What The Bridgeport Islanders Can Learn From Their Little Brother
While the AHL remains the highest level of non-NHL professional hockey, it’s not the only NHL-affiliated professional league. One level lower, there exists the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Twenty-nine of the 32 NHL teams have an ECHL affiliate. For the Islanders, their ECHL affiliate is the recently-formed Worcester Railers.
Though the Railers are in a “less-talented” league, they compete with Bridgeport’s yearly attendance figures. Sometimes, they beat Bridgeport outright. The Railers, like the B-Isles, have experienced minimal playoff experience over the last five seasons. Attendance-wise, they outpace Bridgeport in a “less-talented” league in each of Bridgeport’s last four seasons. So what can the Bridgeport Islanders learn from the Worcester Railers?
Acknowledge The Past, Acknowledge Your City
The Railers are a team that entwined itself in Worcester’s history. They’re called the “Railers” because of Worcester’s history of rail transportation. They acknowledge (and celebrate) the past of Worcester hockey. The Railers are predated by two former AHL Clubs: The Worcester IceCats (1994-2005) and the Worcester Sharks (2006-2015). They recently wore vintage “WooCats” jerseys during a game to honor the former club.
The Bridgeport Islanders’ name has no personal connection to the city (and people) of Bridgeport. As fans of other AHL teams will tell you, Bridgeport is not an island! Their previous name (chosen by a fan!), the Sound Tigers, referenced the city’s close proximity to the Long Island Sound and the tiger-filled circuses of P.T. Barnum (a former resident of Bridgeport). Hence the Sound Tigers!
The “Islanders’ have no brand power in Connecticut. The state, formerly inhabited by the Hartford Whalers, is packed full of Boston Bruins and New York Rangers fans. The Islanders have little to no chance of competing against two original six teams in that market. The Sound Tigers were still the Islanders’ affiliate, but they had their own flair. Now, the Lamoriellos have stripped the organization of its identity. What did they think was going to happen?
No, the Islanders have not acknowledged their former “Sound Tigers” culture in any way. They have never worn commemorative uniforms. They sell no Sound Tigers merchandise in their team store. The only remnant of the Sound Tigers is Storm, the tiger mascot, who now feels out of place on the “Islanders.”
If the Bridgeport Islanders want fans to show up, they need to endear themselves to the city of Bridgeport. The best way to do that, as demonstrated by Worcester, is to make the team theirs. Bridgeport could feel connected to the “Sound Tigers.” There’s no such connection with a team sharing the name of the fifth (exaggerating) most popular NHL team in that region!
Know Who You Are, And Have Fun With It
Unlike the Lamoriello-led Islanders, the Railers are an organization that’s willing to take themselves a little less seriously, especially on social media. Worcester posts their lines before games; Bridgeport doesn’t. Worcester also posts dynamic “end of period” graphics and unique “goal announcement” videos. Unlike Bridgeport’s boring and bland graphics, each player’s “goal announcement” video is unique in a substantial way. For example, one goal graphic includes a few other Railers players pretending to be a train car. Another goal video includes two teammates jumping in the air, screaming into the camera, and high-fiving. That’s awesome! While they’re not unique to the players necessarily, they provide a lot of excitement to the goal announcements.
MATT DEMELIS!!!! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/hWuIL3Hpg3
— Worcester Railers (@RailersHC) February 6, 2025
All of this makes Worcester hockey fans feel closer to the action. Knowledge is power, and by posting the lines, Worcester gives their fans the power to know who will be on the ice with who. It makes players easier to follow. Not to mention, the graphics make the players seem fun and relatable. In other words, it endears the fans to the players.
The Bridgeport Islanders do none of this. Their goal graphics are exactly the same. The camera zooms in on the players’ faces while they give an emotionless stare. They don’t smile. They don’t seem excited. Why should a fan spectating get excited about the goal if the players seem so unphased? It’s nitpicky, but these smaller infractions add up, especially when you’re on pace for the worst season in your recorded history.
LIUKAS PUTS THE ISLANDERS BACK ON TOP!! pic.twitter.com/RFRbIJ590m
— Bridgeport Islanders (@AHLIslanders) February 2, 2025
You can bring fans into the games without doing the aforementioned things. You do it by being a big name and/or by winning. Original six NHL teams don’t have to go the extra mile to market themselves. Their product sells itself. That product has a trickle-down effect on the big-market team’s minor-league clubs. The other solution is to win. People will always come to the rink to see winners.
The reality is that neither of these clubs wins a ton! I’m on record groaning about how terrible Bridgeport has been for the past three seasons, but Worcester isn’t much better! They’ve been at (or around) .500 for every year of their existence. They’ve never won a championship, nor seriously competed for one.
Conclusion:
What the Lamoriellos need to understand is this: Bridgeport is not your A-product. Your product doesn’t sell itself. Your team is lousy and you play in a small market (minor league). If you want the casual fan to come to the game, you have to give them a reason to. Stripping the organization of its identity and running a cold, lifeless operation doesn’t constitute “luring fans to the games”.
The Worcester Railers have shown that a minor-league team can thrive by embracing its history and making the game experience fun for fans. Meanwhile, the Bridgeport Islanders have done the opposite—stripping away their identity, failing to connect with their city, and running a robotic, uninspired operation. If Bridgeport wants to build a stronger fan base, they need to follow Worcester’s lead. That means acknowledging their past, making their brand unique, and creating an engaging experience beyond just the on-ice product. Until then, expect the empty seats at Total Mortgage Arena to keep piling up.
featured image courtesy of the Worcester Railers
Joey McAuliffe is a passionate Islander fan pursuing a Masters of Accounting in Buffalo, NY. His favorite player of all time is Jordan Eberle. He has followed the team closely since 2014, but he began regularly attending games during the 2006 season. Outside of hockey, Joey loves music and the Buffalo Bills.
