New York Islanders Rookie Camp: Appetizer for the real thing

Cartman's description of the excess of appetizers is an apt take on NHL prospect camps: A teaser for fans and players alike, leading up to the big meal everyone wants. The New York Islanders announced their rookie camp today, set for Sept. 6-10 at Nassau Coliseum before the rest of the roster arrives on Sept. 11 for check-in and physicals before the big camp kicks off on the ice in Brooklyn on Sept. 12.

For the Sept. 6-10 prospect camp, the roster includes Calvin de Haan, Matt Donovan, Kirill Kabanov, Anders Lee, Scott Mayfield, Brock Nelson, Anders Nilsson, Andrey Pedan, Ryan Pulock, Griffin Reinhart, Ryan Strome, Johan Sundstrom "and other Islanders prospects."

What you have here is essentially Bridgeport's initial training camp, run by Sound Tigers coach Scott Pellerin, with several of the youngsters having the chance to get off to a good start.

Of the above, de Haan, Donovan, Lee, Nelson and Strome can all make cases for an NHL job, while Pulock and Reinhart junior-age players who cannot be assigned to the AHL, and thus are almost certainly ticketed back to their WHL clubs.

The daily morning skates are not open to the public, but there is media availability, so look for news or interviews to circulate each day.

Because, you know, rookie camp is what you eat before the main camp ... to make you more hungry for hockey.