PROFILBARU.COM

Bridgeport Islanders
Bridgeport Islanders
City	Bridgeport, Connecticut
League	American Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	Atlantic
Founded	2001
Home arena	Total Mortgage Arena
Colors	Blue, orange, white;
Owner(s)	Jon Ledecky
General manager	Chris Lamoriello
Head coach	Rick Kowalsky
Captain	Cole Bardreau
Media	Connecticut Post; MSG Network; News Radio WPOP (1410 AM); AHL.TV (Internet)
Affiliates	New York Islanders (NHL); Worcester Railers (ECHL)
Franchise history
2001–2021	Bridgeport Sound Tigers
2021–present	Bridgeport Islanders
Championships
Regular season titles	1 (2001–02)
Division titles	2 (2001–02, 2011–12)
Conference titles	1 (2001–02)
Calder Cups	0
	Current season

The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the franchise. The team started in 2001–02 season and was purchased by the Islanders in 2004. The team is based in Bridgeport, Connecticut and plays their home games at the Total Mortgage Arena.

History

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers logo, used from 2001 to 2021

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers joined the American Hockey League as an expansion franchise in 2001 and were coached by Steve Stirling. The team's name referenced both the Long Island Sound where Bridgeport lies and the circuses of former resident P. T. Barnum, with the Sound Tigers identity being unveiled at the Barnum Museum.^[3] In their inaugural season, the team won their division and had the best regular season record to win the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. In the playoffs, they won the Eastern Conference championship and the Richard F. Canning Trophy to advance to the Calder Cup finals against the Chicago Wolves. They lost the series four games-to-one.^[4]

In their second season, the team finished second in their division and the fifth conference seed in the playoffs. They advanced to the conference semifinals, where they lost to their division champion Binghamton Senators in six games. Stirling was promoted to head coaching position with the New York Islanders and was replaced by Greg Cronin for 2003–04. As the Sound Tigers, the team had limited success, missing the playoffs ten times and not winning a playoff round since their second season.

On May 10, 2021, it was announced that the team would change its name to the Bridgeport Islanders beginning with the 2021–22 season.^[1]

Team identity

Mascot

The lone mascot of the Bridgeport Islanders is a anthropomorphic blue tiger named Storm. He appears at home games sporting a jersey with the number 01 (short for the year the team was founded). While Storm can usually be found exciting fans throughout the arena, he skates on the ice during periodic intermissions. Storm's appearance has changed since the team's inaugural season. Storm has weathered the storm since the club's change to the Islander's moniker and is a regular at-home game.^[5]

Rivalries

The main (and instate) rival of the Islanders are the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers (the main rival of the Bridgeport Islanders' parent club, the New York Islanders). The games have become known as the Battle of Connecticut. They have formed a rivalry with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins' AHL affiliate, and the Providence Bruins, the Boston Bruins' AHL affiliate, largely due to the teams frequently facing off in playoff match-ups and regular season play. They also are semi-rivals with the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals' AHL affiliate.

Season-by-season results

Regular season												Playoffs
Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SOL	Points	PCT	Goals for	Goals against	Standing	Year	Qual Round	1st round	2nd round	3rd round	Finals
2001–02	80	43	25	8	4	—	98	.613	240	192	1st, East	2002	—	W, 3–1, MAN	W, 4–0 SJM	W, 4–3, HAM	L, 1–4, CHI
2002–03	80	40	26	11	3	—	94	.588	219	198	2nd, East	2003	—	W, 3–0, MAN	L, 2–4, BNG	—	—
2003–04	80	41	23	12	4	—	98	.613	178	140	2nd, East	2004	—	L, 3–4, WBS	—	—	—
2004–05	80	37	38	—	1	4	79	.494	192	222	6th, East	2005	Did not qualify
2005–06	80	38	33	—	6	3	85	.531	246	253	4th, East	2006	N/A	L, 3–4, WBS	—	—	—
2006–07	80	36	37	—	1	6	79	.494	229	267	5th, East	2007	Did not qualify
2007–08	80	40	36	—	1	3	84	.525	225	240	5th, East	2008	Did not qualify
2008–09	80	49	23	—	3	5	106	.663	241	212	2nd, East	2009	N/A	L, 1–4, WBS	—	—	—
2009–10	80	38	32	—	4	6	86	.538	201	220	5th, Atlantic	2010	N/A	L, 1–4, HER	—	—	—
2010–11	80	30	39	—	4	7	67	.444	209	256	7th, Atlantic	2011	Did not qualify
2011–12	76	41	26	—	3	6	91	.599	233	219	1st, Northeast	2012	N/A	L, 0–3, CON	—	—	—
2012–13	76	32	32	—	7	5	76	.449	218	242	3rd, Northeast	2013	Did not qualify
2013–14	76	28	40	—	2	6	64	.421	183	238	5th, Northeast	2014	Did not qualify
2014–15	76	28	40	—	7	1	64	.421	213	246	5th, Northeast	2015	Did not qualify
2015–16	76	40	29	—	4	3	87	.572	209	220	5th, Atlantic	2016	N/A	L, 0–3, TOR	—	—	—
2016–17	76	44	28	—	3	1	92	.605	220	212	5th, Atlantic	2017	Did not qualify
2017–18	76	36	32	—	5	3	80	.526	206	214	5th, Atlantic	2018	Did not qualify
2018–19	76	43	24	—	6	3	95	.625	233	228	2nd, Atlantic	2019	N/A	L, 2–3, HER	—	—	—
2019–20	63	23	33	—	5	2	53	.421	152	206	8th, Atlantic	2020	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	24	8	14	—	2	0	18	.375	59	81	3rd, Atlantic	2021	No playoffs
2021–22	72	31	30	—	7	4	73	.507	213	226	6th, Atlantic	2022	W, 2–0, PRO	L, 1–3, CLT	—	—	—
2022–23	72	34	30	—	7	1	76	.528	238	248	7th, Atlantic	2023	Did not qualify
2023–24	72	25	38	—	7	2	59	.410	162	222	8th, Atlantic	2024	Did not qualify

Players

Current roster

Updated December 19, 2024.^[6]

Team roster
No.	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
21	Cole Bardreau (C)	C	R	31	2019	Fairport, New York	Bridgeport
3	Samuel Bolduc	D	L	24	2020	Laval, Quebec	Islanders
28	William Dufour	RW	R	22	2022	Quebec, Quebec	Islanders
8	Liam Foudy	C	L	24	2024	Scarborough, Ontario	Bridgeport
27	Aidan Fulp	D	R	24	2023	Westfield, Indiana	Islanders
17	Marc Gatcomb	C	R	25	2024	Woburn, Massachusetts	Islanders
44	Julien Gauthier	RW	R	27	2024	Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec	Islanders
32	Justin Gill	C	L	21	2024	Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Quebec	Bridgeport
39	Seth Helgeson	D	L	34	2017	Faribault, Minnesota	Bridgeport
16	Alex Jefferies	LW	R	23	2024	Framingham, Massachusetts	Islanders
24	Fredrik Karlström	C	L	26	2024	Stockholm, Sweden	Islanders
25	Daylan Kuefler	LW	L	22	2023	Red Deer, Alberta	Islanders
26	Eetu Liukas	LW	L	22	2023	Turku, Finland	Islanders
18	Matthew Maggio	RW	R	22	2023	Windsor, Ontario	Islanders
36	Cam McDonald	D	L	23	2024	Eagle River, Alaska	Bridgeport
10	Travis Mitchell	D	L	25	2023	South Lyon, Michigan	Islanders
38	Wyatt Newpower	D	R	27	2024	Hugo, Minnesota	Bridgeport
2	Calle Odelius	D	L	20	2024	Nykvarn, Sweden	Islanders
14	Brian Pinho (A)	C	R	29	2023	Beverly, Massachusetts	Bridgeport
46	Jack Randl	LW	L	24	2024	Carpentersville, Illinois	Bridgeport
1	Jakub Skarek	G	L	25	2019	Jihlava, Czech Republic	Islanders
46	Gemel Smith	C	L	30	2024	Toronto, Ontario	Bridgeport
25	Chris Terry (A)	LW	L	35	2024	Brampton, Ontario	Bridgeport
29	Tyce Thompson (A)	F	R	25	2023	Oyster Bay, New York	Islanders
15	Cam Thiesing	C	R	23	2024	Franklin, Tennessee	Islanders
70	Henrik Tikkanen	G	L	24	2022	Lohja, Finland	Islanders
6	Marshall Warren	D	L	23	2024	Laurel Hollow, New York	Islanders

Team captains

Alan Letang, 2003–04
Keith Aldridge¹, 2004–05
Richard Seeley¹, 2004–05
Ed Campbell¹, 2005
Kevin Colley, 2005–06
Mark Wotton, 2006–11
Jeremy Colliton, 2011–12
Colin McDonald², 2012–13
Matt Watkins² 2013
Chris Bruton, 2013–14
Aaron Ness, 2014–15
Ben Holmstrom³, 2015–19
Kyle Burroughs³, 2018–20
Seth Helgeson, 2021–24
Cole Bardreau, 2024–present

Notes

^1 There were three captains for the 2004–05 season: Aldridge named on Oct. 16, 2004, Seeley named on Nov. 6, 2004, and Campbell named on Mar. 16, 2005
^2 There were two captains for the 2012–13 season: McDonald was named on Dec. 7, 2012, and Watkins was named on Feb. 22, 2013.
^3 There were two captains for the 2018–19 season: when Ben Holmstrom played, he wore the "C" on his sweater. When Holmstrom did not play, Kyle Burroughs wore the C.

Notable alumni

The following players have played both 100 games in Bridgeport and 100 games in the National Hockey League:

Team records

Single season: Goals: Jeff Hamilton, 43, (2003–04); Assists: Rob Collins, 48, (2005–06); Points: Jeff Tambellini, 76, (2007–08); Penalty minutes: Eric Godard, 295, (2004–05); GAA: Wade Dubielewicz, 1.38, (2003–04)^[C]; SV%: Wade Dubielewicz, .946, (2003–04)^[C]; ^ C. AHL Records

Career: Career goals: Jeff Hamilton, 89; Career assists: Jeremy Colliton, 126; Career points: Jeremy Colliton, 203; Career penalty minutes: Brett Gallant, 857; Career goaltending wins: Wade Dubielewicz, 81; Career shutouts: Wade Dubielewicz, 15; Career games: Mark Wotton, 368

References

^ ^a ^b "Bridgeport reboots as the Islanders". American Hockey League (Press release). May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021. The new Bridgeport Islanders logo features an iconic mark for the team's future. The strong letter B recognizes the great city of Bridgeport. The stick, which forms the letter B, has the parent Islanders NY logo as the tape on the blade, a subtle nod to the affiliation between the two clubs. The iconic Islanders' blue and orange colors remain the same.
^ Fornabaio, Michael (May 22, 2018). "Lamoriello takes over Islanders' hockey operations". Connecticut Post. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
^ TWENTY YEARS OF SOUND TIGERS, Bridgeport Islanders
^ Clinton, Jared (September 10, 2015). "AHL Logo Ranking: No. 7 - Bridgeport Sound Tigers". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
^ "Bridgeport Islanders And Newtown Public Schools Team Up To Help Fight Cancer". newtownbee.com. November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
^ "Bridgeport Islanders Roster". Bridgeport Islanders. Retrieved December 19, 2024.