Maven's Memories: The Toy Tiger, Garry Howatt

When it comes to talking about an Islander who made the most out of what he had, Garry Howatt has to be Exhibit A.
At age 14, while living with his parents on a farm in Alberta, he suffered an epileptic seizure. From that day forward, the stickhandler who became known as "The Toy Tiger" had to control epilepsy with an assortment of meds to minimize further attacks.
More to the point he was determined to pursue his goal and become a pro hockey player.

"A lesser individual would have given up on his hockey dream," said Islanders teammate Glenn (Chico) Resch, "but Garry wanted to make an impact in hockey despite his medical issues."
But Howatt had other challenges confronting him and he took them all on, one by one.
"Garry's size was a problem," recalled Jimmy Devellano who was GM Bill Torrey's birddog when the franchise entered the NHL in 1972. "Scouts tended to look for players who were bigger than Howie."
Undaunted -- and in his late teens -- the little guy left home and won an audition with the Flin Flon (Manitoba) Bombers of the Western Junior League. That's the same team that sent Islanders defenseman Gerry Hart and Philadelphia Flyers icon Bobby Clarke to The Show.
"You had to be a pretty tough customer to play Juniors out west," remembered Torrey.
"The bus rides were long and the competition was keen. Kids who came from the Canadian prairies -- like Howatt -- usually were real competitors."
There was no question that Bow Tie Bill and Jimmy D had their reservations about Howatt. They made Garry the very last player chosen by the Islanders in the 1972 Entry Draft.
He measured 5-9, 170 pounds and still was being treated for epilepsy but with his doctor's help he controlled the disease and was dispatched to the baby Isles new American Hockey League farm team, the New Haven Nighthawks.
"He fit in pretty well," Devellano went on, "and showed us enough -- considering he had only a year in Juniors -- that he might eventually make it to the big club."
Garry honed his game to sharpness in New Haven -- along with a few cups of coffee with the Isles -- and by the end of the 1972-73 season he had totaled 22 goals plus 28 assists and earned an invitation to the Isles training camp in September 1973.
"Al Arbour had become the new coach," Garry said, "and I must have impressed him and Bill -- and Jimmy -- because I made it to the Islanders roster.
"I didn't have any illusions about being a star. I knew what I had to do -- go both ways and give it all I had in me. I would say that I did everything average, but I loved to work hard."
So did another New Haven Nighthawks graduate, Bob Nystrom. Like Howatt, Ny played a rugged checking game that pleased Arbour and the fans. Soon, the Garry and Bob act became revered at the Coliseum as "The Dynamic Duo."

Arbour: "First Nystrom made rapid progress, then Garry really caught up. I said all along that Howatt would score goals as well as play a hard game. At the start he had to battle just to stay up with the club.
"Fellas didn't know who the hell this little guy was. Now they know; everybody in the league got to know about Howie's grit and gumption.
Author and MSG Networks sportscaster Alan Hahn covered the Islanders for Newsday during the franchise's growing years. He admired Garry from the get-go and called Howatt part of the early Islanders foundation. "He was simply tough as nails," said Hahn, "and would battle anyone, no matter the size or reputation."
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
King Kvasha
How 50-in-50 was Born
Trottier Wins Hart Trophy
Behind the Scenes with Bryan Trottier
Stan's Fans: Jake April
Terrific Pierre Turgeon
Mike Bossy, My Son and a Third Cup
The 1988 Division Title
Maven's Haven
Especially the big, brawny skaters who got to know the embarrassment of being knocked senseless by this aggressive little gnat. After one such altercation with an opponent some five inches taller and 50 pounds heavier, Howatt was asked why he didn't pick on someone his own size.
Garry had the perfect squelch: "There wasn't anybody on the ice who was my size and there seldom is!"
By the 1974-75 season he totaled 18 goals and 30 assists for 48 points and was instrumental in spurring the Nassaumen into their first playoff berth and series wins over the Rangers and Penguins before being eliminated in seven games by Philly.
"You could see that the team was improving each year under Al," said Howatt. "By the late 1970's we finally thought we had a realistic chance to make the Cup Final."
Meanwhile, Garry's popularity paralleled that of Nystrom and a unique Howatt-Nystrom Booster Club was formed. In the definitive scouting report encyclopedia -- "Players: The Ultimate A-Z Guide," author Andrew Podnieks waxed ecstatic over the little guy who became known as The Toy Tiger.
"Garry got that nickname," noted Podnieks, "because he was small and ferocious. He fought one and all, never backed down, and seldom came out on the wrong end of a fight.
"Incredibly, the only seizures he had during his career came right after the season, the come down, as it were, after a year-long high of playing."
Although Howie never thought of himself as a scorer, I recall a few pretty plays he made that were more reminiscent of Mike Bossy or Bryan Trottier than a second or third-liner. One was a clean breakaway goal against Hall of Fame stopper Ken Dryden of the Canadiens.
Garry cleanly deked Dryden out of his jock and then calmly flipped home a backhander, pacing the Isles to another victory. After the game I confronted him in the Coliseum clubhouse and chided him about the artistic breakaway.
"You looked like Bossy," I said.
"Thanks," he shot back, "but I'm still Garry Howatt."
He graced the Island for a decade in Uniondale and exhibited his dynamism in the first half of the dynasty.
Podnieks: "It was a sweet and just reward that Garry Howatt's last two years with the team -- 1980-81 and 1981-82 -- were Cup-winning seasons. He had a tremendous impact with the Islanders!"