AHL: New York Islanders Name New Bridgeport Head Coach

The Bridgeport Islanders had a dreadful season, going 15-50-4-3 with 37 points, which was the worst record in the entire AHL. Due to the record, the New York Islanders announced that Rick Kowalsky and his coaching staff would not be returning. Kowalsky was originally an assistant coach for Bridgeport before taking over for the 2023-24 season. In his two seasons as the head coach, he compiled a record of 40-88-11-5, resulting in the worst record in both seasons. Bridgeport hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2018-19 season. Today, the Islanders organization announced the hiring of Rocky Thompson as the new head coach for Bridgeport. Thompson previously served as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Flyers for the last three seasons.

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Rocky Thompson

Before he was an assistant coach with the Flyers, he was an associate coach for the San Jose Sharks. He was the head coach for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL from 2017 to 2020. He finished his three seasons with the Wolves going 113-71-18-11. Thompson led the Wolves to the playoffs in two of those three seasons and would have made it the third season had it not come to an end early due to COVID. The Wolves, behind the leadership of Thompson, also made the Calder Cup Finals in 2018-19 but lost in five games to the Charlotte Checkers. Thompson also played in 25 career NHL games, posting 117 penalty minutes. Thompson played in 566 career AHL games, recording 69 points on 17 goals and 52 assists. He was a -52 and had 1,919 penalty minutes.  

ITR 43: It's Winning Time – Inside The Rink

Join Chris and Conrad as they break down the Chris Kreider trade, the Calder Cup Final, and the Stanley Cup Final drawing to an end.

1. ITR 43: It's Winning Time 39:10
2. ITR 42: Ripe For Repeat? 29:05
3. ITR 41: Stanley Cup Final – The Rematch 46:47
4. ITR 40: Headed For A Repeat? 32:22
5. ITR 39: Conference Finals 35:18