Meet Danielle

When the Islanders faced off against the Maple Leafs at the Coliseum the night after Christmas, Christine called me from the Coliseum parking lot happily describing the game. Among other things, she told me of a young girl with a sign saying, "All I want for Christmas is Mike Comrie's stick." After the game, she said to me, Comrie handed her his stick through the Plexiglas and penalty box door, and the girl left with a great Christmas gift.

Well, a couple of days later I had the good fortune of running into the lucky recipient through Facebook, where she posted on the Islanders' official page describing her happy moment, and I quickly responded. She sent me a message, and that started a great conversation.

Danielle is from Lake Grove, NY, and she has been an Islanders fan since birth. "My mom dressed me up in Islanders clothing," she said. " I had a pillow of the Islanders, and a bear with an Islanders shirt on it when I was a little baby." Now, she still supports the team, having gone to seven games so far this year, including Dec 26 and tomorrow's tilt against the Panthers.

Other than Mike Comrie, her favorite players are Josh Bailey, Bill Guerin, Doug Weight, and Andy Hilbert. She thinks Bailey has a great future ahead of him, especially since he's young and is a great playmaker. As for the other young guns, she thinks Campoli can be great in the league too: "He has a lot of goals for a defenseman, and he's got a great shot!"

When it came to the idea of the sign, she said Comrie had thrown a puck to her once, and "I thought since it was Christmas and he's my favorite player, maybe he would do something nice." With her aunt and uncle's help, she made the sign, and got his attention.

As far as the future of the franchise goes, she said, "I think that we do have a very talented team and if they start focusing more, they can be amazing... Once the whole team has confidence in themselves and each other it will open up a whole new level of hockey...so they just need to believe, and it helps when there are a lot of fans at the games cheering them on!" As part of that 15,000+ crowd at the Coliseum last Friday night, she definitely knows a huge supportive fan base is the way to go.

Thanks very much Danielle for giving us your time and a great story to highlight on the NY Isles Scene!