On Thursday, September 28th, 2023, Sean, Stefen and co. attended the 20th Annual Companions in Courage Golf Outing.
The event was star-studded with Islanders alumni, including Pierre Turgeon (who was just inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame), Bryan Trottier, Bobby Nystrom, Butch Goring, Ed Westfall (the first Islanders captain, goal scorer, all-star rep in team history), Benoit Hogue (who along with Turgeon, was a part of ’93 cinderella run to conference finals), Randy Wood, and of course, Pat LaFontaine, who started Companions in Courage to connect hospitalized children to their family and friends, and heroes.
A little fun fact: The Islanders traded Pat LaFontaine and Randy Wood to Buffalo for Pierre Turgeon and Benoit Hogue, so it was pretty awesome to have them all there together.
It was the 20th year of the Companions in Courage Golf Outing. This year, the event was at Huntington Country Club in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. The day began at 9:30 a.m. with breakfast. Then, the putting greens and driving ranges opened up to allow everyone to fine tune their swings before the rounds started at 11:30 a.m. There were plenty of different prizes and challenges up for charity in an attempt to raise even more money for Companions in Courage.
After the golf itself wrapped up, all guests had cocktails and dinner out on the patio. Throughout the day, our very own Sean Cuthbert and Stefen Rosner got to interview so many famous faces. Rosner spoke to LaFontaine, who had this to say about the CiC event: “It’s a great community. It goes back to when I was an Islander. I mean, Al Arbour talked about how it’s important to be a team on the ice, but also to be a community off the ice. Guys like Brian Trottier, Bobby Nystrom, Clark Gillies … all have done different things to help the community. As you know, it became a love affair between the team and the community.”
It’s no coincidence that so many players rave about their time playing for the New York Islanders and that so many more choose to stay here when they retire. The ties that the Islanders have to Long Island have no limit. Days like Sept. 28, where HNiNY was lucky to witness the fans and former players coming together for a common good, make it all worth it.
Catch Hockey Night in New York with hosts Sean Cuthbert and Stefen Rosner live from Floored Media in Rockville Centre Sunday nights at 8PM ET throughout the season.