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Former Islander Nate Thompson Learned the Definition of ‘Rowdy’ At The Coliseum

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2 years ago

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New York Islanders, Nate Thompson

My good friend Jonny Lazarus and his “The Blue Crew” podcast had a pretty cool guest on their latest show in NHL forward Nate Thompson, a current unrestricted free agent. Over his 15-year NHL career, the 37-year-old Nate Thompson has played for nine teams, one being the New York Islanders.

Although Nate Thompson did not play on the island was not long, just a year and a half and a total of 82 games, he did share his memories, from his first NHL goal to playing rivarly games.

The Islanders have some tremendous “first NHL goal” stories, as one that sticks out is Kyle Okposo, helmetless, beating Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur glove side to kick off his NHL career.

Many people will not remember that Nate Thompson’s first NHL goal not only came against the rival New York Rangers but against the legend that is Henrik Lundqvist while shorthanded at Madison Square Garden.

“It was, it’s crazy to be able to score a first goal at MSG shorthanded the way I did on Henrik Lundqvist, who is probably going to be Hall of Famer,” Thompson said. “So yeah, it’s just it’s something special.”

Thompson went on to say how much he loved playing in New York and how incredible the rivalry was between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers. But he did not feel the extent of the rivalry until he got to experience it on Nassau Coliseum ice.

“I remember playing like the first game against the Rangers, and guys like warned me to be like, hey, it’s rowdy. Yeah…okay,” Thompson said. “And then I realized what they meant by how rowdy because there’d be like five-six fights in the stands.”

“You’re playing the game, and it’d be over TV timeout or something like that, and you look up, and it’s just people falling down the stairs, over benches. I’m like, oh, so that’s what you mean by getting rowdy. And I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Thompson shared a story from the rivalry, one that had to do with his mother being in attendance.

“My mom came to visit. I came to a game we were playing at MSG against the Rangers. I was on the Islanders at the time, but she’s sitting in the stands, and some guy behind her chirping,’ Yo f–g suck Thompson, piece of s–t’. And my mom, she turns back and goes, ‘Hey, listen, that’s my son. Watch your mouth’,” shared Thompson.

The fan became apologetic, stating that he liked the way Thompson played and respected his game.

“You don’t mess with moms, you know how that goes,” Thompson said.

The complete interview with Nate Thompson can be found below, as it encompasses Nate Thompson’s journey in the NHL, what’s next for him once his playing days come to an end, and more.

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