Islanders roll into East Rockaway camp

The Islanders signed hundreds of autographs for the lucky campers.

Brian Croce/Herald

Josh Bailey made a few good passes to his teammates during the game.

Brian Croce/Herald

Noah Harwin got his Islanders jersey signed.

Brian Croce/Herald

Two members of the Islanders hockey team greeted campers at Rolling River Day Camp in East Rockaway.

Brian Croce/Herald

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Campers at Rolling River Day Camp always have a lot to do — but when a couple of New York Islanders made their way to the East Rockaway camp, those other activities were quickly placed on the back burner.

On July 11, Islanders’ forwards Matt Moulson and Josh Bailey signed autographs for more than 600 campers, on top of posing for pictures and playing a game of street hockey with the kids. But the fun didn’t stop there as team mascot Sparky the Dragon and the rest of the Islanders Ice Tour made the trip to Rolling River as well with inflatable games and plenty of prizes to hand out.

“It’s great when you can do things like this on Long Island with people who are from here and support the team,” Moulson said. “I think we turned a couple of them into Islanders fans.”

Noah Harwin, an eight-year-old from East Rockaway, got his Islanders jersey signed by Bailey and Moulson and said he had a lot of fun meeting them. Oceanside resident Ethan Bloom, 9, said his family recently purchased Islanders season tickets and he loves going to games. “It was like a dream meeting them,” Bloom said. His sister, Lauren, 8, expressed the same sentiments. “It was fun to meet the Islanders because I got autographs,” she said. “I like watching the games especially when the Islanders win.”

Rolling River Director Marissa Goodman helped coordinate the event and said that the day camp has had a great relationship with the Islanders for many years. Each January, Rolling River hosts it’s winter reunion at an Islanders game, she added. “It’s absolutely incredible,” she said. “This is an unforgettable experience for our campers and [Moulson and Bailey] were so interactive.”

For Bailey, who is no stranger to making appearances in the Long Island community since he was drafted by the organization in 2008, said he enjoys interacting with kids whenever possible.

“It means a lot when the kids are exited, that’s what it’s all about,” Bailey, a 22-year-old from Ontario, Canada, said. “You could see the smiles on their faces and they kept coming up with different things to sign so Matt and I were just taking it all in.”