The Islanders’ newest acquisition is about 4 feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds, but captain John Tavares called him the toughest player on the ice after practice Tuesday.
Brandon Bloom, 8, of South Setauket, was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in April 2016 and has since been undergoing chemotherapy. On Tuesday, he became an Islander for a day.
“I thought I’d be so scared, but I had a lot of fun,” Brandon said in the locker room at the Northwell Health Ice Center, the Islanders’ practice facility in East Meadow. He called the experience a “dream come true.