Botte and Hahn Make “Fish Sticks” Fun

b95c_7For a book that was originally released seven years ago, Peter Botte’s and Alan Hahn’s “Fish Sticks: The Fall and Rise of the New York Islanders” is still an immensely enjoyable read that will not only serve as a blast from the past for most hardcore fans of the franchise, but for hockey fans in general who remember just how bad the team was in the ‘90s.

For instance, a huge portion of the book is dedicated to defining and breaking down the internal struggle between Isles ownership and its players. Countless stories are told by Botte and Hahn recounting how fed up the players were of the organization and it’s cost cutting schemes.

One story told in the book describes how former Isles sniper Zigmund Palffy was fed up of staying in shoddy hotels and flying in coach during one of the teams losing seasons, while the rest of the league stayed in five-star hotels and flew in private jets. Going on a screaming fit, in barely recognizable English, Palffy was hilarious and made two things painfully clear. The enigmatic scorer was sick of the Islanders and tired of the Comfort Inn.

However, throughout all of the hilarious stories that any hockey or sports fan can appreciate, Botte and Hahn tell the story of former Islanders GM Mike Milbury. Starting from his childhood to the Islanders return to the playoffs, it’s a wonder Milbury hasn’t dropped dead of chronic ulcers.

From the infamous shoe-beating incident in MSG [Milbury, during his playing days with the Boston Bruins, went into the crowd after a game with the Rangers and beat a fan with their own shoe] to the time when he accused former Islander defenseman Eric Brewer of “sniffing glue” on the ice, Milbury is an amazing personality who’s presence alone in the book makes it a must read. Some may disagree with how Botte and Hahn paint Milbury, as the last “real” Islander, but will feel his happiness and pain through the book with every nixed trade and naysayer squashed.

Nevertheless, the tale of how the Islanders were able to escape the trenches of the NHL and make it back to the playoffs after eight long, agonizing years is a wild and fun ride, told by arguably two of the team’s all-time best beat reporters. Islander fans will completely eat this one up, while Ranger fan and the rest of the NHL fan base won’t believe what they’re reading. Sometimes feeling more like an episode of “Days of our Lives,” than a tale of a small-market hockey club struggling to survive, “Fish Sticks: The Fall and Rise of the New York Islanders” is a must read that will keep you reading to the last word.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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