Fischler on Tonelli Becoming an Islander Kenny Albert was a four-year-old growing up in Sands Point, Long Island, when the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/new-york-islanders-new-york-state-hockey-hall-of-fame-stan-fischler] were born in 1972. It was the beginning of a lifelong link between the kid and the club. It also marked the beginning of Albert's broadcasting career, although he wasn't quite ready to handle play-by-play from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. What four-year-old is? "For my fifth birthday," Kenny recalled, "my parents gave me a tape recorder. I turned my bedroom into a broadcast studio and started announcing games off the television into the recorder." If this sounds absurd coming from the mouth of a precocious lad, hold up a minute. Kid Kenny's father happens to be world-renowned sports warbler Marv Albert and Marvelous Marv knew firsthand that play-by-play ran in the family genes. Kenny's uncles, Al Albert, and Steve Albert, would make names for themselves in the hockey broadcasting business and, I speak first hand, having worked with every Albert except the erstwhile biggie of Belgium, King Albert the Whatever. By age six, Marv's offspring was dabbling in some sort of statistics; since analytics wasn't even born yet. Not many moons after his bar mitzvah, Kenny had become a figure filbert with a good team to follow since the neighboring Isles got into the delightful habit of winning Stanley Cups. If you think I'm kidding, I suggest that you wait two months and then check out Kenny's soon to be hot-off-the presses autobiography, A Mic For All Seasons. (Take it from The Maven, it will be a guaranteed best-seller.) Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwMDgyNjcxMjIzNzEwODI4/61xccodvqvl.jpg] "I can't wait to send you a copy," Kenny confessed via email to me this morning. "You'll like my Islanders segments." Over lunch recently, Kenny also tipped me off that his Islanders broadcasting career began in earnest after the Nassaumen enjoyed their Dynasty years. Kenny: "It all began when I was asked to host several Islanders pre-game and post-game radio shows from a studio. This was my first experience hosting professional broadcasts on the air. Then, during the summer of 1989, I sent a cassette tape with a sample of my play-by-play to Arthur Adler, the Islanders' vice president of broadcasting. "I received a letter back, informing me that I'd be the team's back-up play-by-play radio broadcaster during the 1989-90 season -- should the need arise. So, as a 21-year-old college (NYU) senior, I made my NHL debut." Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwMDgyNzI5NDc0MjA0Nzgw/nyuhockey.jpg] The date was December 2, 1989, and the place was chilly Winnipeg, Manitoba. New York sportswriter Mike Farrell was Kenny's aide de camp, providing insights, outsights, and even a final score -- 6-3 for the Orange and Blue. Uncanny Kenny remembers the game as if it happened last night. "Brent Sutter scored the first goal I called, and Patrick Flatley had a goal and three assists." Then, a pause. "That's the same Patrick Flatley who worked with me as a color analyst on a Rangers-Toronto Maple Leafs game many years later. Other Isles I worked with -- they were color analysts -- included Denis Potvin, Brian Mullen, Marty Biron, and Terry Crisp." One analyst sidekick Albert said he'll never forget was Bob Nystrom, who scored the Isles first Cup-winning goal in 1980 at 7:11 of the first overtime period against Philadelphia. Albert: "At one point in our broadcast, the clock stopped with 7:11 remaining in the period. I said, 'Bob, does 7:11 mean anything to you?' Bobby chuckled at the mention. As a matter of fact, Ny always enjoyed whenever I referred to the goal." The Islanders' experience was invaluable to Kenny, especially since he began working with a variety of analysts; something that would be a part of his broadcasting life right up to the present. In his spare time, he also knocked off stories for the Islanders News during the late 1980s. And, if you haven't noticed, Albert -- a robust 55 years old but looks 35 -- is married to the lovely Barbara. They have two grown daughters -- Amanda, 23, a video editor-producer for the NHL in Manhattan, and Sydney, 20, a junior at Wisconsin U. Ubiquitous to a fault, Kenny often appears to be in three venues at once. In a Mic For All Seasons [https://www.amazon.com/Mic-All-Seasons-Kenny-Albert/dp/1637272170], he details his experiences at Winter Olympic sites such as Salt Lake City, Turin, and Vancouver, among other pretty precincts. When he's not looking over the ice, Kenny has captured the imagination of football, baseball. basketball and fight fans. But hockey has been his game since childhood, and it led to the challenge of his life two seasons ago. Until then, the legendary Mike (Doc) Emrick had dominated NBC's Network NHL play-by-play broadcasts. Emrick had challengers, but no play-by-play equals. That is until captivating Kenny came along. After all, for years, Doc was rightfully acclaimed as the best in show, flow, and whatever else goes into being emperor of the ice airwaves. Once Doc said he was done, NBC suits were forced to come up with a replacement. Prior to the 2021-22 NHL, Kenny got the gig and continues as the top banana now that TNT has inherited big league hockey broadcasts. Since Emrick retired, Albert has called two of the last three -- 2021, 2023 -- Stanley Cup Finals on national t.v. in the U.S.A. And although the Doc vs. Kenny styles differ, there's no question that Albert has been a worthy successor to The Good Doc. Kenny: "Doc and I originally met when I sat to his left doing hockey stats in the mid to late 1980s. That was when Emrick filled in on Rangers radio alongside Sal Messina." Then, a pause: "I consider Doc 'The Vin Scully of Hockey" in terms of being one of the greatest of all time. To attempt to fill his shoes has been one of the highlights of my career." Watching Kenny evolve into the best in the biz has been one of the highlights of my career. That explains why I can't wait to read A Mic For All Seasons!
