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Quotes from last season's Sound Tigers 

• Jeff Tambellini: I am looking forward to skating with the future of this organization this week. For me, I hope to push my skills to the next level so that I can become an everyday player in the NHL.
• Trevor Smith: I have been skating a bit in Vancouver, B.C. since the season ended just trying to maintain the level of play that I was competing at last year in the AHL. Skating with the guys here is great because everyone is working their hardest to make an impact so the pace is high.
• Jason Pitton: I've worked hard on my conditioning since the season ended and after today's skate I feel pretty good about where I am right now. My physical testing scores were good but I look forward to pushing myself during Mini-Camp and then the period of time until NHL Training Camp to be in the best shape I can for the upcoming season.
• Petteri Nokelainen: The biggest thing for me is coming back from my injury problems last season. My knee feels better then it has in years and playing with these prospects is really going to help my development going into Training Camp in September.
• Frans Nielsen: I haven't skated much this summer. I am concentrating on becoming stronger so I have run a bunch of sprints to help with my explosions when I start my stride.
• Blake Comeau: It's always exciting to come to Mini-Camp because you are playing against the guys who are developing and hoping to steal your job in a couple of years. The competition level is great and can only help each one of us raise our level of skill.
• Masi Marjamaki: It's frustrating to not take part in the main drills with the guys. Bernie (Cassell) is working with me, Jeremy (Colliton) and Robin (Figren) on regaining our skating strength and it will take time but I look forward to returning to full contact practices and making an impact next season.
• Andrew MacDonald: Having the couple of games in the AHL last season helped my confidence a lot. Here at Mini-Camp I feel more relaxed and don't feel the pressure I have in the past. I look to have a good Mini-Camp and come into Training Camp in September playing at a high level to challenge for a spot.
• Jamie Fraser: This being my first Mini-Camp, I didn't know what to expect. With the experience that I had all last season here, I became familiar with the guys and feel that I can concentrate on getting better and learning from the coaching here at Mini-Camp.
• Drew Fata: I have really worked hard on my conditioning this summer and was pretty happy with my testing scores. I have tried to improve on my foot speed this summer with a lot of sprinting. I feel very comfortable on the ice and love learning from Islander greats like Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy.
• Jeremy Colliton: My shoulder is a lot better. I have regained a lot of my strength back from all of the rehab. I am going to work with the coaches this week on recovering from my injury so that I can come back next season stronger and faster then I have been in the past.

Interesting/Funny Moment at Camp
At the end of the first on-ice session, the players took part in a ten-shot shootout. Ten pucks were placed on the blue-line and the players were divided into two teams with the forwards shooting on one end of the ice and the defensemen on the other. The forwards won both games but the star of the drill was Sound Tigers defenseman Drew Fata who went 4 - 4 shooting on goalie prospect Stefan Ridderwall.

Extra Curricular Activities
This afternoon the players received a Lifeskills - Media Relations seminar from V.P. of Communications Chris Botta, V.P. of Islanders TV and Media Relations Coordinator Corey Witt. Topics discussed were how to deal with tough questions after a loss, where to look during an interview and how to frame an answer that will always portray the organization in a proper light.

Who is Impressing
After only the initial day of mini-camp, one of the players who stood out was Islanders 2006 first round draft choice, Kyle Okposo. During the shootout, Okposo pulled a move on goalie Jase Weslosky where he pulled the puck on his back-hand and roofed a shot over Weslosky. The goal dropped many jaws around the arena and a couple of howls on the forwards bench.

View from the Stands
Many fans filed into IceWorks to see the up and coming prospects of the Islanders organization. The Trottier Group woke early for their 7:30 a.m. physical testing and hit the ice at 10:30 a.m. Islander coaches Dan Flynn and Dan Lacroix led the drills with the presence of Trottier on the ice giving pointers to the prospects. The Bossy Group followed with their physicals at 9:30 a.m. and their on-ice time at 11:30 a.m. After lunch the players sat though their Life Skills meeting about the media in the world of sports.

What questions do you have for the players? Email me at kimber@soundtigers.com

Line Combinations for the Two Mini-Camp Groups

Trottier Group:

Bossy Group:

GOALIES

Jase Weslosky (NYI 2006 Round 4)	Michael Mole (2006 Signed Free Agent)
Stefan Ridderwall (NYI 2006 Round 6)	John Murray (Undrafted F.A.)

DEFENSE

Drew Fata (2006 Signed Free Agent)	Jamie Fraser (2007 Signed Free Agent)
Dustin Kohn (NYI 2005 Round 2)	Andrew MacDonald (NYI 2006 Round 6)
Shane Sims (NYI 2006 Round 5)	Emil Axelsson (NYI 2004 Round 7)
Tyrell Mason (NYI 2005 Round 6)	Jordan Hart (Undrafted F.A.)
Mark Katic (NYI 2007 Round 3)	Martin Frechette (Undrafted F.A.)
Simon Lacroix (NYI 2007 Round 7)	Blake Kessel (NYI 2007 Round 6)

FORWARDS

Sean Bentivoglio (2007 Signed FA)	Blake Comeau (NYI 2004 Round 2)
Frans Nielsen (NYI 2002 Round 3)	Petteri Nokelainen (NYI 2004 Round 1)
Kyle Okposo (NYI 2006 Round 1)	Jeff Tambellini (Trade from L.A. 2006)
Jason Pitton (NYI 2004 Round 8)	Kim Johansson (NYI 2006 Round 5)
Rhett Rakhshani (NYI 2006 Round 4)	Trevor Smith (2007 Signed Free Agent)
Shea Guthrie (NYI 2005 Round 3)	Tomas Marcinko (NYI 2006 Round 4)
Jesse Joensuu (NYI 2006 Round 2)	Jason Gregoire (NYI 2007 Round 3)
Doug Rogers (NYI 2006 Round 4)	Tyler Haskins (DET 2004 Round 5)
Brian Day (NYI 2006 Round 6)	Justin Bourne (Undrafted F.A.)
Paul Crosty (Free Agent)	James Marcou (Undrafted F.A.)
Maxime Gratchev (NYI 2007 Round 4)

INJURED

Jeremy Colliton (NYI 2003 Round 2)
Masi Marjamaki (NYI 2005 Round 5)
Robin Figren (NYI 2006 Round 3)