Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Tom Chorske (with guest Tyler Gildin)

1 week ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

From the first “Mr. Hockey” of Minnesota to “How did I get here?” Joined again by friend Tyler Gildin, we remember Tom Chorske, a useful player and ace penalty killer who gave both an undermanned Islanders team and a kids summer camp some important depth.
Chorske came from a Cup winning organization in New Jersey and played on some blossoming Senators teams before landing on The Island via waivers. The 1997-98 Islanders had all the makings of a playoff team, except they didn’t. But they came closer than any team of that era and employed some damn good players, including Chorske. By early the next season, he was gone in a minor trade.
But in the short time he was on Long Island, he somehow made a stop at a kids’ summer camp, where he made an impression on a young Tyler (who might have been the only kid there who knew who he was). We’re confident that Chorske, who has gone on to do work on TV and in the private sector, no doubt totally remembers this (because it might have ruined his life):


Tyler Gildin


WEIRD BONUS MATERIAL!

A proud Minnesotan, Chorske was the state’s first ever Mr. Hockey Award winner as the best high school player in the state.
Chorske was lost on waivers from the Devils to the Senators on the same day New Jersey traded Claude Lemieux to Colorado (by way of the Islanders, who acquired Wendel Clark).
After good seasons (and a Stanley Cup) with New Jersey and Ottawa, Chorske came to Long Island via a busy waiver draft Sunday.
The quality of this video is terrible but scoring a penalty shot against Patrick Roy in 1998 was very, very good.



He was pretty productive for a depth player on a bad team, with 35 points in 82 games with the Islanders, including this tying goal against the Bruins.
Again, this man scored 12 goals for an Islanders team that missed the playoffs. In this era, those were almost All Star numbers.



Chorske talks about his brief time with the Islanders in this interview with The Hockey Writers from 2016.
Chorske was elected to the Minnesota Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.
For the last few decades, he’s been in business development.
Another picture Tyler took at that memorable summer camp. From “Mr. Hockey” to “Mr. Islander.” Thanks again to Tyler for coming on and sharing these great photos and memories with us.



Tyler Gildin


What makes a “Weird Islander?”
We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:

Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.


Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, discounts and much more.

Visit our friends!


Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys featuring hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as Islanders Anxiety merch, and our Al Arbour and The Island shirts. Our portion of the sales benefit the Center for Dementia Research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.

The Pinot Project has Rosé, Pinot Grigio and a Pinot Noir that was named a 2024 Top 100 Best Buy by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. All are under $15 a bottle and are available at local wine shops and at UBS Arena.
Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).
Theme song: “Knuckles” by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.
Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com. Jingle bell sfx also via ZapSplat.


Please subscribe, download, rate, review or spread the word about Islanders Anxiety, Weird Islanders: The Podcast! and all of our podcasts any way you can. All of it helps to raise the show’s profile and maybe could get us another fancy sponsor to sell out to in the near future. Leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
All Islanders Anxiety podcasts are available on:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon Music
Audible.com
I Heart Radio

NEW! YouTube and YouTube Music

And everywhere podcasts are found


...

Read Full Article.