Islanders to Honor Stan Fischler with UBS Arena Press Level Dedication

The banners hanging in the rafters at UBS Arena represent the ultimate accolade the New York Islanders can give one of its legendary players. Each one of them tells a story about a player who left an indelible mark on the franchise.
But what about the storytellers? How can a team honor the media figures who bridge the connection between player and fan? There is perhaps no bigger honor a team can bestow on a media member than naming its press box after them and on Wednesday, the press level at UBS Arena will officially be named after Stan Fischler.

PHOTOS: STAN FISCHLER PRESS BOX
"To have my name on the press box is roughly equivalent to something like having a little banner for me," Fischler said. "In my personal journalistic life, this is the crown jewel."
Fischler has been a fixture around the Islanders for 50 years. He covered the team as a writer during the first game in franchise history in 1972 and was a part of the Islanders first telecast in 1974-75. For years, he was beamed into living rooms on SportsChannel and MSG Networks, bringing his unique interview style, hockey acumen and love of the Islanders into fans' homes.

He retired from TV after the 2017-18 season, but continued to pen a weekly
Maven's Memories column
on NewYorkIslanders.com, while also continuing to write for The Hockey News, among other outlets. Fischler is also currently writing a commemorative book to celebrate the Islanders 50th anniversary season.
When Fischler first started covering the Islanders in 1972, Nassau Coliseum, the building didn't have a dedicated press box, instead saving seats in the last row for working media, so the thought of a nonexistent space one day sporting his name was beyond unthinkable.
"It's very surreal," Fischler said. "It's a combination of incredible, very grateful, and there's a Hebrew expression, Dayenu, which means sufficient. I'm getting this thing, this honor for basically doing what's been fun for [me] for more than half a century."
The press box dedication is just the latest decoration for Fischler, who was recently inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame. One of Fischler's heroes, Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Foster Hewitt, has the media gondola named after him in Toronto. Fischler said he felt honored to receive a similar designation.

"To be compared, or put in any kind of level, with Foster," Fischler said with a pause. "He's among the Gods and I'm among the worshipers," Fischler said. "I'm the guy who went over to Foster Hewitt the first time I met him in a in a press room and told him what he meant to me and so I'm overwhelmed."
Fischler's impact in the hockey media community cannot be overstated either. Alumni from Fischler's internship program include The Athletic's Arthur Staple, the New York Post's Mollie Walker, the New York Times' Allan Kreda and the New York Daily News' Frank Brown, who was the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award recipient in 2018, among others.
"The one thing that I'm most proud of is the fact that I've had many interns over the years who have been very successful," Fischler said. "To me is probably the most significant contribution that I've made other than winning fans with writing and books."
Fischler's press box dedication comes during the Islanders 50th anniversary season and while he was at the forefront of telling that story for the first 50 years, naming the press box after him ensures that his legacy will live on for the next 50.