NY Islanders hold moment of silence for Connor Kasin, Massapequa hockey player who died after collapsing during charity game

The New York Islanders paid tribute Thursday night to the Massapequa teenager and devoted Islanders fan who died suddenly this week while playing the sport he loved.

On the eve of Connor Kasin's funeral Mass, the team held a moment of silence Thursday night before their game at UBS Arena against the Seattle Kraken. Kasin, a 17-year-old Massapequa High School hockey player, died playing in a charity game Saturday.

"This past weekend our community experienced a tragic loss. Connor Kasin, a senior on the Massapequa varsity hockey team and a member of the Long Island Sharks, passed away while playing the game he loved,” an announcer said as a slideshow of pictures of Kasin displayed on the big screen at center ice.

Kasin was pictured playing hockey on his high school team, attending an Islanders game while donning the team's jersey, and with his family.

"Connor was a lifelong Islanders fan, a beloved teammate, and a true friend to all who knew him. He was a son, a brother, and a part of our extended hockey family,” the announcer said.

"Our hearts are with Connor’s family, his parents, Craig and Mary, and his siblings, Christian and Cole, as well as his friends and teammates who will forever remember his smile, his passion and his unwavering commitment to the sport he loved.”

Kasin was playing for Massapequa High School's varsity hockey club team Saturday evening at the Town of Oyster Bay Skating Center in Bethpage when he collapsed from a "sudden medical event" during an intermission, officials said. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

The game was in honor of a Syosset High School graduate who died in a car crash last year.

Friends, classmates and community members have been sharing their condolences and support this week for Kasin’s family, including placing hockey sticks on their front porch in what has become a tradition in the hockey community whenever a player dies.

Students throughout multiple school districts also honored the late hockey player this week by wearing the blue and gold colors of his Massapequa High School team.

A funeral Mass was scheduled Friday at 9:30 a.m. at St. William the Abbot R.C. Church in Seaford.