # 10 Mike Mottau

And the first question… Why are you reviewing a player that was traded during the season?

Well – I wanted to vent, and this is just the subject to do it on.

When this move was made during the off season last year, I was sheepishly excited by it.  I mean the player had a decent resume.  Won a Stanley Cup; his skills had not diminished.  Had a good slap shot.  Could be a help to the power play from the point.  And the main thought – could be a good leader in the locker room for this young Islander squad.

Boy was I freaking wrong!

I think that old, out of shape blue collar workers playing score-o had a better chance of getting shots on net than Brian Rolston did in his stint with the Islanders.  I am not going to even talk about stats, because they are not even worth the typing on the screen.  After about 20 games, it looked like this old veteran was as lost as an old dog behind a dumpster.  From a knowledgeable hockey fan, to even the newest of supporters, we all were able to see that this man was not wanting to be here, and finally, the General Manager was on board.

Garth sent Rolston, and Mike Mottau to the Boston Bruins for draft picks.  And would you believe, once Rolston got to his new destination, his skills all of a sudden got better.  It was that Rolston wanted to call the Massachusetts Department of Records and have his name officially be changed to Ponce de Leon (for those of you that do not know who he is – he thought he found the Fountain of Youth in Florida in the 16th Century).  He became a second line player, and was counted on in all facets during the playoff run.

Well – he will never be welcomed back to the Coliseum, as it was shown the last time the Bruins came.  I do not like to wish ill will on anyone, but if he blew out a knee in a game, I would not have a frown on my face.

Can you guess what my grade is for this player???

Hmm…

A big fat juicy F.  F as in Failure. F as in Fiddle Faddle.  

Well – since I wanted to do the piece on Rolston, I should also do Mike Mottau.  I will give him a C-.  His play was not that prevalent, and really did not mean to much.  However, he was a good soldier for the team, and was even present in some of the arena issues at Nassau County offices.  I have nothing bad to say about Mike.

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