Star NHL Defenseman Noah Hanifin Spends Day With Island Hockey Players

The Riley Hockey Clinic welcomed a special guest to their Tuesday session at the Nantucket Ice Rink. Las Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin made the day trip over to the island to spend time on and off the ice with the island hockey players and campers.

Hanifin skated with kids, ran through drills, took photos, signed their gear, and spoke to them prior to the beginning of their skill work - preaching the importance of hard work and good character on the ice and in the classroom.

Hanifin, 27, is a Massachusetts native and has played nine NHL seasons after being selected 5th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2015 NHL Draft. He has 62 goals and 224 assists for 286 points in 678 career games.

Hanifin played one college season at Boston College and recently signed a massive 8 year, $58.8 million contract with Vegas - locking him in to be a cornerstone of the franchise for years to come as a top-pairing defenseman.

The photo above is Hanifin with the camp’s director, Mark Riley - a former captain of Boston College’s hockey team who has directed camps across the region for three decades. “Riley Hockey” has played an instrumental part in the development of the island’s hockey culture over the years with a majority of Whaler hockey players who you see representing Nantucket’s high school teams in the winter partaking in the camp at some point while growing up. This is the 23rd year the camp has been held on Nantucket.

Hanifin told the Current he has been visiting the island for years and that it is one of his favorite places to be. Despite his move out to Vegas to continue his NHL career, he said he has no plans to stop coming here in his free time, and plans to be back soon.