On Sunday, The Maven Stan Fischler and New York Islanders legend John Tonelli were two of 16 names immortalized in the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame.

TROY, NY -- On Sunday, The Maven Stan Fischler and New York Islanders legend John Tonelli were two of 16 names immortalized in the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame. 

Stan Fischler

The Maven has been around the game of hockey longer than any athlete could ever dream. 

YES Network's Nancy Newman, who MC'd the night, introduced Stan Fischler, who didn't need an introduction.

"No true hockey history could be told without the voice of this man. He covered the New York Islanders, the Devils, and the Rangers, provided analysis for MSG, and was a star on TV and radio. He's a Lester Patrick Trophy winner. And in 2022, the New York Islanders unveiled the 'Stan Fischler Press Level', dedicating it to him. We all grew up reading him. He has gone a very long way to be here tonight, and I'll let him tell his story in the way where he can. We proudly welcome Stan Fischler," Newman said. 

As always, Fischler had to start his speech with a joke:

Fischler came all the way from Israel with his grandaughter Odel, who is a hockey player herself and a rather good one. 

"I'm here, thrilled to death, honored beyond all means," Fischler said. "But I have to tell you. It's not what I did for hockey. It's what hockey has done for me.

"I'm alive now at 91 and excited, and it's all because of hockey. Because of hockey -- and I'm writing about hockey -- and I got guys all over the place who are hockey people. And it made my brain think, 'What's a good story? What's a good, good lede? What's a good whatever. And incidentally -- I have a protege, Rapid Rosner, in her over there this guy is going to be the next me. You know, he's already better than me. But I have all these people..."

Fischler mentioning me (Rapid Rosner was the nickname he gave me the first day I spoke with him), is an absolute honor and a moment I will cherish forever.

Although Fischler's career had its fair share of hardships, he was a part of some incredibly special times on the island. 

"I did the first Islander telecast in 1975 when they made the playoffs for the first time," Fischler said.  "And then, of course, the unbelievable, unbelievable win over the hated Rangers when everybody said they were going to win. Then they go into Pittsburgh and go down three games to one. Then they win four in a row, and I'm on there. This is it. This is the beginning for me. 

"And I lived through the hardships of '78 when the Leafs beat us and '79 when the hated Rangers beat us -- that's redundant. We know that they're hated. I shouldn't even say Rangers.”

Fischler continued: "So the Rangers beat us in '79, and it taught the team a lesson -- Johnny will tell you --  you gotta suffer, suffer first, and then the good things come out, and what a run. I mean ...what... can you imagine? No team in history will duplicate the fact that they won  19 straight playoff series victories [...] So this was a fantastic, fantastic team."

Fischler started covering hockey in 1942 and is still covering it to this day. 

"Hockey has been my life," Fischler said, and it's an absolute disgrace that his name is not immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

John Tonelli

Islanders legend John Tonelli was always a team player, and he started his induction speech like one would expect, talking about a teammate.

"So, the guy that I played with on my right side, Bobby Nystrom. He truly was my hero on that team,” Tonelli said. “I got to play with him. And he gave me a little bit of that freedom on the ice [...] Because if anybody looked at me, cross-eyed, Mr. Nystrom was there to tap [them] on the shoulder to say, 'You got to go through me first'.

'So, how lucky was I to be able to play with a guy like that?"

His perfect pass to Nystrom on May 24, 1980 in overtime of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final clinched the Islanders' their first Stanley Cup, as they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4. 

"Kids are often asked me, you know what, what's the best play or what's the best thing you ever did in hockey?" Tonelli said during his induction speech. "Well, the best thing I ever did was make that pass to Bobby Nystrom to win our first Stanley Cup.

"Amazing."

And then Tonelli talked about his parents.

"There's one thing still that's common amongst all of us, the mentors and coaches," Tonelli said. "For me, I have to start with my parents. They both worked, and my dad worked in a skill known for 36 years. He didn't have to look far. For an example of a hard-working man. There was my dad.

Now to his three siblings. 

"I have to thank my brother Ray. Since both our parents worked -- he's five years older than me -- he had to drag me around everywhere," Tonelli said. "So, if you're thinking about it, as he got older, he still had to drag me around, and everybody I had to play against were his age. I didn't win too many battles. But I think that's a big reason what helped to toughen me up is hanging with my brother. So my little brother wasn't much of a hockey player. He was more of a statistician, and he kind of sat on the sidelines, so I had to bring in my sister, and we would tape her to the hockey net and shoot pucks at her."

Tonelli remembered his first two coaches, who taught him a valuable lesson at such a young age. 

"I remember my pewee coach, and my bantam coach as clear as day," Tonelli said. " That's where I learned that you have to hold your hockey stick tight with two hands. Because if you didn't, it would come home in two pieces, and your dad had to buy a new hockey stick. Very important."

Tonelli closed his speech by thanking the people closest to him, starting with his wife 

"It is truly special for me to be up here. I have a beautiful wife. Her name's Lauren. I want to thank my best friend for always, always doing such a wonderful job with our two young boys, who are well on their way to becoming independent human beings," Tonelli said. 

"This is truly, truly an honor for me, and I'll cherish it and thank you very much."

A four-time Stanley Cup winner, Tonelli was one of the most productive 200-foot players during his time in the NHL from 1975-1992.

In 1,028 regular-season games split between the Islanders, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Quebec Nordiques, the Milton, Ontario native scored 325 goals with 511 assists for 836 points.

As an Islander, Tonelli scored 206 goals in 594 regular season games, with 338 assists for 544 points.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the original J.T. was electric, scoring 28 goals -- five of which were game-winners -- with 55 assists for 83 points in 113 games. 

On Feb. 21, 2020, Tonelli's No. 27 when up to the rafters at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.