It’s a new era for hockey in Bridgeport. Renovations have begun on Webster Bank Arena, and the big change is a new name for the Bridgeport hockey club. Gone is the name of the Sound Tigers, in is the Bridgeport Islanders. Their season has already started as they have produced a 0-1-0-2 (one regulation loss, two shootout losses) record in three games. Let’s take a look at the 2021-22 Bridgeport Islanders season.

A Team Full of Depth

The Bridgeport Islanders have an insane amount of depth to start the season. In an interview with Mike Fornabaio of the CT Post, Captain Seth Helgeson said, “The depth situation that we have is just crazy. I’ve never been a part of a team like this,”. Helgeson will captain the team for the second season. We gave a roster prediction last week, but there have been additions since then. Richard Panik, Anatoli Golyshev, Michael Dal Colle, and Thomas Hickey have been added to the Bridgeport Islanders. They can have five veterans who have played more than 260 games of NHL, AHL, or a top European league, as well as one player with more than 320 professional games in their lineup each game. Bridgeport has three players over 320, leaving eight players for five spots.

A Larger Look at the Roster

In goal to start the season, it will be Ken Appleby and Jakub Skarek. Defensively, a major piece to the defense will probably sit out, most likely a player like Parker Wotherspoon, or even with the veteran rule, Thomas Hickey. Upfront, with the late additions of Panik, Dal Colle, and Golyshev, Bridgeport will have at least 16 forwards who could slot in. Arnaud Durandeau impressed 9th-year head coach Brent Thompson during the preseason. Paul Thompson, who was on a try-out to start training camp, was signed today and sent to Worcester, where he will play alongside prospect Collin Adams and veteran defenseman Mike Cornell. Jeff Kubiak and Samuel Bolduc will begin the season from the sidelines as they are injured. Dmytro Timashov was placed on waivers for purpose of termination yesterday.

Chris Terry is an All-AHL talent, add him to a room that already has Otto Koivula, Austin Czarnik, and others, and the forward core will have a strong year. The defense is among the most experienced in the AHL.

Differences This Season

In 2021-22 the AHL will have its 31 teams split different schedule lengths. Some teams will play 76 games, while a good portion will be playing 72, including the Islanders. The Pacific Division teams will all be playing 68 games.

The playoff format has also changed for the 2021-22 season, 23 of the 31 teams will make the playoffs. It will be six of the eight teams in the Atlantic Division. First Round is going to be a best-of-three while rounds 2-3 will be five games and 4-5 will be seven games, with re-seeding following each round.

The Bridgeport Islanders will have a good chance of making the playoffs as only two teams will miss the playoffs in the division. Since every team is playing different amounts of games, it will go by points percentage. As for the prediction here on the Bridgeport Islanders 2021-22 Season Preview, the Islanders will be one of the six teams in the playoffs, and if everyone stays healthy they will win their first playoff series in 18 years.

It’s going to be a different era beginning in Bridgeport as the Islanders look to be as successful as their NHL counterpart.

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.