The Bridgeport Sound Tigers are gearing up for an unprecedented 2020-21 season. The Sound Tigers are in a three-team division with the Providence Bruins and Hartford Wolf Pack. With the Islanders announcing their opening night roster and players being sent to Bridgeport, lets look at the players who we could possibly see at Webster Bank Arena this season with our Sound Tigers Roster Prediction.

Sound Tigers Roster Prediction:

Goaltenders

Jakub Skarek

Frank Marotte

After it was announced that Corey Schneider had signed a contract with the Islanders, it meant that Jakub Skarek could be the number one guy for the Sound Tigers.

Last week, the Sound Tigers signed Clarkson graduate Frank Marotte to an AHL Contract. Marotte had signed the week prior with the Allen Americans of the ECHL before signing with the Sound Tigers. Marotte hasn’t officially been announced as a Sound Tigers signing, but he did announce on his Instagram that he had signed a contract with the Sound Tigers.

Last season in Clarkson, Marotte went 23-8-3 with the Golden Knights and had a 1.78 goals against average. It will be interesting to see how Marotte, 25, will adapt to the professional game. Marotte played three years at Robert Morris before playing his graduate year at Clarkson.

There is also a chance that if an injury happens to Skarek or even Marotte, the Islanders could assign Corey Schneider to Bridgeport. But to do that, he would have to pass through waivers, which would be rare given the lack of NHL goalies at this time.

 Defense

Bode Wilde – Samuel Bolduc

Parker Wotherspoon – Mitch Vande Sompel

Seth Helgeson – Grant Hutton

Extra: Adam Brubacher

Possible send down: Thomas Hickey

When doing our Sound Tigers roster prediction, it depends on what moves have been made or how young the players are. The Sound Tigers defense will most likely be without Sebastian Aho, who has taken over the seventh Defenseman role with the big club. But it was reported that Aho is injured to start the season with the Islanders, which means Thomas Hickey could come down to Bridgeport once Aho is healthy.

Bode Wilde and Sam Bolduc impressed Barry Trotz during training camp with the Islanders. It will be interesting to see if Wilde or Bolduc get a shot at the NHL level. Wilde played in 19 games for Bridgeport last season before going back to Saginaw of the OHL. Adam Brubacher is the only collegiate rookie on the defense. A former Penn State Nittany Lion, Brubacher will probably step in if Seth Helgeson needs to sit due to the veteran rule or injuries.

Forwards

AJ Greer – Mason Jobst – Simon Holmstrom

Arnaud Durandeau – Cole Bardreau – Andrew Ladd

Blade Jenkins – Felix Bibeau – Nick Pastujov

Bobo Carpenter – Jeff Kubiak – Cole Coskey

Extras: Erik Brown, Nick Pastujov,

Possible Send Down: Austin Czarnik, Otto Koivula

TBD: Tanner Fritz

The forwards are more of a different story compared to the defense. Bridgeport has a younger offense, with a lot of former Islander draft picks in the lineup. Tanner Fritz did not attend camp as it seems that he is still unable to play and it is unsure if he will play again. Austin Czarnik could possibly be down in Bridgeport for the start of the season. On the other hand, Kieffer Bellows will likely be an NHL player this season.

With young players like Blade Jenkins, Arnaud Durandeau, Felix Bibeau and Cole Coskey, the Sound Tigers will use the veteran leadership of Andrew Ladd if he is down in Bridgeport. Josh Ho-Sang was loaned to Orebro of the Swedish League and will play all of 2020-21 there.

Bridgeport Sound Tigers Roster Prediction Final Thoughts

With the Sound Tigers playing in a smaller division and looking to play three teams, it will be interesting to see how the roster shapes out especially with the NHL’s new Taxi Squad.

Christian Gardecki

A Native of Danbury, CT. Christian is one of the longest tenured Drive4Five writers, Christian Gardecki began writing for Drive4five In May of 2017. Christian covers Minor League Hockey and the Bridgeport Islanders for Drive4Five. Outside of Drive4Five, Christian was the captain of his High School Hockey team and currently attends Hofstra University with a major in journalism. Christian was the play by play broadcaster for the Danbury Westerners summer collegiate baseball team during their 2021 NECBL Championship. Christian also was the Public Address Announcer for the Danbury Hat Tricks Minor Pro Hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League and NAHL Junior team from 2019-21.