Notes and quotes from the Islanders’ five-day rookie camp, starting with rookie-in-name-only Maxim Tsyplakov …
1. Getting an early look at Tsyplakov, who comes to the NHL from Russia this season, was valuable. Seeing him against players who were almost uniformly younger, smaller and less experienced was less valuable.
2. Predictably, Tsyplakov’s strength on the puck stood out throughout camp, and he was one of the best players on the ice, if not the best. But let’s see a few days of camp with vets before making any declarations.
3. When I spoke to Tsyplakov after he signed, his English was pretty spotty and his agent acted as an interpreter. When Tsyplakov spoke to a group of beat writers last week, he did so on camera, in English, with almost no issue. He said he worked with a teacher this summer in Moscow to improve his grasp on the language.
