But seriously, does anyone see a difference between these two guys?
Size, skating style, struggles with the puck, poor decision making are almost worthy of believing that there was a clone to me. Anyone disagree?
No way, sorry to disagree. Isbister was a power forward, who was terrible along the boards. He was a big lug for the most part and was older than KO when he was here.
Okposo was great under Scott Gordon he needs coaching, some guys like JT, Hamonic and Martin can run on automatic, but not guys like KO, AMac, Bailey and Grabner. That is why teams hire coaches. Okposo was the best forward on this team when Gordon was coach.... Not praising Gordon but he was a real coach at least, even if his system did not work.
Isbister was another "size does not matter" guy in a chain of busted players for the Isles going back to 1993 with Adam Creighton, factoring in Kvasha, Bertuzzi (failed as an Isle) etc.......
No way, sorry to disagree. Isbister was a power forward, who was terrible along the boards. He was a big lug for the most part and was older than KO when he was here.
Okposo was great under Scott Gordon he needs coaching, some guys like JT, Hamonic and Martin can run on automatic, but not guys like KO, AMac, Bailey and Grabner. That is why teams hire coaches. Okposo was the best forward on this team when Gordon was coach.... Not praising Gordon but he was a real coach at least, even if his system did not work.
Isbister was another "size does not matter" guy in a chain of busted players for the Isles going back to 1993 with Adam Creighton, factoring in Kvasha, Bertuzzi (failed as an Isle) etc.......
If Okposo was "great" under Scott Gordon, Brad Isbister was "great" under Butch Goring. Sadly, neither is true.
Isbister had ZERO heart. KO may not be the scoring threat we hoped for but he's a good 2nd line RWer
What we hoped for????
Yeah when we drafted him I was hoping and praying that he would turn into a 2nd line cream puff who refuses to shoot the puck, makes bad passes, refuses to use his body.
The minute the Islanders realize this is the minute they package him for a trade because at this point in 2 years we will be lucky to get a 2nd round pick for him.
Isbister had ZERO heart. KO may not be the scoring threat we hoped for but he's a good 2nd line RWer
Sorry, but no way. KO is a third line player. If you want to be honest about this team's needs, we need 3 d-men and an ENTIRE 2nd line. Maybe Donovan, de Haan, Strome, Nino will fill some of those holes. I suspect they will. Maybe KO and Grabner will rebound. But, right now, KO is nothing more than a decent third line forward.
Sorry, but no way. KO is a third line player. If you want to be honest about this team's needs, we need 3 d-men and an ENTIRE 2nd line. Maybe Donovan, de Haan, Strome, Nino will fill some of those holes. I suspect they will. Maybe KO and Grabner will rebound. But, right now, KO is nothing more than a decent third line forward.
Right off the top I'd have to say no, because Brad was tougher than Kyle will ever be. Izzy used to fight sometimes, whereas Kyle talks trash on the ice like he can fight, then doesn't.
If you want a closer comparison, try Oleg Kvasha the power forward who wasn't a power forward.
And no way do I want Kyle polluting the checking line with his no checking policy.
For all of KOs faults, he's still going to outproduce Isbisters best season this year. Kyle is worlds better then Twinkie Boy ever was.
Are we so sure?
Brad Isbister:
Season Age Team Lg GP G A PTS +/- PIM
1999-00 22 NYI NHL 64 22 20 42 -18 100
2000-01 23 NYI NHL 51 18 14 32 -19 59
2001-02 24 NYI NHL 79 17 21 38 1 113
Right off the top I'd have to say no, because Brad was tougher than Kyle will ever be. Izzy used to fight sometimes, whereas Kyle talks trash on the ice like he can fight, then doesn't.
If you want a closer comparison, try Oleg Kvasha the power forward who wasn't a power forward.
And no way do I want Kyle polluting the checking line with his no checking policy.
This hit the nail on the head.
Isbister used to get angry out there, throw his big body around and fight. Okposo gets angry....and you get a menacing glare. The guy is built like a bulldozer but plays the game like a tricycle.
It's not a bad comparison at all actually. Isbister was frustratingly inconsistent as well.
Disagree on the Isbister comparison. If he winds up being a strong 3rd liner, it's not a bad thing. Granted it would be nice to have him as a 2nd liner, but 20g and 20a on the 3rd line and playing responsibly makes for good depth down the road. That's important to have in this league.
Isbister used to get angry out there, throw his big body around and fight. Okposo gets angry....and you get a menacing glare. The guy is built like a bulldozer but plays the game like a tricycle.
It's not a bad comparison at all actually. Isbister was frustratingly inconsistent as well.
It's actually a really bad comparison in my opinion. Isbister played the game with blinders on, head down all the time, and couldn't lift the puck on net to save his life. Okposo is the opposite, is pretty good moving the puck and finding teammates. I'd like to see Okposo get back to last year's form. Hope it happens.
Okposo was great before his injury. I don't know what happened to him, but he hasn't been the same player.
From Apacolypse Now while flying in a helicopter with Air Cavalry soldiers
Chef: Why do all you guys sit on your helmets?
Soldier: So we don't get our balls blown off.
For all of KOs faults, he's still going to outproduce Isbisters best season this year. Kyle is worlds better then Twinkie Boy ever was.
Actually he's on pace to put up 1 less point than Isbister's best year. Now I think KO is better than Isbister-but honestly KO's been very overrated on these boards for a long time. It's not that he's playing subpar now-it's that this is all there is for him. (and yes I said that before-if you go to to the thread of KO's contract extension you'd see me arguing with people that KO's a 2nd line player at best).
Okposo was great before his injury. I don't know what happened to him, but he hasn't been the same player.
Richie nails it. Aside from the few good weeks he seemed to have when he was first put on the top line, Kyle's play has been very disappointing this year. He is extremely frustrating to watch. I hope he gets back on track next year. If not, it may be time to move him or to at least acknowledge that he can't be relied on for anything more than 3rd line minutes, which on this team adds up to a fair amount.
Why is everyone getting on Okposo and not Grabner? If Grabner converts on 25% of his breakaway chances, we are in the playoffs right now!
Aside from the complete POS's on this team (Rolston, Reasoner, Mottau) I'm most frustrated with Grabs and KO. Both are greatly underperforming this season. Very difficult to watch.
After having his Jaw broken, didn't Isbister play soft becoming pretty useless in the process? At least Okposo has come back from injury, slowly, but working towards coming back to his old form.
Brad Isbister was well positioned to be this team's next captain in the 2000 area before the trades for Yashin and Peca.
To have seen these guys play, I think they look very similar. I doubt Okposo gets traded today, but this may be the highest his value will be. In fact, I'd stake my life on Okposo not being traded.
Okposo was great before his injury. I don't know what happened to him, but he hasn't been the same player.
Sad but true. Before his injury he was often noticeable out there, playing like a bull in a china shop and hard to remove from the puck. Since coming back he's been generally forgettable.
I still have faith that he'll get back into form, but it looks like we won't see it this year. Hopefully GMG isn't looking to move him because I have a feeling they'd regret it before long.
Aside from the complete POS's on this team (Rolston, Reasoner, Mottau) I'm most frustrated with Grabs and KO. Both are greatly underperforming this season. Very difficult to watch.
Haha. Came here to glean what I could on how Rolston and Mottau have been this season, saw Isbister's (liked him as a B) name and had to check this out.
Based on the bolded, looks like the B's made out about how I thought they did.
