Gophers defenseman R.J. Anderson wished Kyle Okposo well on Saturday after Minnesota swept Wayne State.

He, the other players and coach Don Lucia have taken the high road. If they are upset with Okposo leaving in midseason, they are hiding it well.

And Okposo may need their best wishes. On Sunday, the Islanders posted a story on their web site with this headline: “K.O. to start in Bridgeport.”

Even though the Islanders are struggling — they lost 4-0 to Edmonton on Monday — apparently they don’t feel Okposo is ready to help them quite yet.

The Bridgeport (Conn.) Sound Tigers needhelp, too.Bridgeport, the Islanders’ top affiliate,is 17-18 and in sixth place in the seven-team East Division of the American Hockey League.

Okposo is expected to join Bridgeport on Wednesday to watch a game, practice on Thursday and play at Binghampton on Friday.

The Sound Tigers have home games on Saturday vs. Springfield and on Sunday vs. Binghampton again.

“What better way to introduce Kyle to pro hockey than possibly with three games in three days?” IslandersGM Garth Snow is quoted as saying.

You remember Garth. He said the Islanders wanted Okposo to turn pro in midseasonbecauseLucia was not developing him.

“We discussed it at length as an organization and wefeel it is best for Kyle to continue his development under coach Jack Capuano at Bridgeport,” Snow said.

“As we do with all of our prospects, we will monitor his progress daily and he will be broughtalong the right way under the tutelage of Jack and his staff. Kyle is a very exciting young prospect who is a vital part of the Islanders’ future.”

Reading between the lines, it sounds as ifSnowis still taking shots at the U.

What Ted Nolan, the Islanders coach, said is even more bewildering.

“Kyle Okposo is too important to the NewYork Islanders for us to even consider rushing him along,” Nolan said.

Ah, isn’t that just what you are doing?

“This decision [sending him to Bridgeport] is without a doubt what is best for him. When he is ready, he’ll be on the Islanders and he’s going to be a very exciting player for our franchise.”

The Islanders picked Okposo with the seventh pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft. He just returned from the Czech Republic where he played on a U.S. team which finished fourth in the World Junior Championships. He had a goal and five assists.

Do you think the Islanders — who are going nowhere — will call Okposo up this season? Wonder how disappointed he is?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 12:09 am and is filed under Gophers men's hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.