Hockey players are known for their playful antics, both in the locker room and beyond. Among them, Marc-Andre Fleury stands out as one of the league’s most famous pranksters, while Nate Thompson and the New York Islanders also had their share of tricks up their sleeves.
Recently, Thompson appeared on the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast and recounted one of the funniest pranks his teammates executed on an unsuspecting player. During his time with the Islanders from 2008 to 2010, he shared a house with fellow young players Bruno Gervais, Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, and Tim Jackman, and they frequently hosted team gatherings.
The captain of that team was Bill Guerin, who is now the general manager of the Minnesota Wild. Guerin devised a scheme involving a staged arrest of Chris Campoli, a former defenseman on the Islanders, with a police officer in on the joke. Thompson recalled, “I remember we were at the house and everyone kind of knew what was about to happen. A few of us and the cop showed up, and Billy was trying to calm things down. The cop told Billy to ‘Shut the f*** up,’ and it was hilarious because Billy just went ‘Okay, okay, okay…’ Then they grabbed Campi and cuffed him in front of everyone.”
The officer drove Campoli around the neighborhood for a short while before bringing him back to the party. Thompson noted that although Campoli was aware something was up, no one else believed the ruse.
While those Islanders teams faced tough times on the ice during the 2000s, they certainly managed to find humor and camaraderie off the ice.
