Weird Islanders: The Podcast! – Episode 84 – Ty Wishart

Former NHL defenseman Ty Wishart calls in from an Australian beach to talk about his globe-spanning playing career and his 21 games with the Islanders in the eventful 2010-11 season.

Drafted 16th overall by the Sharks and traded to Tampa Bay in the deal for Dan Boyle, Ty Wishart got a quick education in the business of hockey. After a few years in a minors, he was traded again, this time to the Islanders for goalie Dwayne Roloson. Wishart joined what looked to be an up-and-coming squad, and what they lacked in talent, they made up for in youthful energy. He scored his first NHL goal in a wild road game, and was scratched while his new teammates got into a legendary melee with a division rival before going back to the minors. But that was just the beginning of Ty Wishart’s incredible hockey career.

Ty tells us some great stories, from throwing up in exhaustion at the NHL Combine to sharing a locker room with guys like Zenon Konopka and Trevor Gillies to playing in Romania and elsewhere. A charity tournament first took him to Australia, where he now lives and plays for the Melbourne Mustangs of the Australian Ice Hockey League. He also served as the team’s Director of Hockey Operations during their 2023 championship season. At 37, he still plays for love of the game and still carries memories and mementos from his time as an Islander. And he tells us all of this from a sunny, beautiful beach down under that made Mike and Dan very jealous.

We can’t thank Ty enough for coming on and giving us so much. It took a while and required a lot of email back-and-forth, but it was worth it. To keep up with the Mustangs and the rest of the AIHL, you can check out their website or subscribe to AIHL TV. The 2026 season starts on April 17th.

WEIRD BONUS MATERIAL

Before being involved in a notable trade for the Islanders, Ty Wishart was involved in a notable trade for the Sharks, one that saw fellow Weird Islander Brad Lukowich and spiritual Weird Islander Dan Boyle go from Tampa to San Jose.
A few years later, the Lightning needed serious goalie help and they found it in 41-year-old Dwayne Roloson. On New Years Day, 2011, Garth Snow sent Roloson to Tampa for Wishart, straight up. Although that version of the team was a mess, the trade had a lot of elements that Dom dissected here. Wishart’s numbers at the end of the season were pretty solid.
Wishart’s only NHL goal came in an amazing game we’ve talked about before, a wild 7-6 win in Buffalo in which Michael Grabner scored a hat trick and Al Montoya picked up the win.

Wishart re-signed with the Islanders that offseason but only played one game for them in 2011-12. All told, he spent three seasons in Bridgeport, occasionally scoring goals like this:

He was waived in 2013 and signed with the Schwenninger Wild Wings of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). It was also around this time that he visited Australia with Team Canada to play in the Douglas Webber Cup games against Team USA.
After years traversing the globe playing hockey, Wishart decided to stay in Melbourne and make the AIHL his home. He’s been very successful there with the Mustangs, winning a Goodall Cup championship in 2023. All told, he’s played over 800 games in 10 countries.
His journey to Australia has been told before. He’s a cool video from 2024 that shows what a day in his life is like:

BONUS to the BONUSES: Here’s a snippet of the Coliseum Referendum rally featuring a live performance by the one-and-only Blue Öyster Cult:

What makes a “Weird Islander?”

We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:

Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.

Subscribe to our Patreon! Members get ad-free episodes of all our shows, bonus podcasts, written posts, chats with us and much more.

Visit our friends!

Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys featuring hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as Islanders Anxiety merch, and our Al Arbour and The Island shirts. Our portion of the sales benefit the Center for Dementia Research. Use the code ANXIETY20 to save 20% off an order of two items.
The Pinot Project has Rosé, Pinot Grigio and a Pinot Noir that was named a 2024 Top 100 Best Buy by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. All are under $15 a bottle and are available at local wine shops and at UBS Arena.
Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).
Theme song: “Knuckles” by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

Please subscribe, download, rate, review or spread the word about Islanders Anxiety, Weird Islanders: The Podcast! and all of our podcasts any way you can. All of it helps to raise the show’s profile and maybe could get us another fancy sponsor to sell out to in the near future. Leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

All Islanders Anxiety podcasts are available on:

Read the full article here