Last year I was lucky enough to meet both ex-Islander John Tonelli, and current Islanders captain Anders Lee. I found myself lucky enough to ask them both a question that had been on my mind since Anders Lee stepped onto the ice wearing 27.
After some brief introductions, I had asked Tonelli, “What do you think of Anders Lee wearing your number?” Without hesitation, Tonelli had quickly answered, “I love it, he does our number proud and I love seeing him wear it. I hope he continues to wear it throughout his career.” I had thanked him for his time and he quickly said, “please tell him I said that next time you see him, thank you.”
It was a few weeks later that I was finally lucky enough to meet Lee to be able to pass on Tonelli’s message. At the ramp after a huge win over a former Islander who just happened to also have the initials JT; Lee was kind enough to stop and meet fans. Walking out to a chant of “That’s our captain”, he signed my ticket and I said to him “I spoke to John Tonelli recently, and he said that he loves that you’re wearing the number 27 and that you do it proudly.” Lee immediately beamed with pride and said “Thank you so much! It’s an honor to wear it, I can’t believe how lucky I am. If they were to ever retire it, I’ll give it up!”
Later that same evening as he made his way down the line of fans I watched as he looked over towards now-former Islanders goalie Robin Lehner who was clearly struggling to meet an overwhelming amount of fans. Lee went over Lehner and put his arm around him, as it was clear he was talking to him. It was then that Lee announced that Lehner was tired and wanted to go home, but he was truly apologetic for leaving early. That’s when I had realized that Lee didn’t only do 27 proud on the ice, but off the ice too.
It truly is an honor for John Tonelli to have his number retired and hanging in the rafters among fellow greats. However, it is an even bigger honor for Anders Lee to be able to continue to wear that number even after it is hanging up. Islanders fans know Lee will do that number proud, and so does John Tonelli.

Drive4Five