Ed Westfall & His Rink Is The Islanders Last Stop On Team-Building Weekend
Former Islanders captain and longtime broadcaster Ed Westfall reflects on training camp in the early days, his transition from the ice to the booth, lessons in leadership, and more.
CALVERTON, NY — The perks of concluding the preseason on Thursday are that it allowed the New York Islanders to do some team bonding this past weekend.
The squad, which included Isaiah George and Calum Ritchie, two players who aren’t likely to make the team, hit the links on Friday afternoon in the Hamptons, before a day of tennis, pickleball, laughs, and stories on Saturday.
They concluded their weekend getaway at the Ed Westfall Ice Arena in Calverton in front of the Peconic Wildcats and their families, getting in a nice sweat, as captain Anders Lee said.
“We’ve had a wonderful team bonding weekend and spent some great time together,” Lee said. “And then to finish it off, getting on the ice, getting a good practice in, getting a sweat in, and just to combine it up with a cool community rink like this that means a lot to the area. And it was fun for us to be able to come and experience that.
As for the team bonding: “It was just quality time. It’s just hanging out and spending time with one another, shooting convo. We had a fun weekend of playing golf, getting competitive, and hanging out afterwards. It’s just those things go a long way. You get to know a lot of the guys, some new guys in there, and get to know their stories, where they’ve been, how they’ve gotten here, and all that stuff. And they get to know all of us. This is important stuff to get our feet going here and come closer as a team.”
Islanders head coach Patrick Roy, who turned the big 6-0 on Sunday, had a great time with the group ahead of opening week.
“That was fun. It was three good days,” Roy said. “I mean, I thought that was good for team building, good for the players to be together. I really think it sets the tone for our season. And today, it was great to come here and practice in front of the kids. And I think the players loved that.”
Following our chat with the players and Roy, I spoke 1-on-1 with Ed Westfall, the first captain in franchise history, about what it meant to him to have the Islanders at his rink and more: