The upcoming 2020-21 Bridgeport Sound Tigers season is going to be one that is unlike your usual AHL season. Due to COVID-19, changes to this season will run rampant. For starters, there will be no fans at Webster Bank Arena, and the Sound Tigers will play only two opponents in twenty-four games. Let’s preview the upcoming season, looking at the team piece by piece.

A Season Unlike Any Other

This season, the Sound Tigers will have the same coaching staff as last season; Brent Thompson will lead for his eighth season, while Eric Boguniecki and former NHL player Matt Carkner return as Sound Tigers assistant coaches for their tenth season and fifth season, respectively.

With a seemingly crazy schedule ahead, Thompson is very happy with how the Sound Tigers and the Islanders are following all of the protocols and how management has dealt with the situation. “Our players are handling the circumstances really well. This year is going to be different, everyone wants to play and we’re going to be able to play so that’s the important thing,” said Thompson.

In their 20th season, which runs from February 5 to May 8, the Sound Tigers will not have any back-to-back games. Nonetheless, the players have concerns about the season, and Thompson expects abnormality, saying “I think it’s just case by case. Things always come up at different points through our careers and you really think you’ve seen it all. But this year is really different.”

What the Roster May Look Like

“It’s been really good preparing for this season. Once we knew the start date and once we knew of the potential number of players coming it was easy to dial into what we wanted to get accomplished in the first couple of days,” said Thompson, regarding their preparation for the upcoming season.

In goal, the only returning netminder is Jakub Skarek, an underrated prospect in the Islanders system, who played in thirty games last season for Bridgeport and ECHL Affiliate Worcester. The 21-year-old Czech native averaged approximately 3.5 goals against for the Sound Tigers and Railers combined. A pair of players who were under contract with the Allen Americans at the start of the season will play between the pipes with Skarek. Rookie goaltender Francis Marotte, fresh off of graduating from Clarkson University comes to Bridgeport after signing in Allen, and six-year minor-league veteran CJ Motte, who started his professional career in 2014-15 after graduating from Ferris State, also returns to Bridgeport.

On defense, regular mainstays such as Seth Helgeson, Parker Wotherspoon, and Mitch Vande Sompel return. However, several new faces are joining the team this season as well. Bode Wilde will play his first full professional season, while RIT alum Adam Brubacher, along with third-year professionals Grant Hutton and Ryan MacKinnon, will also play this season. The most interesting prospect on the team is Samuel Bolduc, who––along with Wilde––impressed many during Islanders training camp. Helgeson will be counted on to lead the younger players on the back end.

Upfront, the Sound Tigers have players from junior hockey, college, and the 2019-20 Sound Tigers. Oshawa Generals scoring machines Kyle MacLean and Brett Neumann look to make their mark on the Sound Tigers, while veterans Andrew Ladd and Tom Kuhnhackl are expected to be role models and leaders to the younger players; Jeff Kubiak and Cole Bardreau are also established AHL veterans, who will seek to bring leadership to this team. The Islanders will be leaning on prospects such as 2019 first-rounder Simon Holmstrom, rookie Nick Pastujov, and second-year professionals Arnaud Durandeau, Mason Jobst, and Bobo Carpenter. The Sound Tigers also got a new center to lead the top line in A.J. Greer, while Austin Czarnik also should play an effective role if he is taken off of the Islanders taxi squad. It is also unknown if Kieffer Bellows or Oliver Wahlstrom will spend time in Park City.

A Developmental Season

This season will be a season of development, and Thompson and the Sound Tigers coaching staff know that. “In such a shortened season like this, I think development is a priority and with that, we obviously want to win. But I do realize that with a limited amount of games and a lot of practice time. We have the ability to develop these guys and work on things. It’s almost that we have a three to four-month window to work with these guys in like a glorified training camp session. It’s going to be a lot crammed into a shorter amount of time. Because we’re here to make sure these guys are ready for the NHL and the Islanders, said Thompson.” In a season where currently there is no playoff structure yet announced, the Sound Tigers’ main priority is preparing their players for the next level.

Thanks to the Around The A Podcast with Patrick Williams of NHL.com and David Foot of the Belleville Senators for providing the audio clips in their recent episode.

Stay tuned into Drive4Five for nonstop coverage of the 2020-21 Sound Tigers season.

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.