Ron Waske, trainer for dynasty Islanders, dead at 77

Former Islanders trainer Ron Waske, who held the role during the team’s four consecutive Stanley Cup titles, has died, the team announced Sunday.

He was 77.

“The Isles are saddened by the passing of Ron Waske,” the Islanders wrote in a post on X, accompanied by a photo of Waske holding up the Stanley Cup. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ron’s family, friends and loved ones.”

Waske, a native of Camden, N.Y., spent 10 seasons working with the Islanders from 1974-84. He was also Team Canada’s athletic trainer at the 1982 Canada Cup.

A product of St. Lawrence University, Waske returned there after working for the Islanders, even coaching the women’s team for two seasons from 1997-99 before returning to the athletic trainer role. He worked at the school for 26 total years and was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.

“I know I won’t be getting Stanley Cup bonus money anymore,” Waske said in a 1984 New York Times story announcing he would be leaving the Islanders. “But it’s a less hectic life in college.

Waske played both hockey and baseball as a student at St. Lawrence, and became the only player in the school’s hockey history to play both forward and goaltender in the same game.

He was elected to the Professional Athletic Trainers Society Hall of Fame in 2006 and has a plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame’s section for trainers as well.

The cause of death is unknown.