Gleb Veremyev is proving value on and off the ice at NY Islanders camp, taking full advantage of being bilingual

In his first rookie camp of his professional career, the NY Islanders are getting their money's worth from forward Gleb Veremyev.

Veremyev, 22, was signed as a college free agent after playing three seasons for Colorado College. Growing up in New Jersey, Veremyev's parents, both born in Russia, made him bilingual in English and Russian.

Veremyev has been an ideal teammate at Rookie Camp

With the influx of new signings and draftees from Russia, Veremyev has been able to communicate with many of his new teammates who are still not proficient in English. Two of those players are Maxim Shabanov, who is currently at Rookie Camp, and Daniil Prokhorov, who was with the team at camp after the draft and is currently playing in the KHL.

"They're really funny," Veremyev said today after day three of Rookie Camp. "They're really down-to-earth people, and they always mean well. I guess they're just funny. It's kind of cool seeing the different parts of the world. Like, I talk to the American guys, Canadian guys - I guess they have their own way of life, going about things. Then you ask Shabanov and Prokhorov what different things you see going on here versus Russia or vice versa, and you get to experience all the cultures of the world."

Along with Matthew Schaefer, Shabanov is probably the biggest attraction at Rookie Camp for the media. Spending his entire life playing in Russia, he needed a translator to speak with the media members. That's where Veremyev stepped in. Veremyev translated a Q&A between Shabanov and the media, but Shabanov managed to answer one question himself without the help of his new teammate.

When asked how he plans on dealing with the physicality of the NHL and not being the biggest player standing only 5'9", Shabanov responded in English with, "I strong."