Islanders Loving Life on Long Island

For the New York Islanders, Long Island isn't just the location of their workplace and facilities, it's become their home. How - and from where - they arrived on the Island ultimately varies, but they've each discovered an enriching life on the Island and all it has to offer throughout differing stages of adulthood.

Anders Lee is one of the players who has gone through the natural progression of life on the Island for an Isles draft pick, starting with summer stays at the LI Marriott, to putting down meaningful roots. It's been an eventful and enjoyable decade for the Islanders captain.

"You start out and you're basically in the hotel on and off for the first couple of years of your career," Lee said. "As things progress; you find your apartment, you start to find your restaurants and you're that much more a part of the community in that sense as you start to meet people around town, not just your teammates. It really turns into becoming your home. I've spent most of my adult life here. Now that I'm raising a family, it's such a great place to do that."

At its most distal points, Long Island is 118 miles long, 23 miles wide and home to 95 different villages. Its calling cards are the bountiful beaches on the north and south shores, the proximity to the hustle and bustle of New York City, the fresh cuisine scene, and the exceptional golf courses, but there's an intangible that really makes the place.

"There are great people that live on Long Island," Matt Martin said. "I've made a lot of relationships over the years through guys you play with and have met a lot of people along the way. I love it here... You have so many options and so many things you can do on a daily basis. I've grown to love that. You want to live anywhere that has great people and Long Island has a lot of that."

There's no member on the Islanders that is more entwined with the Island than Martin, who has been coined by his teammates as the 'Mayor of Long Island.' The 30-year-old, who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 NHL Draft (148th overall), has established deep-roots here with his work in the community. Martin was one of the first players on the current roster to stay year-round and even continued his charitable work on the Island during his two seasons in Toronto.

Instagram from @sydneyemartin: I love you forever. #JustMartied

He married into a Long Island family as well, as last summer in Southampton, Martin married his longtime girlfriend Sydney Esiason, the daughter of former New York Jets quarterback and WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason. This year, the couple is preparing for the next stage of their lives as they are due to welcome their daughter in July.

From his rookie season to now in his 10th season in the NHL, there's no question that Long Island has become home and where he envisions spending his future. What made the Windsor, ON, native fall so hard for it?

"The best part about Long Island that nobody really gets to see is the summertime," Martin said. "A lot of players in the league don't understand how great of a place it is and how many great communities there are to live in. There's great school systems. I think that's why a lot of guys end up sticking around here because they see all of the great opportunities and resources and all of the things you can do not only for yourself, but for your kids. They see a future for themselves here."

Jordan Eberle arrived on Long Island after being traded from Edmonton during the summer of 2017. The winger and avid golfer was quickly welcomed by the community and discovered how pleasant of a place it was to live. Instead of pursuing free agency last summer, Eberle signed a five-year extension. In the time since, the 29-year-old and his wife have fully embraced becoming Long Islanders.

"I'm a Long Island boy now," Eberle said. "We love it. Whether it's the fans out here that are super, super passionate about the team - I think a lot of people don't understand how passionate they are until you come and experience it - and just the community. We've lived here for a few years now and gotten to know people just outside of hockey. Those are the people that you really remember. We've been accepted into the community. It's been an awesome experience so far for my wife and I. We're pretty happy that we get to raise a family here."

Derick Brassard, like Eberle, was enticed with the area and became a resident last summer. The Hull, Quebec native was a little more familiar with the Island as an opponent after he played for four years (2012-16) for the New York Rangers and made a few summer trips out to the Hamptons.

"That's something when you're playing as an opponent; you don't realize how nice it is here," Brassard said. "A lot of times you just stay [at the Marriott hotel] right next to the Coli and then leave after the game. Once you make your way here and make your way around it's really nice. I like how quiet it is. There's really nice neighborhoods, really good restaurants, there's some really nice beaches 10 or 15 minutes on both sides of where I live. You're not far from the city. I can see why guys love it so much."

For the budding players, Long Island's diversity is a huge draw. Whether it's finding a rich cup of java like Scott Mayfield has, taking advantage of the prime fishing scene and proximity to the ocean like Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock have, or checking out the local boutiques like rookie Noah Dobson, Long Island allures the younger crowd.

"As a young guy, there's a lot of really, really good restaurants in the area that myself and some of the younger guys go to quite a bit," Pulock said. "Honestly, it kind of offers everything, that's kind of the beauty of it. I've enjoyed my three plus years there and look forward to many more."

Even for the veteran players the thick, "Lawn-Guyland" accents and puzzling town names can still be tricky to perfect, but the rite of passage for virtually every player is adopting the universal understanding that no matter what it's on Long Island.

"Still learning some of the pronunciations for sure," Dobson joked. "But I've enjoyed my time on Long Island. It's been really fun exploring the different parts and just going to some pretty amazing restaurants and shops around. Everyone around is really friendly."

Between fans who have resided on the Island for generations, or players who are brand new to the area, there's a bond shared by the entire community of Long Islanders. The Isles have adopted the community's characteristics of pride and hard work into their own team culture, as they synchronously play the Islander way.

"They come to work, they come to compete every night and they give you their best effort," Head Coach Barry Trotz said during the Islanders' franchise record-breaking 17-game point streak last November. "That's the Islander way. That's a reflection on the way we play, that's a reflection on the people we have and that's a reflection on the community we live in."