Lubomir Visnovsky and Slovan Bratislava look to rebound from an ugly 6-0 loss to Severstal last week. (Photo: Clyde/flickr)

It’s been a while since we’ve looked at how the boys are doing overseas, so let’s do that, shall we?

• SC Bern has been reeling a little bit. After beating HC Davos 6- 3, they won 4-3 against the SCL Tigers, then dropped their next two against EHC Biel and the Zurich SC Lions. John Tavares has nine points (four goals, five assists) in seven games played, while Mark Streit has fallen off a bit on his point-per-game pace with eight in eleven (four goals, four assists, including a goal scored against the Lions). Bern plays next against the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers on Tuesday (10/23).
• Rauman Lukko is still toward the bottom of the standings with 20 points in 15 games played — regulation wins are three points in the SM-liiga, not two —  but Frans Nielsen has been on point with his playmaking. He has nine points, in fact, all assists, in eight games, and has been very disciplined with only 2 PIM. He and Rauman Lukko play the Blues next, also on Tuesday.
• Villacher SV has suffered a couple of crushing losses in the past couple of games, including an 8-4 blowout against HC Orli Znojmo and a 6-3 loss against the EHC Linz Black Wings. Michael Grabner is tearing it up on the top line wing with five points (3 G, 2 A) in his four games played. VSV plays EC KAC on Friday (10/26).
• HC Energie Karlovy Vary came away with a 5-3 win today against Ceske Budejovice, its second in a row. Andrew MacDonald has two assists in four games and is a -2. Karlovy Vary plays Trinec next on Tuesday (Tuesday night is popular with the Euro teams, I see). Fun fact: Dustin Kohn, who suited up for 22 games with the Isles in 2009-10 following an Andy Sutton suspension, is the only other Canadian on this team.
• SC Riessersee is 1-9. Got that? Good. Their only win came during their season opener against Eispiraten Crimmitschau. Their latest loss came in the shootout against the SERC Wild Wings. (Sounds like a bar/grill I know.)  Rick DiPietro posted a 3.03 GAA in his one game played against the Landshut Cannibals on Oct. 14 — and no, as far as I know, he did not get hurt, fortunately. Riessersee doesn’t play against till next Sunday (10/28) against the Fischtown Pinguins. (No, not Penguins. Pinguins. I love Germany.)
• Lubomir Visnovsky has three points in eight games for HC Slovan Bratislava, two of them goals (none of them PPG, unfortunately). Slovan beat Neftehkimik 5-4 in the shootout and lost against Salavat Yulaev in similar fashion, 3-2, then lost their last game miserably against Severstal, 6-0, on Oct. 17 and don’t play against until — you guessed it — Tuesday, against CSKA Moscow. It’s so much easier to get KHL info, by the way, mainly because they have an English-language website that is a Godsend. Whew.
• Finally, here’s a name we missed — Jesse Joensuu has been playing with Assat Pori in the SM-liiga (whose name translates to “Aces”, at least according to Google). The Aces won their last game against Ilves 6-1, snapping a three-game losing streak and scoring the bulk of their goals in the third period. Joensuu has done his part, with 15 points (8 G, 7 A) in 13 games. They face off against HIFK on Friday.

Mark Streit is suiting up for a team in his native Switzerland during the lockout.(Photo: Robert Kowal/flickr)

With the lockout curtailing hopes of starting another NHL season on time, some Islanders players have made job moves elsewhere.

Captain Mark Streit is heading back to his hometown to play for SC Bern of the NLA in Switzerland, as confirmed by the club. Also on the move was newly-minted Isle Lubomir Visnovsky, to play for SC Slovan Bratislava of the KHL, and Jesse Joensuu to Assat of the SM-liiga in Finland.

According to EliteProspects.com (which has an updated list of all lockout transactions),Frans Nielsen is also rumored to be heading to Finland, and there has been talk of Evgeni Nabokov entertaining offers from the KHL, but nothing’s set in stone yet. Stay tuned.

I wonder if Jesse's ever played this before...? (Photo: yourdoku.com/flickr)

After a year spent playing in Sweden, Jesse Joensuu has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Islanders.

The 24-year-old winger has played three seasons previously with the Islanders and amassed eight goals and five assists in that time span. He played for HV71 Jonkoping last season, tallying 29 points in 50 games played (13 G, 16 A). He also played for his native Finland in the IIHF World Championships last month, eliminating the U.S. in the quarterfinals with a two-goal night.

It’s been pretty much slow-going for him in the NHL so far, but I guess the Islanders are hoping this will be his season. His size is definitely an asset, but he’ll have to work on his scoring touch and his skating in order to make a really big impact on the team and in the league. On a team that sorely needs consistent secondary scoring, I’m not sure how this will pan out.

(Also, I’m not going to say that this is a means of altering the roster to make up for PA Parenteau’s imminent absence, but… maybe… just maybe…)