New York Islanders left winger Matt Martin is diligently working throughout the offseason to benefit everyone in the hockey world. Recently, Martin held his fifth Hockey Academy at Northwell Health Ice Center to help raise money for the Matt Martin Foundation.
The Hockey Academy made its debut back in 2015 to help kids develop a love and skill for the game of hockey. Around 90 kids joined the first year and the camp size nearly doubled by the second year. Martin coached about 180 kids this past week in his fifth year.
Northwell Health Ice Center benefits his camp in many ways due to their two ice rinks, outdoor rink and fields for conditioning purposes. Kids take place in a variety of activities over the five day camp all around the property.
Back when Martin played for Toronto, he still came back to Long Island to host his camp and felt like it was his way of giving back to the Islanders fans for their non-stop support.
Martin takes some of the proceeds and donates it to several causes that are personal to him. Kids get to have on-ice training by Martin and a multitude of special guests from coaches to NHL players. This year, Thomas Hickey acted as a camp counselor at Martin’s camp.
The campers mastered skills like stickhandling, edgework, skating mechanics and conditioning. Along the years, Martin said he had a couple of repeat campers that have been attending since the beginning and he enjoys being able to witness their growth within the game.
Earlier in the summer, Martin also held a bowling fundraiser for NYPD Widows & Orphans Fund, the Boomer Esiason Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis, the Islanders Childrens Foundation, ACDS school for Children with Autism and Downe Syndrome and Defending the Blue Line.
Martin loves to help the hockey community and enjoys getting the fans involved to help raise money for organizations close to him. The next upcoming fundraiser is a Poker Tournament orchestrated by multiple of Martin’s teammates which takes place at Chateau Briand on Sept. 5.

John Smark