Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
As Kyle Okposo is set to play in his first game at the Barclays Center since his departure from the New York Islanders, it would only be fitting to go down memory lane and look back at our favorite Okposo moments .
Kyle Okposo was a fan favorite for the New York Islanders, being a crucial part of each of the three seasons in which the New York Islanders made the playoffs. He always came out when the team needed him the most.
Whether it be a fight or a spew of goals, he was always producing in moments where his team needed him most, which is what the New York Islanders are missing dearly at this point.
He was also a guy who stuck around for quite a long time, he was drafted in 2006 and never looked back from there, always helping out in the community as well as lightening young fan’s hearts.
With Frans Nielsen, Matt Martin, and Kyle Okposo all leaving in free agency it really was the end of an era for the Islanders. Okposo’s departure was one that tarnished the hearts of many fans, but especially millennials like me as he was the player who got us into hockey and the guy we grew up watching.
Since the New York Islanders are off to such a bad start, a look at better days could lighten the mood for us fans, because we most likely won’t be seeing this again for quite a while.
Anyways, here are my top three favorite moments of Kyle Okposo’s New York Islanders Career.
#3: Kyle Okposo Scores First NHL Goal (after losing his helmet)
Kyle Okposo’s first NHL goal was truly one to remember.
I remember watching the New York Islanders face off against the Devils while sitting on the couch with my dad, asking him who this new Okposo kid was. I’d soon never forget.
Okposo played with great tenacity and drive during that game, and it really caught my eye. I had instantly fell in love with how he played his game. He never let anyone get in his way, and he was determined to get his first goal to show that he can make his mark on the league, and that he did.
I remember watching as Kyle took that hit that knocked his helmet off and then getting back up. Just getting straight back up was one thing, but a second later he took the shot that would give him his first NHL goal.
As a 7-year-old, I was truly inspired by that goal. It showed me that if anything knocks you down, you should get back up and make your dreams happen. Kyle Okposo became that kind of player for the New York Islanders.
#2: The Fight that Ignited the 2013 New York Islanders
This fight holds a very deep place in all New York Islanders fan’s hearts.
All of the frustration we had after losing 5-0 in Game One of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs was really showing in Game Two, and that’s when this fight happened.
It was the beginning of the second period, as the New York Islanders were trailing 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The series was already looking like it was over, but Kyle Okposo had other plans.
The frustrated Okposo did something he never did before in his NHL career, he dropped the mitts. As he fought with all of his heart, he gave this New York Islanders team new life. It was just the jolt the team needed to get back into the game.
The inspired Islanders team rallied together to win that game by a score of 4-3. And Kyle Okposo, the man who rallied his team to start the comeback, was the most fitting man to cap it off with a game-winning goal in the third period.
Although the New York Islanders wound up losing that series in six games, the way the Isles pushed the best team in the Eastern Conference was truly something to remember for the rest of your life.
#1: Captain America strikes down the Blackhawks
The story behind this goal couldn’t have been scripted any better.
Just one day after being snubbed from the 2014 United States Olympic Team, Kyle Okposo played with the most heart we ever saw him play with.
He rallied his New York Islanders team to a third-period comeback against the Chicago Blackhawks, sending the game into overtime and never looking back from there.
Kyle wanted this win more than anyone else on the ice, and he got what he wished for as he sniped it top shelf on Corey Crawford to win the game for the New York Islanders.
The reaction from the fans was the most memorable part of this goal.
The fans knew Kyle deserved to be on that roster. The fans wanted him on that roster. And they let Kyle know it, chanting: “USA! USA! USA! USA!”, as he came out of the locker room to salute the crowd after being named the first star of the game.
There are many more memories of Kyle Okposo that New York Islanders fans hold dearly in their hearts, but no matter what your favorite memory is, we all truly miss Kyle Okposo.
So when Kyle skates out onto the Barclays Center ice on Friday for his first time in a Buffalo Sabres uniform, give him one last memory, a standing ovation, and one last salute to the place he used to call home.
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