NY Islanders set up one of their teammates for arrest

NY Islanders Pull a Prank on One of Their Own

Hockey players are known for their love of pranks, both in the locker room and beyond. While Marc-Andre Fleury is often recognized as one of the NHL’s top pranksters, Nate Thompson and the New York Islanders proved they were no amateurs when it came to pulling off an elaborate joke.

Thompson recently appeared on the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast and shared a story about one of the best pranks his Islanders teammates pulled during his time with the team.

Islanders Set Up Teammate’s Fake Arrest

During his stint with the Islanders from 2008 to 2010, Thompson lived in a house with fellow young players Bruno Gervais, Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, and Tim Jackman. Their house often became the hub for team gatherings.

The mastermind of this particular prank was team captain Bill Guerin, now the general manager of the Minnesota Wild. Guerin collaborated with a police officer to stage a fake arrest of defenseman Chris Campoli.

“So I remember we were at the house and everybody kind of has an idea of what’s going on,” said Thompson. “A few of us and the cop shows up and Billy’s trying to calm the guy down, calm the cop down. The cop looks at Billy and says, ‘Shut the f*** up,’ to him, like that. And it was pretty funny cause Billy just goes, ‘Okay, okay, okay….’ And they grabbed Campi, and cuffed him in front of the house in front of everybody.”

The officer took Campoli for a short drive around the neighborhood before returning him to the party. Although Campoli claimed he knew it was a prank, Thompson noted that no one believed him.

These Islanders teams might not have had much success on the ice during the organization’s difficult years in the late 2000s, but they certainly knew how to have a good laugh off the ice.