Editor's Note: Joltin' Joe Dionisio was a top-notch sports columnist with Newsday for many years – among his other literary accomplishments. Now hockey manager for Santa Barbara's Ice In Paradise rink, Dionisio was in South Florida when the Panthers were born. Here he presents his view of the Cup Final followed by an exclusive report on the early struggles of hockey journalism Down South.
Take it away, Joe:
"Florida was relentless in the Stanley Cup Final. Role players and stars checked with equal vigor. Their respected coach milked every bit of talent, from first-liner to fourth-liner. Management was laced with puck-savvy hockey minds. But I'm not talking about the 2025 Stanley Cup champs.
"The DNA of today's Panthers was born over three decades ago, when the NHL granted an expansion team to South Florida.
"It's worth noting the huge influence New York had on the first chapter of the Cats' nine lives. Islanders GM Bill Torrey took the reins as president. Roger Neilson — fired five months earlier by the Rangers – took over as coach and Isles legend Billy Smith served as goalie coach.
"Blueshirts netminder John Vanbiesbrouck was the very first player plucked from the 1993 expansion draft. (His tandem partner was ex-Islander Mark Fitzpatrick). Rangers d-man Joe Cirella and Isles winger Tom Fitzpatrick were later nabbed in the expansion draft.
"The Empire State Meets Sunshine State theme wasn't only on the ice. My Islander colleague Greg Bouris did stellar work as the Panther's PR boss.
"As a native New Yorker, I was among the initial wave of journalists covering the NHL's newest club. At the Palm Beach Post, I served as the very first hockey columnist in South Florida newspaper history.
"I was also in the 'delivery room' when the team was born, as Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga strolled into the Palm Beach Breakers Hotel to announce his latest toy. I was nearly alone at that press conference, because the Florida media didn't give a rat's ass – pun intended – about hockey.
"Roger Neilson used to sit on a bench with his dog, right outside Lighthouse Rink off Federal Highway in Pompano Beach, and nobody ever recognized him. A few Floridian journalists knew of the NHL, but many wouldn't have known Mario Lemieux from Nintendo Mario. The gaffes of some reporters were quite embarrassing.
"Try following the following boo-boos on for size:
The referee called a penalty on the Panthers for icing. Chris Chelios is the NHL's worst goon. "When do they play the fourth quarter?" a fellow reporter asked me.
"This past week's hockey mania in Broward County shows the evolution of the fanbase. I'm elated to see how far the franchise has come."
Thanks to Joltin' Joe. I know that Al Greenberg, my man in South Florida, agrees because Al Greenberg also has witnessed the evolution of a hockey revolution as detonated by the Panthers!
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