Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Staple’s Starting Six (with guest Arthur Staple)
The highest ceiling for these guys is to be the subject of one of these episodes. So... congrats! One Weird Islander story wouldn’t be enough for Arthur Staple of The Athletic, who saw countless players come and go in his almost 15 years of covering the team.
Along with Dan and Mike, Staple takes us through an entire starting lineup of guys who spent less than 20 games in the blue-and-orange but who all took their own unique paths to and from Long Island. We cover surprise NCAA catch Kevin Czuczman, deadline acquisition Tyler Kennedy, high-draft-pick-turned-sell-high-trade-chip Griffin Reinhart and many, many more.
Although they weren’t Islanders for long, the players on Staple’s Starting Six experienced just about everything; from massive brawls and crazed playoff games, to dramatic trades and evenings with porn stars.
Thanks again to Art for coming on. You knew he couldn’t stay away.
WEIRD BONUS MATERIAL!
Way too much, but we’ll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
You can watch most of Fight Night 2011 here or just check out this crazy and now totally forgotten save here. Dom also wrote about the fruitful second day of the 2009 NHL Draft at the time.
It’s still pronounced “Churchman.” Sorry for getting everyone’s hopes up.
One of the most impactful days in Islanders history. And by the look on his face, former Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli knows it. You can’t say they shouldn’t have seen it coming.
Something we forgot to mention is that this game, in which one of our Weird Islanders scores his only goal for the club, also featured a hat trick by noted Islander Killer Jiri Tlusty. Maybe that’ll be our next spinoff.
(Bonus to the bonus: an actual NHL trade call to a trade you forgot happened).
What a trade deadline this was. Both guys got thrown immediately into the lineup with some fun results.
Here’s one goal you haven’t forgotten.
A punch for the ages and the long and winding road to get there.
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.
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Theme song: “Knuckles” by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.
Drum sfx via Zapsplat.com....
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