Training camp has officially begun. 

The New York Islanders hit the ice on Friday, skating in a pair of sessions at Northwell Health Center in East Meadow. In total, 49 players - 27 forwards, 16 defensemen and six goalies - will participate in camp, though four players - John Tavares, Nikolay Kulemin, Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss - are still competing in the World Cup of Hockey. 

Here are some news, notes and quotes from the first two days of training camp: 

The New York Islanders kick off their preseason on Monday night, hosting the Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m. at Barclays Center.

Islanders first-round picks - Mathew Barzal, Joshua Ho-Sang, Michael Dal Colle and Anthony Beauvillier - will play in Monday's game, skating alongside Ryan Strome, Ryan Pulock, Shane Prince and Eric Boulton.  

"It's important for everybody to showcase what they can bring to our lineup and our identity," head coach Jack Capuano said. "I'm not looking at the result as much as where guys are going to fit, which guys have good hockey IQ that can play within the team concept, but also guys that play with pace and play the way that we want to play.

Ryan Strome was back at center on the first day of Islanders training camp - and it's possible he could be there to start the season as well. 

Strome skated between Anders Lee and Josh Bailey in the second group of Friday's skate at Northwell Health Ice Center and while that move back to center isn't official, the 23-year-old would welcome it. 

"If that's the way it shakes out, then that'd be great," Strome said. "Obviously it'd be a bit of an adjustment just trying to get back to it. Nothing I'm not used to, I've been a centerman a lot of my life."

The New York Islanders opened 2016 training camp on Friday. 

In total 49 players - 27 forwards, 16 defensemen and six goalies - are participating in this year's camp. See below for a full training camp roster. 

Preseason games begin on Monday, Sept. 26 as the Islanders host the Philadelphia Flyers at Barclays Center at 7 p.m

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The New York Islanders are feeling pretty optimistic about their upcoming season. 

But after coming off the franchise's first playoff series win since 1993, keeping the young pieces of roster relatively intact and adding some impactful veterans, there's reason to feel pretty good at the start of training camp. 

"We have a big year ahead of us with the team that we have right now. I expect nothing less than to go further than we did last year," Casey Cizikas said at the team's media day on Thursday.

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The New York Islanders usually play golf for themselves over the summer, but on Tuesday, they were playing for the kids. 

The Islanders players, coaches and alumni were teeing off for charity at the team's ninth annual golf outing, raising over $100K for the Islanders Children's Foundation. 

"It's a great day on the course, it's a great cause," Travis Hamonic said. "I think it's something that all of us really enjoy being a part of. Just being out here raising some money and some awareness it's important."

View 2016 Islanders Children's Foundation Golf Outing Gallery

For the past week, the Islanders prospects have been running through drills, learning systems and lifting weights, all in preparation for main camp, which starts Friday. 

It's all practice, but Wednesday night's prospect game against the Philadelphia Flyers offered a chance to show what they'd learned in a game setting. There were no points at stake - the Islanders lost 4-0 - but the stakes on the ice were real. Across from the Islanders was a real opponent, throwing real hits - it was a chippy game highlighted by big hits - forcing them to make real split-second decisions and essentially practice with live rounds. 

In a perfect world, Michael Dal Colle would have played in the American Hockey League last season, but age restrictions kept him in the junior leagues. 

So while Dal Colle spent the last season - his fourth in junior - between the Oshawa Generals and Kingston Frontenacs, he got a peek behind the AHL curtain at the end of year with a six-game stint with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. That professional experience spring-boarded him into his first summer as a pro, which he referred to as his "biggest offseason" to date back at Mini Camp in July.

The New York Islanders have named Claude Loiselle to the position of Hockey Operations Consultant.
 
Loiselle served as a hockey operations consultant with the Arizona Coyotes in 2015-16. The Ottawa, Ontario native was part of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization from 2010-14, most recently serving as Vice President and Assistant General Manager. He served as Assistant General Manager with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2005-2009 and was Associate Director, Hockey Operations with the National Hockey League from 1998-2005.