Nevertheless, Radio Hofstra University, with help from professionals like King and John Mullen, a 39-year-old producer, has helped the Islanders find a loving home. Dozens of students have also gained hands-on experience in the last six years.

This is the first season that color commentary for King on the broadcasts has not been provided by a rotating team of students; Greg Picker, formerly of the Islanders’ communications department, is now the analyst.

But many students have benefited, among them Mark Weiner, a senior journalism major from the Bayside neighborhood of Queens, who will graduate this month. Weiner has done a little of everything: producing in the studio, analyzing games and reporting from games and practices.

“It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed about,” said Weiner, who has also done broadcasts of Hofstra sports events. “Kinger has probably been the best mentor I’ve ever had. He doesn’t treat us like college students — he treats us like professionals. He’s a mentor for everybody. There are a lot of pro broadcasters who wouldn’t have done that.”

There is virtually no difference between the broadcasts in the regular season on WRHU (also carried on WRCN-FM in Suffolk County and WNYE-FM in New York) and those in the playoffs on WFAN and WCBS. King, though, has found a new audience.