Real quick update for you, I moved yesterday and are hooked up to the Internet via cell phone. Nice article on NHL.com about the Isles’ Core of the Fore festivities this weekend.
Also Bossy, Nystrom, Morrow and Trotts were at the NHL store (yesterday?) - I had no idea. Way to publicize that one Isles. Screw moving, I would have been at the NHL store yesterday had I known.
Isles win in a shootout last night…woot! Missed it, and the highlights aren’t up yet. I get my satellite hooked up tonight.
As part of the “Core of the Four” festivities next weekend when the Islanders will honor the players who played on all four Stanley Cup Championship teams, the Islanders have arranged a special fund raiser next Saturday night. “Skate With The Greats” will take place at RexCorp plaza across from the Coliseum and will allow fans to fulfill their dreams of taking to the ice with the Islanders Championship Dynasty.
Ever wanted to skate on an outdoor rink with Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Bobby Nystrom and your other Islanders heroes…and have the Stanley Cup nearby?
You can when the Islanders host “Skate with the Greats” on Saturday night, March 1 at 7:00 pm at Rexcorp Plaza. The night is a benefit for the New York Islanders Children’s Foundation and is limited to just 100 guests so you’ll have plenty of “time and space” on the outdoor rink to rub elbows with the legends.
“Quite simply, the Islanders have never had an intimate event as special as ‘Skate with the Greats’ is going to be,” said Bossy, the greatest goal scorer of his generation and a hero to countless Islanders fans. “Because it’s for the Islanders Children’s Foundation, we wanted to make it first-class for our benefactors. I promise you that my teammates and I are going to make this a night you will never forget.”
Not only will you have the chance to meet and skate with your favorite Islanders legends from the past, but the Stanley Cup will be also be in attendance for photo ops. There will be a silent auction during the evening, which includes cocktails and dinner. Appetizers and beverages will also be served rinkside when the “Core of the Four” members skate from 7 - 8:00 pm before the evening moves inside to the gorgeous Rexcorp Atrium.
“I look forward to meeting our fans and getting the rare chance for me to skate alongside them,” said Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier. “It’s going to be a blast and best of all it’s for a terrific cause, the New York Islanders Children’s Foundation. I’ve talked to a bunch of the guys and they’re really looking forward to it.”
Tickets to this event are $325 and are first come, first served. The event is limited to 100 people. I’m seriously thinking about doing this. The order form is located here.
Here is the schedule for next weekend’s festivities:
Saturday March 2nd, 2pm: Isles vs Philadelphia, Fan Appreciation Day
Saturday March 2nd, 7pm: Skate With The Greats
Sunday March 3rd, 2pm: Walk of Champions from Marriott to the Coliseum
Sunday March 3rd, 3pm: Core of the Four Celebration
Sunday March 3rd, 4pm: Isles vs Florida
And your honored guests:
Bill Torrey
Al Arbour
Mike Bossy
Bob Bourne
Clark Gillies
Butch Goring
Lorne Henning
Anders Kallur
Gord Lane
Dave Langevin
Wayne Merrick
Ken Morrow
Bob Nystrom
Stefan Persson
Denis Potvin
Billy Smith
Duane Sutter
John Tonelli
Bryan Trottier
Trainer Ron Waske and equipment manager Jim Pickard, who were with the team for all four Stanley Cups, will also be honored as part of the event. Hall of Fame broadcaster Jiggs McDonald will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.
I forgot to mention one additional story from Saturday night’s win over Pittsburgh on Al Arbour Night. Murph’s brother Brian and I were standing in the box office waiting for some friends to show up when a guy standing next to us points out that Bryan Trottier is standing in the room with us. Brian looks and sees him right away but I couldn’t find him. I figured he’d be standing with a crowd of Isles fans, signing autographs or something, or standing with some security being ushered into the Coliseum. He wasn’t doing either of those things. Instead, Bryan Trottier, Hall of Famer, #19 with his own banner in the rafters, four-time cup-winner, was standing on line with a bunch of regular fans just like yours truly waiting to get into the game. I kid you not.
The only way this could have been worse is if he was standing behind drunk Penguins fans (fortunately, the only Pen fans in the vicinity were a little behind Trots). I tell you man, it just wasn’t right. If there is one building in which Trottier should NEVER have to stand on line, it’s the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. Give the guy a lifetime pass to use the VIP entrance or something. What’s next, making Nystrom pay for parking?
Anyway, just as I was about to make an ass of myself and take a picture of Trots with my crappy camera phone, something must have clicked in his head and he realized “Hey, I’m Bryan Trotter, Hall of Famer #19 with my own banner in the rafters and four rings, what the hell am I doing on line?” And with that he promptly departed via the downstairs escalator towards the bar. Well played, Trots.
