Hogan, Mleczko and Botterill Highlight Islanders Broadcast

On March 8, NBC Sports aired the first all-female produced and broadcast NHL game, as the Chicago Blackhawks took on the St. Louis Blues in prime time.
It was a historic broadcast, highlighting many of the talented women working in both hockey and TV production, but for New York Islanders fans, an all-female panel, and women providing analysis, is commonplace.

Three of the five on-air personalities during Islanders broadcasts on MSG Networks are women. There's Shannon Hogan, the team's host and sideline reporter for six seasons, as well as analysts AJ Mleczko and Jennifer Botterill, a pair of Olympic gold medalists, who are each in their second season providing insight between the benches and in studio.
"It's been fun and it's been an adventure in the MSG ranks too because they haven't had our role," Mleczko said. "This is sort of a role that the network and ownership sort of put together with Bots and I being between the benches and Lou [Lamoriello] and Barry [Trotz] giving us access. I think they felt strongly about having women involved."

MSG's decision to add Mleczko and Botterill on the Isles broadcast team last season
garnered praise from the likes of ESPN
and other outlets, but the move was about hockey credentials, not headlines. Mleczko and Botterill each had decorated hockey careers as Olympians and national champions with Harvard in 1999. Mleczko won a gold medal with Team USA at the 1998 Olympics - the first to feature women's hockey - and silver in 2002. Botterill is a four-time Olympian, winning three gold medals (2002, 06, 10) and one silver (1998) with Team Canada.
Botterill and Mleczko split analyst duties during the season, as both live outside of New York; Botterill in Toronto and Mleczko in Boston. The broadcast doesn't skip a beat when one leaves and the other comes on according to Hogan, who's anchored the Islanders studio shows and sideline reporting since the start of the 2014-15 season.
"It was never hard, from day one, with either of them," Hogan said. "It's been a dream. They are both so smart, so in tune to what is happening on the ice, so prepared and really fun to work with. I've learned a lot from them. Obviously I've worked with some great analysts in the past, starting with Mike Bossy, Rick DiPietro, Stan Fischler and people that have kind of slid into that analyst role. They've brought something different and fresh and when I'm talking to them I feel like there's this feeling that we're two friends, whether I'm with Jen or with AJ, watching a game and then showing the fans what we're seeing."
Botterill and Mleczko were also teammates at Harvard during the 1998-99 season, so passing off to each other is as natural as when they played and, remarkably, connected on the national championship clinching goal in 1999. They both raved about the team atmosphere on the broadcasts.
"It's a great team here," Botterill said. "From every person I'm on the air with, Shannon, has been amazing and is hugely supportive, the whole network has been. The Islanders have been a great, professional organization to be connected with. They always have lots of great material and content that helps make our roles easier."

Judging by the fans that crowd around the studio for intermission and post-game shows at the Coliseum, the three broadcasters have a connection with the Islanders faithful. That goes without saying for Hogan, who's been a fixture of games since 2014, but speaks to how quickly Mleczko and Botterill have connected to the fans on Long Island.
Mleczko even brought her custom party bus down to an Isles tailgate
last season.
"Outside of their analysis they've done a really wonderful job in just connecting with Islanders fans and understanding how important this fanbase is and how much they adore the Islanders," Hogan said. "They've really tapped into the spirit of this fan core, while still giving great insight into what is happening between the benches and then bringing that analysis to intermission, pre-game and post-game."
It's fairly common for girls and young women to approach the three of them asking for career advice on the set at Islanders games. Hogan said that's routinely one of the highlights of her day and is quick to give out her email and connect with aspiring broadcasters. All three are aware of the importance of women's visibility in sports and the type of impact it can have on the next generation. They're also proponents of expanding the broadcast roles of women into areas like play-by-play. There's also room for growth in hockey ops and Botterill highlights Cammi Granato, the former Olympian who is now the NHL's first female pro scout with Seattle.
"There are a lot of young people at home that are interested in getting into this business who didn't really have a lot of other women to look up to," Hogan said. "For young women who are interested in working in sports, or the broadcast field, to see more and more women working in hockey and in that analyst role, as well as the hosting role. I think that opens up their eyes."
Mleczko said the increased visibility - on the MSG and NBC slate - helps normalize having multiple women on an NHL broadcast in analysis roles. Mleczko said she had never thought about becoming a broadcaster during her playing days because she didn't see any female hockey analysts on TV. It was more present for Botterill, a three-time gold medalist with Team Canada and that's what prompted her to seek it out.
"It normalizes the fact that they are hearing sports come out of female voices and a lot of female voices, not just every once in a while," Mleczko said. "Young women that are coming out of high school and college that maybe gives them something they can dream about and shoot for."

Both Mleczko and Botterill have added new elements to their TV repertoire since joining the broadcast. Mleczko, who is a regular color commentator on the NBC Sports hockey circuit, hadn't done studio work prior to joining on with the Isles, while Botterill hadn't done as much work between the benches. They're relied upon for both on Isles broadcasts and the two teamed up to fill in for Hogan when she gave birth to her daughter during last year's playoffs.
"When I was thinking about this opportunity at MSG and covering the Islanders, I've never done that before," Botterill said. "But I also went into it and felt pretty confident to say, oh I can draw on my past experiences and provide this insight that hopefully helps the viewers and brings them closer to the game and to the stories."
Mleczko said the majority of the feedback she's gotten has been positive through the past two seasons and that between working with the team and the staff, it's been a fun experience overall.
"It's been an incredible year and a half," Mleczko said "The team is awesome, they're such a good group of guys and the staff is awesome. Honestly, when I do a bunch of games in a row I get sad that I leave and that I'm not there and a part of it. I get fomo."