Hockey Press Pass

A decade ago, Chris recorded an interview with legendary Islanders GM Bill Torrey and the tape was recently unearthed. Since so many fans have asked us about the ’90s teams, we hope you enjoy the beloved late Mr. Torrey’s views on the Turgeon and Thomas trades, drafting of Kasparaitis and Palffy, and other topics. Later on, Pat Boyle and Chris discuss the Islanders’ win Tuesday in Ottawa, why these next few weeks are so crucial, when Lou Lamoriello can start talking trade, and then the guys go a bit nuts about fans ripping on Barry Trotz.

Hosts: Chris Botta and Pat Boyle

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle

Sponsor: Main Street Board Game Café – www.mainstboardgamecafe.com

Stick-Taps: Jeff Goldman

In record time, Mollie Walker has gone from covering UMASS hockey for the college paper to the NHL beat for the New York Post. In this conversation, you’ll see why we believe Walker will continue to quickly rise up the ranks of sports journalism. With extraordinary energy and positivity, she shares her views on the Rangers, Islanders, the NHL, and some of writers who have inspired her, and provides some advice for aspiring reporters.

Host: Chris Botta

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle

Presented by: InStat Hockey, Main Street Board Game Cafe

In the latest edition of “Islanders Forecheck,” Pat goes off on the potential of this Islanders season being a disaster. But is it too early to be alarmist? Later on, Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke tells us about his company's collaboration with the Islanders on UBS Arena, and Chris shares his experiences being inside the venue when the doors opened and the emotional fans poured in.

Hosts: Chris Botta and Pat Boyle

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle

Sponsor: Main Street Board Game Café – www.mainstboardgamecafe.com

Stick-Taps: nyimeetups.com; venuesnow.com

As the Islanders jubilantly open their new arena, a reunion with our friend Brian Compton was necessary for Press Pass. We hope you’ll enjoy the show as Chris and Brian express their disbelief that the NYI finally have their own new barn in UBS Arena and — despite the shaky opening to this season — also have a good team.

You may know Kevin Connolly from “Entourage” and several Hollywood hits, but he’s a Long Islander through and through. Passionate about his Islanders and the NHL, the actor and director joins us for a lively discussion about the game, the opening of UBS Arena, how he got to announce a selection on stage at the NHL Draft, and adventures in interviewing John Spano, Gary Bettman, Mike Milbury and many others for his brilliant documentary on the fraudulent Islanders owner.

Host: Chris Botta

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle

Presented by: InStat Hockey, Main Street Board Game Cafe

Like a typical day’s worth of posts on the legendary Puck Daddy blog he produced at Yahoo, this conversation with Greg Wyshynski of ESPN has it all: strong opinions on the NHL, lots of information, and a few laughs along the way. We hope you enjoy it.

Highlights include…

· Greg names his three favorite people in New Jersey Devils history

· Forecast for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Trade Deadline

· His thoughts after being on the Gary Bettman conference call about the Blackhawks

· From leaving a small chain of newspaper in Virginia 13 years ago to appearing regularly on ESPN…what an “overwhelming” trip it’s been

· How he learned he would receive an increased on-air role at ESPN

· Splitting the writing with Emily Kaplan, sharing the studio with John Tortorella

· The early days of Puck Daddy

· When Greg first started to realize the blog at Yahoo was blowing up in a big way

· Was the non-stop hockey news cycle ever exhausting?

· The influence of legendary film critic Roger Ebert

· The three-joke minimum at Puck Daddy

· Sharing career advice: “It’s a lifestyle choice”

Host: Chris Botta

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle

Presented by: InStat Hockey, Main Street Board Game Cafe

In this eight-minute commentary, Chris Botta details some of the callous and unfortunate moments in Gary Bettman’s press conference on the Kyle Beach tragedy, says the job description as Commissioner in these times requires someone more compassionate than the current leader, and expresses his belief that Bettman knows the clock has begun to tick on the final days of his tenure as NHL Commissioner.

Ian Mendes and Chris Botta share something rare in common, having worked both in the PR departments of NHL teams and in the media. In this refreshingly open conversation, Ian tells us about his early start in PR with the Ottawa Senators and what it’s been like to cover the highs and lows of the franchise. Ian’s enthusiasm and positive spirit reverberate throughout the interview. Hockey fans of any team won’t want to miss it.

Episode Rundown:

· Ian is asked which NHL players and coaches were especially gracious with him when he started working in the NHL in the Senators’ PR department.

· His interpretation of GM Pierre Dorion’s comment that the “Senators’ rebuild is cover,” and what it’s been like to cover the young Sens the last few years

· Going from being a media peer of Pierre McGuire to having to cover him as the Senators’ first-year president of hockey operations, including asking at the opening press conference whether McGuire is inevitably Dorion’s successor

· Chris tells Ian about a long-ago video precursor to Hockey Press Pass that he shot at Greenwich Skating Club with Pierre McGuire, which was like Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” but with hockey

· What’s the toughest interview Ian has ever done?

· The balancing act of covering the NHL while “engaging in real change”

· Managing conflicts with players and team staff

· Looking back at Ottawa’s trade of Mark Stone to Vegas for a pick and prospect

· Ian turns the table and asks Chris if he would prepare the Islanders’ GMs for press conferences

· How did Ian’s experience out of college with the Sens’ PR department inform his media career?

· His decision to give up a career in TV in order to spend more time with his family

· Zdeno Chara’s career in Ottawa

· His expectations for the Senators in the near future

· The significant challenges of women and people of color covering hockey, and how he is determined to help

Host: Chris Botta

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle

A Hockey Press Pass bonus series, “Islanders Forecheck” takes the long view of the 2021-22 season of the New York Islanders – one that many experts have predicted will end with a Stanley Cup. Chris Botta opens the show with some perspective on the wild shenanigans of ownership in 1999 and then Chris and Pat Boyle discuss...

- The All-Time Islanders Underrated Team, starting with defensemen

- The Islanders’ 3-2-1 road trip and ponder what has been learned about the team in this early stage

- Semyon Varlamov, and Barry Trotz’s caution that this is just a “starting point” for the

returning goaltender

- The 4-year contract extension for extremely tough guy Ross Johnson

- Zdeno Chara’s future with the club

- Respond to a fan’s question that simply says, “Two words…Darius Kasparaitis”

- The 30th Anniversary of the Pierre Turgeon – Pat LaFontaine trade

- Update their ratings on the Islanders’ Optimism Meter

Hosts: Chris Botta and Pat Boyle

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle

Sponsor: Main Street Board Game Café – www.mainstboardgamecafe.com

Stick-Taps: All Islanders media, bloggers, podcasters, and fans, and the Islanders’ PR, digital and social media staffs.

The NHL on TNT’s Kenny Albert is a broadcasting rarity, calling play-by-play in the NHL, NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball. In a 30-minute interview, Kenny tells us about his start as a substitute Islanders announcer and making $18,000 a year with the AHL’s Baltimore Skipjacks, how he prepares for each broadcast, and how he embraces the challenges of calling national games “down the middle” even though he knows fans miss their local announcers. At the end of the show, Chris and Pat respond to a fan’s question about the “blandness” of NHL players.

Host: Chris Botta

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle