A Bout of Randomness

Update 12:40 PM: IMPORTANT ADVISORY: The Islanders announced on Friday that due to capacity limitations and the overwhelming level of interest, a limited number of wristbands will be issued to fans for admission into the Prospect Mini-Camp open practice at Islanders Iceworks in Syosset on July 12th. Wristbands will be issued starting at 9am and fans are encouraged to arrive early as admission will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans must have a wristband in order to gain access to the rink to watch the open practice. Additional parking is available at the Syosset Long Island Railroad station just east of the practice facility.

I've been meaning to get this post out for a couple days so I figured it was time to just throw down some of the random happenings in Islanders Country.

In case you missed it, the Lighthouse Project has moved into the Public Comments phase. The Town of Hempstead has setup an email address for people to send comments on the project: lighthousecomment@tohmail.org. You can also send any comments or concerns via snail mail to: Lighthouse Project Public Comment, One Washington Street, Hempstead, NY 11550

Remember, we have to keep up the pressure on the Town, County and State so our best interests are served during the approval process of the Lighthouse Project. Get involved through The Official Website of the Lighthouse Project and Let There Be Light(house).

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The Islanders formally introduced John Tavares on Wednesday. Big whoop! I got to see him drafted in Montreal! Being there to watch and hear Garth Snow confidently announce, "The New York Islanders are proud to select...John Tavares" is definitely up there on my list of the best Islander moments (a close second to the Shawn Bates penalty shot goal in Game 4 of the '02 1st Round Playoff Series against the Leafs).

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Now that the formalities are over, it's time to get down to business. As I'm writing this, the prospects are taking the ice for the first day of Prospect Camp. Things should get massively crazy on Sunday 7/12, when the practice session at Iceworks in Syosset, NY is open to the public starting at 10:45AM. I'll be there along with my fellow Blog Boxers, the Media and hopefully a whole bunch of jazzed up Isles fans who will get a chance to peer into the future of this team.

Names like Ness, Hamonic, Romano, Koskinen, Nilsson, de Haan, Cizikas, Rahkshani, DiBenedetto, Martin, Trivino and so many others that have a chance to make their mark on the Orange and Blue for this season and many to follow will be there. All will be on display before they part their separate ways to either head to the NHL/AHL or back to their respective college and junior teams. It should be a lot of fun. Be on the look out for some good quotes coming out on Sunday.

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I've been hearing along the grapevine that the Isles are looking into signing Alex Tanguay who could turn into their year's Mark Streit. I think having a top 6 forward who's currently 29 and has a ton of experience would benefit this team a lot. Here's to hoping that "Rolie the Goalie" isn't the only NHL-caliber player the Isles sign this summer.

That's all I've got for you for now. If anything major happens between now and Sunday, I'll be sure to get it posted as soon as possible.

Cheers, folks!