Islanders fans most likely know forward Jay Pandolfo for his outstanding two-way play with the New Jersey Devils.

After accepting an invitation to Islanders training camp last week, the 13-year veteran of the NHL, two-time Stanley Cup champion, and 2006-2007 Selke finalist is looking to bring his experience and veteran leadership to the Islanders young team.

 “It’s great. I am excited,” Pandolfo said. “(The Islanders) have a great group of young guys. They have a lot of character guys too, which is nice.”

For Pandolfo, there are a few familiar faces on the ice. Former Devils teammates Mike Mottau and Brian Rolston for starters.

“I know Marty Reasoner pretty well, and Ricky, too,” Pandolfo said. “To have those guys around, it makes me feel a little more comfortable. So far it’s just been skating with these guys for a week before camp and getting to know them. It’s been a great experience so far.”

The Winchester, MA natives says his former Devils teammates didn’t really get in his ear about accepting an invite to camp. Mottau, who Pandolfo sees in Boston, told him he was happy to hear about the possibility.

“He (Mottau) said that he is excited about the team and that there is a really good team here,” Pandolfo said. “From what I’ve seen so far, I expect the team to do really well this year.”

As for what he expects from camp: “My agent talked to Garth a little bit and it’s no promises, no guarantees, just come in and see what you can do. That’s really all I can ask for.” 

Players take the ice this morning for their first day for on ice activities. The players have been broken down in to groups as follows:

Group A
Comeau-Reasoner-Wallace
Grabner-Nielsen-Okposo
Pandolfo-Frischmon-Colliton
Martin-Strome-Kabanov
Marcinko-Gillies

Eaton-Jurcina
Wishart-Reese
Donovan-de Haan

Goalies
DiPietro
Montoya
Koskinen

Group B
Moulson-Tavares-Niederreiter
Rolston-Bailey-Parenteau
McNeely-Cizikas-Backman
DiBenedetto-Ullstrom-Haley
Gallant-Romano

Streit-Mottau
Ness-Hamonic
Olson-Klementyev
MacDonald

Goalies
Nabokov
Poulin
Nilsson

Group A is on the ice first at 10:00 a.m. Group B is on at 12. There are off-ice workouts following each on-ice session. 

Notes: Added to the roster last night was veteran d-man Steve Staios, who has agreed to attend New York Islanders training camp on a tryout. He will not be here at Iceworks today, but will join the team tomorrow. Here is the press release. Check out his career stats here.

Updates all morning long on Twitter @NYIslanders. Follow us here.

Today, the Islanders look to get one back from the Bruins rookies. Islanders head coach Jack Capuano chalked last night's 8-5 loss up to sloppy play on special teams. Check out the recap here. Post game video here.

There was no morning skate, but goalies worked out again with coaches on the ice. Capuano announced that Anders Nilsson would be the starter in goal.

Rhett Rakhshani suffered a concussion in the first period and is being reevaluated today.

Tickets are still available. Click here to get yours now. The game will be streamed on newyorkislanders.com. MSG.com will also carry the stream. Live updates and breaking news will be posted, as always on Twitter @NYIslanders.

If you are coming to the game, there will be an #IslesMeetup on the lower concourse outside of Doolin's. RSVP here.

Here are the rosters for tonight's game:

New York Islanders

#    Pos  Player                          2010-11 TEAM
1    G      Mikko Koskinen         Bridgeport (AHL)
45  G      Anders Nilsson         Lulea (SEL)
60  G      Kevin Poulin               Bridgeport (AHL)
8    C      Ryan Strome              Niagara (OHL)
24  D      Calvin de Haan         Oshawa (OHL)
25  LW   Nino Niederreiter      Portland (WHL)
33  D      Benn Olson               Cincinnati (ECHL)
41  C      David Ullstrom          Bridgeport (AHL)
46  D      Matt Donovan            U. Denver (NCAA)
48  D      Anton Klementyev     Bridgeport (AHL)
53  C      Casey Cizikas           Mississauga (OHL)
54  C      Tony Romano            Bridgeport (AHL)
55  D      Aaron Ness               Minnesota (NCAA)
56  LW   John Persson           Red Deer (WHL)
58  D      Brenden Kichton      Spokane (WHL)
59  LW   Brett Gallant              Bridgeport (AHL)
61  LW   Mitchell Theoret        Niagara (OHL)
62  RW   Tyler McNeely           Northeastern (NCAA)
63  D      Art Bidlevskii              Regina (WHL)
64  D      Andrey Pedan            Guelph (OHL)
71  D      Mark Katic                   Bridgeport (AHL)
77  LW   Kirill Kabanov             Lewiston (QMJHL)
81  C      Justin DiBenedetto   Bridgeport (AHL)


Boston Bruins
#    Pos  Player                                    2010-11 TEAM
70  G      Michael Hitchinson             Providence (AHL)
71  G      Jared DeMichiel                  S. Carolina (ECHL)
48  D      Zach McKelvie                     Army (NCAA)
50  RW   Jared Knight                        London (OHL)
51  C      Ryan Spooner                      Kingston/PBO (OHL)
53  D      Dougie Hamilton                Niagara (OHL)
56  D      Marc Cantin                         Mississauga (OHL)
57  RW   Yannick Riendeau             Reading (ECHL)
58  F      Carter Camper                    Miami-Ohio (NCAA)
61  LW   Craig Cunningham            Portland/Van (WHL)
66  RW   Tyler Randell                       Kitchener (OHL)
75  LW   Anthony Camara                 Saginaw (OHL)
76  C      Alexander Khokhlachev     Windsor (OHL)
78  D      Ryan Button                         Seattle (WHL)
79  D      David Warsofsky                 Boston U (NCAA)
80  C      Dylan Hood                          Moose Jaw (WHL)
81  C      Kyle MacKinnon                  Providence (NCAA)
82  C      Adam Presizniuk                Union (NCAA)
83  F      Calle Ridderwall                 Notre Dame (NCAA)
84  LW   Conor Stokes                      Kingston (OHL)
85  D      Charlie Dodero                   Sudbury (OHL)
86  D      Kevan Miller                         Vermont (NCAA)

Keeping with the schedule of the last two days, goalies took the ice first at 9 a.m. at the Coliseum. The full team joined them at 10:10. Islanders Head Coach Jack Capuano watched practice while tonight's coaches, Brent Thompson and Eric Boguniecki were on the ice with the players. Eric Cairns was also on the ice.

Capuano said that Mikko Koskinen will play tonight. He's expected to play the full 60 minutes. Coaches will announce Tuesday's goalie after the morning skate.

Lines remained the same for the third straight day.

Forwards: Rhett Rakhshani-David Ullstrom-Justin DiBenedetto; Nino Niederreiter-Ryan Strome-Tyler McNeely; Kirill Kabanov-Casey Cizikas-John Persson; Brett Gallant-Tony Romano-Mitchell Theoret

D-pairings: Mark Katic-Calvin de Haan; Matt Donovan-Aaron Ness; Andrey Pedan-Art Bidlevskii; Brenden Kichton-Benn Olson.

Notes: Tonight's game will be streamed live on newyorkislanders.com and on MSG.com. The Islanders live blog will also be up and running with the Reporter and the Rookie eager to bring fans this early dose of hockey. Join the conversation here at 6:30 p.m.

Updates all day and during the game on Twitter. Follow @NYIslanders.

It's Day 3 of Rookie Camp and these guys are getting some serious game action already. Tonight at 7 p.m., the Islanders rookies will take on the Bruins rookies. The game will be streamed on newyorkislanders.com. MSG.com will also carry the stream. Live updates and breaking news from the morning skate will be posted, as always on Twitter @NYIslanders.

Here are the rosters for tonight's game:

New York Islanders

#    Pos  Player                          2010-11 TEAM
1    G      Mikko Koskinen         Bridgeport (AHL)
45  G      Anders Nilsson         Lulea (SEL)
60  G      Kevin Poulin               Bridgeport (AHL)
8    C      Ryan Strome              Niagara (OHL)
24  D      Calvin de Haan         Oshawa (OHL)
25  LW   Nino Niederreiter      Portland (WHL)
33  D      Benn Olson               Cincinnati (ECHL)
41  C      David Ullstrom          Bridgeport (AHL)
46  D      Matt Donovan            U. Denver (NCAA)
48  D      Anton Klementyev     Bridgeport (AHL)
49  RW   Rhett Rakhshani      Bridgeport (AHL)
53  C      Casey Cizikas           Mississauga (OHL)
54  C      Tony Romano            Bridgeport (AHL)
55  D      Aaron Ness               Minnesota (NCAA)
56  LW   John Persson           Red Deer (WHL)
58  D      Brenden Kichton      Spokane (WHL)
59  LW   Brett Gallant              Bridgeport (AHL)
61  LW   Mitchell Theoret        Niagara (OHL)
62  RW   Tyler McNeely           Northeastern (NCAA)
63  D      Art Bidlevskii              Regina (WHL)
64  D      Andrey Pedan            Guelph (OHL)
71  D      Mark Katic                   Bridgeport (AHL)
77  LW   Kirill Kabanov             Lewiston (QMJHL)
81  C      Justin DiBenedetto   Bridgeport (AHL)


Boston Bruins
#    Pos  Player                                    2010-11 TEAM
70  G      Michael Hitchinson             Providence (AHL)
71  G      Jared DeMichiel                  S. Carolina (ECHL)
48  D      Zach McKelvie                     Army (NCAA)
50  RW   Jared Knight                        London (OHL)
51  C      Ryan Spooner                      Kingston/PBO (OHL)
53  D      Dougie Hamilton                Niagara (OHL)
56  D      Marc Cantin                         Mississauga (OHL)
57  RW   Yannick Riendeau             Reading (ECHL)
58  F      Carter Camper                    Miami-Ohio (NCAA)
61  LW   Craig Cunningham            Portland/Van (WHL)
66  RW   Tyler Randell                       Kitchener (OHL)
75  LW   Anthony Camara                 Saginaw (OHL)
76  C      Alexander Khokhlachev     Windsor (OHL)
78  D      Ryan Button                         Seattle (WHL)
79  D      David Warsofsky                 Boston U (NCAA)
80  C      Dylan Hood                          Moose Jaw (WHL)
81  C      Kyle MacKinnon                  Providence (NCAA)
82  C      Adam Presizniuk                Union (NCAA)
83  F      Calle Ridderwall                 Notre Dame (NCAA)
84  LW   Conor Stokes                      Kingston (OHL)
85  D      Charlie Dodero                   Sudbury (OHL)
86  D      Kevan Miller                         Vermont (NCAA)

Quick recap of Day 2:

Not so early today. Goalies were on the ice first again starting at 10:00 a.m. Just like yesterday, Kevin Poulin, Mikko Koskinen, and Anders Nilsson worked out with Goaltending Coach Sudsie Marharaj, Goaltending Consultant Mike Dunham, Sound Tigers Head Coach Brent Thompson, and assistants Matt Bertani and Eric Boguniecki.

All players were on the ice at 11, and then again at 12:10 p.m. after an ice cut.

Practice finished at 1 p.m.

Coaches went with the same lines and d-pairings as yesterday.
Rhett Rakhshani-David Ullstrom-Justin DiBenedetto; Nino Niederreiter-Ryan Strome-Tyler McNeely; Kirill Kabanov-Casey Cizikas-John Persson; Brett Gallant-Tony Romano-Mitchell Theoret

D-pairings: Mark Katic-Calvin de Haan; Matt Donovan-Aaron Ness; Andrey Pedan-Art Bidlevskii; Brenden Kichton-Benn Olson.
Judging by their faces, the rookies were noticeably more focused today.

Notes: Mark Katic, attending his fifth rookie camp, said he knows it’s time to shine. “Being an older player you are definitely looking to stand out more than if you were 17 or 18 years old.” Katic was called up from Bridgeport twice last season and played in 11 games with one assist. 

Concerning the scrimmages against the Boston prospects Monday and Tuesday, Katic says hopes to show Isles management something. “I want to play a good game tomorrow and the next day, and I’m looking forward to accomplishing that.”  

On the lighter side: As he was taking the ice after the it was cut, Katic, who was aiming to be the first on the ice, told Islanders assistant coach Scott Allen: “I’m not a follower.” But as he looked up, he noticed he had been beaten by Sound Tigers teammate Justin DiBenedetto and said, “Oh. I guess I am a follower.”

Pictures and other behind-the-scenes content is posted to Twitter as it happens. Click here to follow @NYIslanders.

More stories and video to be published shortly.

Quick rundown of Day 1:

-Players arrived at 7 a.m. for headshots and physicals.
-Goalies Kevin Poulin, Mikko Koskinen, and Anders Nilsson took the ice at 11 a.m. with Goaltending Coach Sudsie Marharaj, Goaltending Consultant Mike Dunham, Sound Tigers head coach Brent Thompson, and assistants Matt Bertani and Eric Boguniecki.
-All players were on ice for practice by 11:50 a.m.

Lines from today:
Rhett Rakhshani, David Ullstrom, Justin DiBenedetto; Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Strome, Tyler McNeely; Kirill Kabanov, Casey Cizikas, Jjohn Persson; Brett Gallant, Tony Romano, Mitchell Theoret.

D-pairings:
Mark Katic, Calvin de Haan; Matt Donovan, Aaron Ness; Andrey Pedan, Art Bidlevskii; Brenden Kichton, Benn Olson.

In media availability after practice, Kirill Kabanov briefly mentioned the loss of friends in the Lokomotiv tragedy on Wednesday. He has just returned from his university in Russia where there was a small memorial. "It's a big loss to Russian hockey," he said.

He added that "it's pretty hard to think about hockey after that."

More stories to come from Day 1. The lines, along with behind the scenes pictures are posted to Twttier in real time. If you're not following us, now's the time @NYIslanders.

The first day of rookie camp is an early one. The Islanders players have a call time of 7 a.m. (Isles staff had to be in at 6:30, but who's counting?)

First thing up for the rookies this morning is headshots for MSG. Then the guys get in some physicial-type off-ice activities. At 11 a.m., they will hit the ice.

The rookies jump right into game action with two rookie games against the Bruins rookies on Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday's game is open to the public. Tickets are $10, and will benefit the Islanders Children's Foundation. Click here to purchase tickets.

We will be updating this blog and twitter @NYIslanders with pictures and stories from the day.

Finally, hockey is here!

A picture is worth a thousand words.