NY Islanders Daily Dose: Rookie Camp Opens; A Door Opens for Josh Bailey

Good Morning, Islanders Country.

We’re now within a month before the start of the regular season, which means rookies are wearing practice jerseys, you’re facing a must-win week 2 in fantasy football and NHL players, including captain Anders Lee are in Las Vegas filming marketing videos and being interviewed by the well-rested hockey media.

But back on Long Island, real, unrehearsed hockey action happened with the start of rookie camp. Fans are often accused of overhyping their own prospects. When it comes to the Islanders, over-hyping would mean thinking that the team’s pool of young talent is middle of the road. Across almost every ranking of prospects, the Islanders are in the bottom third of the league, if not inside the bottom two or three.

But I have to tell you, I’m pretty excited about this group.

The Islanders haven’t had a first-round pick in four drafts. That undeniably dries out a team’s pipeline, but when you watch William Dufour, Ruslan Iskhakov, and Matthew Maggio (more on him later), it’s clear there’s talent here, and we shouldn’t necessarily lower expectations because certain publications say so.