We all know the move to Brooklyn would not be easy. Over the course of the offseason I have preached patience and a willingness to evolve and embrace the Islanders as they carve out a new identity in Brooklyn. I wasn’t bothered by the new black jersey, or the banners or even the god awful attempt at a new goal horn. I have also said if the new administration did something that warranted criticism that I would be all over that. Well, here we are and it is time to come out and express my disgust about the Islanders policy towards the pregame skate.
I wasn’t bothered by the jersey or banners or goal horn because I viewed them as cosmetic changes. I know this may be an odd thing to be passionate about, but for me Barclay’s CEO Brett Yormark is now messing with hockey tradition. His group announced that a select group of 91 season ticket holders, how clever with that mundane marketing, will be allowed access down low around the glass for the pregame skate. No other fans without tickets in those seats will be permitted to be down low for warmups.
It is becoming abundantly clear about how things are being operated by Brett Yormark. He either has no people working for him with knowledge of hockey, or he is surrounded by a bunch of “yes… men. It is probably a combination of the two.
Access to the pregame skate is an important hockey tradition for fans. I remember when I was a kid I met Hartford Whaler rookie Michael Nylander at an event in the West Farms Mall. He told me he would flip me a puck at the next game. A week later he saw me at the pregame skate and did just that. Michael Nylander instantly had a fan in me.
When I took my niece to her first ever Islanders game years later she was so excited to see Brendan Witt. We went down low for warmups and as the players skaters around she tried to get Witt’s attention. I told her that the players were working and that they normally didn’t interact with the fans because they were trying to prepare for the game. Moments later Brendan Witt stopped right in front of my niece near the glass. She screamed that she loved him and Witt turned around, gave her a big smile and wink and then skated away. These are the moments Brett Yormark that you are taking away.
Ask the players themselves. Ask John Tavares and Johnny Boychuk and Matt Martin. They will tell you how connected this team is with the fan base. It’s quite obvious when they are wearing Yes Chants clothing, something this team is making money off of from fans’ interaction. This is not a larger than life sport where access to the players is shielded. These are for the most part, kids of hard working families, like those who cannot afford season tickets or thousand dollar seats on the glass. By creating this policy you are putting up a wall between the team and its fan base, and that is something that simply does not need to be there.
We are all aware that the Islanders have the right to make money and market this team as they choose. But the core and the soul of this fan base are hard working families and rabid college kids who have carved out a connection with these players. Don’t take that away, and don’t mess with hockey tradition. If I can go on the glass in Philly, Chicago, MSG and Boston for pregame skates, I sure as hell should be able to in Brooklyn. It is one thing to make this team your own, it is another to take a wrecking ball to hockey tradition and hard working families. Do the right thing for the sake of this fragile fan base.