They say you never forget your first. That much is true for me and hockey.
Rolling up to Nassau Coliseum as an 11 year old from quiet Westchester County, the Old Barn was unlike any sports venue I had ever been to before. Nov 22. 2014 will forever be etched into my memory. Not because it was the date of my first Islanders game, not because they won 4-1 over the Pittsburgh Penguins, but for another reason.
Something about the Nassau Coliseum was different. The energy took me on a roller coaster I had never been on before. Every time Sidney Crosby touched the puck, the crowd booed.
I attended Hofstra University, which, by coincidence, is about 20 minutes down the highway from their current home at UBS Arena (when the Isles resided at the Nassau Coliseum, they were basically across the street from Hofstra’s campus, but that was a little before my time).
Experiences like attending hockey games sparked my passion for sportswriting. While anyone can describe the action on the ice, I’ve always been drawn to the stories outside the arena. During my college years, I had the opportunity to cover some of the world’s most prominent teams including the Yankees, Mets, and NYCFC. However, I always found myself circling back to hockey.”
I became a sportswriter not to be at every game, but to tell the stories that go beyond the ice (or field, or diamond, or hardwood.) From digging deep into the lives of some of New York sports’ most passionate fans, to exploring the humble lives of college and youth athletes across the area, I am so excited to take that passion and dig deeper into a team that serves as the only professional sports team that represents Long Island.
I am beyond honored to cover one of hockey’s most historic teams. I am looking forward to guiding you through this new era of New York Islanders hockey. An era that is filled with youth, new faces and excitement, and I cannot wait to see where this journey will take me next.
I want to thank Dan Kingerski for providing me with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to report on a team I’ve seen since I was 11. I would also like to thank Stefan Rosner, Andrew Fantucchio and Russell Macias for their outstanding contributions to NYIHockeyNow. You all contributed to such a strong foundation here, I’m excited to build on top of it.
My name is Max Edelman, and I am excited for you all to take this journey with me.
Let’s do this together,
