OLD BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Bruce Bennett may have watched more NHL games than anyone in history, but the 69-year-old home is where he stood rinkside many times over more than 50 years. You can get a glimpse of your career.
Signed jerseys, sticks and photos of Wayne Gretzky line the living room walls, many with notes thanking Bennett for his friendship and work. There is a model called the Stanley Cup. and a closet full of camera lenses, wires, and other equipment.
Bennett has a lofted office above the living room. Several of his photographs are framed on the walls. There were bookshelves filled with hockey books and photo books, as well as a plastic rat that attacked the Florida Panthers in the head as they celebrated winning the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. On the bottom shelf is a shot of John Tavares' first NHL goal.
“What a shot!” the former New York Islanders captain gushed in the photo.
Scotty Bowman coached 2,141 games in the NHL. Patrick Marleau played 1,779 games. David Poile played in 3,075 games as general manager, but executives don't necessarily attend every game. Lou Lamoriello is closing in on that record with 2,868.
Bennett has taken more than 5,000 photos.
“I could play every other day all season, but I'm too greedy,” Bennett said. “So if we have four games in four nights, I have a chance of winning all four games. I don't want to leave anything on the table.”
As of July 2, the last time Bennett updated his stats, he had played in 5,240 NHL games between the regular season and playoffs. 44 of those games were Stanley Cup deciders. Including preseason, he has played in an additional 328 games. Counting all hockey games (international, PHWL, junior, exhibition, etc.), he logged up to 6,142 games this summer.
When he reached that mark, the Islanders presented him with a customized No. 5000 jersey. It's framed right above my grandchildren's toy shelf.
Bennett, currently director of hockey photography at Getty Images, was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island. When I was in elementary school, I borrowed my father's Kodak Instamatic to take photos on a school trip. “These are terrible pictures,” he says, but they evoke passion.
His first hockey game was at Madison Square Garden when he was 17 or 18 years old. He didn't have press credentials, so he took photos from the balcony. Around the same time, he snuck into the Islanders' photo box to film a game. He mailed some of his photos to The Hockey News and asked if they would be interested in using his work. The publication said yes, and Bennett qualified as a photographer, beginning a legendary career. That gave Bennett a front row seat to the biggest moment in hockey history.
Whether they know it or not, the lasting memories of hockey's seminal moments for sports fans are often seen through Bennett's lens.
How does he view them and what is most meaningful to him?
he walked to understand it The Athletic Here are 10 of his favorite photos, his process for creating them, and why he loves them so much.
Varlamov seen from above
Islanders goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov (2023) seen from above.
To take photos from above, Bennett must walk along the arena's catwalk and mount a remote camera in the rafters. Then, while filming the game from the ice surface, press a button on the remote control to activate the rafter camera and take a photo.
Walking on the rink is not for the faint of heart, but don't be fooled by the fact that Bennett does it. “I’m afraid of heights,” he says.
Getty Images likes photographers to be creative, so Bennett came up with the idea of setting up a single camera online with a slow shutter speed. That way, even if the goalie is on top of the puck during a scramble in front of the net, the movement around them will appear blurry and stationary. Bennett got his wish with this photo of New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov.
Iselman in the box
Red Wings Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman leans against the boards in 1984.
The old photo box at Nassau Coliseum is located between the penalty boxes, and Bennett was able to take a photo of young Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings in 1984. It was an ideal location in many ways. He was close enough to smell. Apply ointment to the players' skin and listen to their trash talk.
There were drawbacks too. Bennett received a lot of pucks from players trying to get out of the defensive zone. Currently, he shoots from a corner of the rink that has a 4-by-5-inch hole for a camera lens.
Shared jersey between Richter and Vanbiesbrouck
Rangers goaltenders Mike Richter and John Vanbiesbrouck pose together in 1991.
The Hockey News asked Bennett to take a photo of New York Rangers goaltenders Mike Richter and John Vanbiesbrouck, who shared a net in the early 1990s. Prior to the shoot, Bennett bought the largest Rangers jersey possible and cut the back to accommodate both. I remember feeling weird breaking an expensive jersey.
“I hope this works,” he thought to himself as he cut.
Luckily, both goalies were interested in the idea and happily posed for photos. Bennett didn't know what to do with the jersey after that, so he had Richter and Vanbiesbrouck sign it. Now it sits in a frame in the living room, matted over a copy of the shot used.
Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist and Devils goaltender Corey Schneider watch the puck go into the net in 2017.
Bennett sometimes places his camera at the base of the net. He secures it inside a polycarbonate box and can take pictures remotely using the same type of clicker he uses for rafter photography. He likes this photo of Patric Hornqvist of the Pittsburgh Penguins scoring against Cory Schneider. The puck has the New Jersey Devils logo, and you can see the symmetry of the players and the scoreboard showing that New Jersey was penalized. kill.
“It's a great angle,” he says. “For me, it's a little mundane at this point. … But when you get something good, it's good.”
crosby golden goal
Sidney Crosby celebrates Ryan Miller's overtime goal in 2010.
Before the conclusion of the Olympic gold medal and Stanley Cup game, Bennett had to line up in the Zamboni's corner, where he would be brought onto the ice for the postgame presentation. he hates it
“It's terrible,” he says. “You're standing there looking at the scoreboard. You can't shoot.”
Bennett installed a camera in the rafters during the 2010 Olympic gold medal game between the United States and Canada. During overtime, he took a knee to look up at the scoreboard. When Crosby received a pass from Jarome Iginla, Bennett pressed a button on the remote, hoping the scoreboard monitor would sync with the real-time action. Thankfully for him, it was. He got the shot he was looking for.
“This is a moment when Canada can breathe a sigh of relief,” he says.
Gainey with a cup
Bob Gainey lifts the Stanley Cup in 1979.
After the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Rangers to win the 1979 Stanley Cup for the first time in five games, Bennett found himself in a bind. He didn't know his way onto the ice and didn't understand French, so he ran back and forth around the rink trying to figure out how he could get closer to the celebration. Eventually, he gave up on going on the ice and headed to the stands. He stood on a chair and took as many pictures as he could.
“Some fans, instead of clapping for their homeland, held me up for a photo, which was really sweet for a stupid English-speaking American,” he says.
He was lucky enough to get a photo of Hall of Famer Bob Gainey. According to Bennett, this is a symbol of the glory of winning the Stanley Cup.
young gretzky
Wayne Gretzky stands in the Oilers' locker room in 1979.
This photo of Wayne Gretzky is the cover of the English version of Bennett's book, Great Photographs of Hockey. It's from Gretzky's last WHA game against the Edmonton Oilers. At the time, photographers were allowed in the locker room after games, which is why Bennett took this photo.
“High school shoulder pads,” Bennett says. “Skinny, skinny guy.”
This was the first famous photo he took, and Gretzky wrote the foreword to “The Great Photos of Hockey.'' Bennett left a lasting image of Gretzky scoring his 77th goal in the 1981-82 season, breaking Phil Esposito's record. He did not consider the photo to be artistically special, but rather to capture a moment in history. A signed copy hangs in Bennett's living room.
Bennett and Gretzky's relationship spans decades. Gretzky took Bennett with him as the official photographer for the Ninety-Nine All-Stars tour during the 1994-1995 lockout, and Bennett also filmed Gretzky's fantasy camp. That's the source of some of the memorabilia on his walls.
Bossy's Burning Stick
Mike Bossie of the Islanders poses for a portrait in 1980.
Bennett took this photo for Hockey News in the Nassau Coliseum locker room. If you look closely, you'll notice that Bossy is still wearing the towel from his shower. To create this image, Bennett placed kerosene at the base of the stick and lit it.
“There was a bucket of water there, but eventually the cotton burned and it went away on its own,” he says.
Bossie was part of the Islanders' four-peat from 1980-83. The hockey era came at a good time for Bennett.
“I think that was the moment that helped change my career a little bit,” he says. “It wasn’t just the fact that there was a dynasty growing on Long Island, but the fact that I was smart enough or capable enough to turn off the fan in my head and focus on the task of doing my job. ”
Potvin punches Lafleur.
In the early 1980s, the Islanders' Dennis Potvin upset Canadian Guy LaFleur.
This photo of Denis Potvin punching Guy LaFleur is one of Bennett's favorites from early in his career.
“It was one of the first best shots I took,” he says.
If he had been able to shoot it horizontally, he says he would have considered using it as a book cover photo. This is similar to the photo he took during the 2024 playoffs when Carolina's Dmitri Orlov punched the Rangers' Johnny Brodzinski, putting him in a similar position to LaFleur. But he says: “There's a slight difference in Hall of Fame status. No offense Johnny.”
Martinez's cup-winning goal
The Kings celebrate Alec Martinez's 2014 Cup-winning goal.
When Bennett lectures on sports photography, he emphasizes the power of capturing joy and disappointment in the same frame. That's exactly what he felt when Alec Martinez scored a goal off Henrik Lundqvist to win the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
“It's money,” Bennett says. “Lundqvist was a man who could tell his emotions by his body language, even when he was wearing a mask.”
The sight of the Kings celebrating near him added to the impact of the images he captured with a remote camera mounted in the rafters.
“I'm ready to be pushed onto the ice, so I'm just blindly pushing that button,” he says.
More than two hours before the Rangers' game against Montreal on Nov. 30, Bennett was crouched in the bowels of Madison Square Garden, mounting a camera in place at the base of the game net. His plan is to photograph the Rangers game at 1 p.m., then take the train to UBS Arena and take photos of the Islanders vs. Buffalo Sabers in the evening.
Bennett's proximity to multiple teams in the New York area has always allowed him to get shots in a lot of games, but the passion that carried him as an 18-year-old seems to be going nowhere.
“It's hard to walk away,” he says. “You look like a professional athlete.”
Bennett begins work in his office looking at the photos the Getty shooter took the night before. He sends me emails, some of which are complimentary, others constructive and sarcastic. He plans to watch NHL Network and download media notes for the next game he's filming. He pays attention to which players are at milestones and prepares to capture the big moments.
During the summer hockey hiatus, Bennett is busy taking pictures. He enjoys taking day trips around Long Island and photographing wildlife. One of his favorites, an eagle catching a fish at Center Point, is blown up and framed in his office.
And when the season starts, he's ready to go.
“As golfers often say, 'One great shot makes you feel good the next day,' and that's how I feel about the game of hockey,” he says. “If you're not there, you don't understand.”
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic. Photo: Peter Baugh / The Athletic; Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
