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For many years, the answer to a unique Islanders trivia question was simple:
Who is the only Long Islander to play for the Islanders?
The answer was Richie Hansen, who was born in the Bronx before his family moved to Long Island. The Northport native was taken by the Islanders in the seventh round of the 1975 NHL Draft and played his first game for the team on Feb. 1, 1977, against the Buffalo Sabres.
While Hansen was the first Long Islander to play for the Islanders, he wasn’t the last.
During the 1999-2000 season, Port Jefferson native Chris Ferraro, a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 1992, became the first Long Island-born player to suit up for the Islanders, appearing in 11 games.
Then, during the 2020-21 season, the Islanders acquired Smithtown-born Kyle Palmieri, who is now in his fifth season with the team.
This season, in addition to Palmieri, the Islanders have a trio of Long Island-born players participating in training camp. One is 24-year-old forward Tyce Thompson, the son of former Islanders assistant coach Brent Thompson, who was born in Oyster Bay before growing up in Milford, Conn.
The other two were not only born on Long Island, but they also grew up as Islanders fans. Now, they are enjoying the opportunity of participating in training camp with the team they grew up rooting for. Read about them below.
The Pride of Laurel Hollow
Twenty-three-year-old Marshall Warren remembers cheering when former Islanders captain John Tavares scored overtime goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The former Boston College and University of Michigan defenseman went to many Islanders games, and now the native of Laurel Hollow is an Islander himself.
This past April, Warren signed a two-year entry-level deal with the team he rooted for growing up on the Island.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Warren told Greater Long Island after practice on Monday.
Drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Draft, he saw his first professional action late last season for the Bridgeport Islanders in the American Hockey League.
“I’m soaking everything in. I actually had a moment [Sunday] when I was thinking, ‘Wow, this is really special.’ Just being able to represent myself and my family, and being out here with the guys I always looked up to, is pretty cool. My five-year-old or 10-year-old self would be ecstatic about where I am right now.”
Taking the ice for training camp at Northwell Health Ice Center at Eisenhower Park is nothing new for Warren. He skated there every day during the summer while growing up and even encountered Islanders players like Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, and Scott Mayfield.
Now, at least for this training camp, they are his teammates.
“It’s kind of surreal,” said Warren. “Now I’m playing golf with them and hanging out with them, so it’s pretty cool. You just take everything in stride and do your thing out there.”
While he is expected to start the season with Bridgeport, Warren is taking advantage of every opportunity he has on Long Island, learning the NHL game from Islanders defensemen like Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Noah Dobson.
He’s trying to be a sponge, absorbing as much knowledge as possible in advance of his first full professional season.
“I had the opportunity to play golf with [Ryan Pulock] and [Adam] Pelech a bunch this summer, so I was just picking their brains about the coaches and the systems. Even [Noah] Dobson said, ‘Keep your head up in certain situations.’ They’re all good guys and they all want to see me grow.”
There are players from Long Island sprinkled throughout the NHL, like Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (Jericho) and Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach). Now, Warren has his sights set on one day getting the call to Long Island and putting on a New York Islanders jersey.
He’d love to be the latest Long Island-born hockey player to prove that this region can produce great talent.
“I think it’s definitely underrated,” Warren said of Long Island. “People don’t understand how good we have it here. It’s kind of cool to be able to represent Long Island and do your thing—just to show that it’s not just Canadians running the hockey world.”
This Friday, the Islanders will play their pre-season home opener against the Devils at UBS Arena. If things work out, Warren could be playing for his hometown team on home ice, in front of family and friends.
“I think it’s cool,” said Warren. “It’s something you always dream about.”
Farmingville native hoping for an opportunity
Veteran NHL goalie Keith Kinkaid is participating in Islanders training camp on a Professional Player Tryout (PTO). The Farmingville-born Kinkaid grew up on the Island, going to games with his father at Nassau Coliseum, and, at least for the moment, is finally with his hometown team.
“It’s been pretty good,” said the 35-year-old netminder. “It’s definitely cool to be with your hometown team that you grew up cheering for. Half my friends are Rangers fans and half are Islanders fans, but all the Islanders fans are pretty pumped. They’re really happy for me.”
An Islanders memory that sticks out for Kinkaid is when Shawn Bates scored a game-winning penalty shot goal in the opening round of the 2002 playoffs against the Maple Leafs at Nassau Coliseum.
If you were there that night, you know that the noise level after Bates scored practically ripped the roof off of “The Barn.”
“That was pretty huge,” said Kinkaid. “Nothing beats the [Nassau] Coliseum.”
Kinkaid was not drafted but signed with the New Jersey Devils in 2011, spending that season with their AHL team in Albany. He made his NHL debut for the Devils during the 2012-13 season and would go on to play for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Colorado Avalanche before playing last season for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello signed Kinkaid back in 2011 when he was the general manager of the Devils. Thirteen years later, Lamoriello is giving him a chance to earn a contract with the Islanders.
“He’s awesome,” said Kinkaid of Lamoriello. “I just want to work hard, show them I can still compete, and try to earn a contract. I still got it at 35. All I can do is work hard, be the hardest worker out there, help the young guys, and push everyone to be their best. That’s what I’m focused on, and whatever comes with that would be tremendous.”
Just like Marshall Warren, there’s a chance Kinkaid could suit up for the Islanders on home ice at UBS Arena on Friday against the Devils.
At this point, Kinkaid just wants a chance to play.
“I’d say any game would be tremendous, just to get an opportunity to prove to yourself and prove to them that you can still do this,” said Kinkaid.
With the status of Ilya Sorokin (back surgery) up in the air for the start of the season, Kinkaid is pushing for one of two opportunities with the Islanders organization. He could start the season on Long Island as the backup to Semyon Varlamov, or he could earn a chance to start the season playing in Bridgeport.
For Warren and Kinkaid, this training camp holds extra significance. Both Long Island natives, they now find themselves with the chance to represent the team they grew up cheering for. With the map of Long Island on the Islanders logo, their connection to home runs deep.
