New York Islanders Nikolai Kulemin To IR No Call-Up

Just because New York Islanders forward Nikolai Kulemin is out with injury doesn’t mean that Josh Ho-Sang is going to be called up. Sorry.

New York Islanders forward Nikolai Kulemin has been placed on IR. Kulemin was injured after taking a particularly rough boarding hit from Edmonton Oiler’s Eric Gryba this Tuesday.

Kulemin got right up after the hit and headed to the bench, where he was then taken to the team dressing room for evaluation. Kulemin didn’t come back. Not like the Islanders needed him on the night. They still managed to dominate the Oilers even as the game went into the later stages of the third period.

And now a day after the game, the Islanders announce that Nikolai Kulemin will be placed on IR. Leaving a hole on the Islanders roster. And they aren’t calling anyone up before the trip to Dallas and St. Louis. No one.

Alan Quine Not Called Up

Yes the Islanders brought back Alan Quine from Bridgeport, but that wasn’t a call-up as Quine was already on the Islanders roster. He was sent down as part of a conditioning stint. So that doesn’t count. And it seems that Garth Snow/Doug Weight won’t rush to fill the spot.

Which makes a bit of sense. I’m not saying it’s the best decision, but it fits with the narrative and the Islanders executive’s M.O. I know we all want Josh Ho-Sang back on the team, but that’s not going to happen, yet.

With Alan Quine on the roster they have a player that can fill Kulemin’s fourth line minutes and responsibilities perfectly. It’s a great 1:1 swap between the two. You don’t bring up Josh Ho-Sang to fill fourth line minutes. That’s not his game, nor should it ever be.

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If you do bring Josh Ho-Sang up, its to shift him to that third line where Jason Chimera sits, and have Chimera flow down to the fourth. Again. That seems like a great plan. But there are two issues here.

First being management. They love Jason Chimera. Even after that terrible turnover for the Oilers regulation time goal the other night. They won’t be scratching him for that mistake. Unfortunately. It’s a real: “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks” type of mentality. Again, unfortunately.

The second issue is again management, but this time vis-à-vis Ho-Sang himself. There’s no way they’re ready to call him back up after just a few weeks. The optics would be terrible for the justifications they gave.

Is Ho-Sang really going to be free of his turnover affliction in just a handful of games with Bridgeport? No. And if so, why not keep him up and learn that short lesson at the NHL level?

Next: Three Players That Need To Step Up

There wasn’t a call-up and that kind of sucks. We want Josh Ho-Sang back. I know. But the team isn’t going to be ready to call him back unless there’s an injury further up the New York Islanders depth chart.