Coming into the 2021-22 season, there will be a lot of new things going on in Bridgeport. The Bridgeport Islanders will have new players and more veterans. As training camp opens, let’s give a roster prediction for the 2021-22 Bridgeport Islanders as they head into the 20th year of the franchise and the first with the new moniker.

Before we get to the team, we should mention that the Islanders will have a new face behind the bench with Brent Thompson. Longtime coach in the Devils organization Rick Kowalsky will replace both Matt Carkner and Eric Boguniecki on the bench. Kowalsky coached the Trenton Titans/Devils from 2006-2010, then the Albany Devils from 2010-2017, and coached in Binghamton in 2017-18 after the franchise moved. Following his 13 years in the minors coaching the Devils affiliates, Kowalsky finally made it to the NHL as an Assistant with the Devils from 2018-2021 under John Hynes, former Sound Tiger Alain Nasreddine, and Lindy Ruff. This will be Kowasky’s first minor league assistant coaching job since 2005-06 when he was on the Norfolk Admirals coaching staff.

Goaltenders

The New York Islanders stocked up on multiple goaltenders for more depth. It still is a question whether the Islanders will have a third goaltender traveling with the team during the season, but if they will, don’t be surprised if Cory Schnieder will be with the team. He may even start the year as the backup if Semyon Varlamov is not ready for opening night. If worse comes to worst, Schnieder could be splitting time in net with Jakub Skarek, who has looked solid during the preseason and is slated to once again be the number one goalie for Bridgeport.  Also in Bridgeport on a try-out is Jon Gillies, the former Providence College star, and former Devils goaltender Ken Appleby. Appleby played towards the second half of the season with the Sound Tigers in 2020-21. While he has NHL experience, he has been a solid AHL and ECHL netminder, and there wouldn’t be any surprises if Appleby goes to Worcester at some point during the season.

Our Prediction:

Jakub Skarek

Jon Gillies

Potnetial Third Goaltender: Ken Appleby, Cory Schnieder

Defencemen

On defense, Bridgeport will bring back a few familiar faces. Parker Wotherspoon, Mitchell Vande Sompel, Mike Cornell, Grant Hutton, and captain Seth Helgeson all return to the Park City. While there will be a few new faces. Samuel Bolduc will be set to play in his first full professional season, and Robin Salo will most likely begin his North American career with Bridgeport after impressing many during training camp. Paul LaDue comes over as a depth signing for injury insurance, and will likely be a minute-eater for Bridgeport. Connor McCarthy joins the organization after playing for four years at Clarkson University, but I wouldn’t be surprised if McCarthy gets time in Worcester, same with Mike Cornell who was the captain there in 2019-20 while being under contract with Bridgeport.

Of course, the big-name missing is Bode Wilde who will not be playing for the Islanders organization for the time being as he is not vaccinated. There is still the question if Erik Gustafsson will be signed and if that will have a trickle-down effect on players like Thomas Hickey, and also in consideration needs to be the veteran rule, where you can only have five players maximum in your lineup each game that have played 260+ professional games. I wouldn’t be surprised if Helgeson comes out of the lineup at points during the season for Parker Wotherspoon, also to fit in the five veterans as the Islanders have six forwards over 260 games.

Our Prediction:

Robin Salo – Grant Hutton

Samuel Bolduc – Paul LaDue

Mitchell Vande Sompel – Seth Helgeson (C)*

Scratches/ECHL: Parker Wotherspoon, Mike Cornell*, Connor McCarthy

* – Veteran Status

Forwards

Upfront, there is a huge veteran presence in which six forwards are officially classified as veterans-Cole Bardreau, Dmytro Timashov, Austin Czarnik, Chris Terry, Andy Andreoff, and Paul Thompson.

Paul Thompson was picked up on October 6 on a try-out. He has family ties to the Bridgeport franchise as Colin McDonald is his brother-in-law, and 2003-04 Sound Tiger (and current UNH Wildcat Head Coach) Mike Souza is his cousin. Thompson has been around the AHL for a while including stops in Chicago, Springfield, Wilkes-Barre, Albany, and most recently with Hartford. Terry comes from the KHL, but before that, he played for a in the AHL with Charlotte, Laval, and Grand Rapids. Terry is a four-time AHL All-Star and two-time Postseason All-Star. Czarnik came to the Islanders in 2020, and while he didn’t play for Bridgeport, he was on the taxi squad for all of the season while appearing in four games. Andy Andreoff comes from the Flyers organization and is another depth add for the big club. Also new to the team are rookies Collin Adams and Reece Newkirk.

Returning to the Bridgeport franchise is 2019 first-round selection Simon Holmstrom, who is still looking for his footing in North America. Otto Koivula also is set to return for his fourth season in Bridgeport and will be keyed on as a top scorer. Jeff Kubiak continues to improve each season he plays and is back for his fifth season. Blade Jenkins, Erik Brown, Arnaud Durandeau, Cole Coskey, Felix Bibeau and Kyle MacLean now will have to battle for spots in the top four lines as the season nears the start.

Our Prediction:

Otto Koivula – Austin Czarnik* – Dmytro Timashov*

Chris Terry* – Andy Andreoff* – Simon Holmstrom

Kyle MacLean – Reece Newkirk – Cole Bardreau (A)

Blade Jenkins – Jeff Kubiak – Cole Coskey

Scratched/ECHL: Arnaud Durandeau, Paul Thompson, Erik Brown, Felix Bibeau, Collin Adams.

It will be interesting to see what Brent Thompson will do as most of his team now has more experience in the AHL and has a lot of veterans to lead the team. Be on the lookout for our season preview on the Bridgeport Islanders.

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.