Bridgeport Sound Tigers Training Camp Preview

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers, American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, are back on the ice as training camp for the 2020-21 season began this week.
The regular season begins on Friday, Feb. 5, featuring a 24-game schedule against the Hartford Wolf Pack and the Providence Bruins in the Atlantic Division.
Here's a breakdown of what to expect as the Sound Tigers began camp:

THE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER

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Bridgeport's training camp roster is made up of 18 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders this season, and includes former Islanders Andrew Ladd and Tom Kuhnhackl.
The Sound Tigers are returning 19 players who were involved with the Islanders and Bridgeport organization last season. While 19 players have past experience playing in the organization, the average age of the training camp roster is 24-and-a-half years of age. Head Coach Brent Thompson noted that while the group is young and will be trying to blend a mix of returning players from new players, the goal is for everyone to establish a role for themselves.
"Our older guys, we call them older, but there's not a lot of them and they're not really that super old," Thompson said via Zoom. "It's their opportunity to grab the bull by the horns and establish themselves as the leader of the group. Establish themselves, 'That hey, I belong here. I'm a dominant American [League] player and I'm pushing on the depth guy for the NHL' and that they're going to direct and help the young guys. That's the motivation. These guys want to show that they want to be here and they want to be here for the long term. This is an opportunity for them to showcase for themselves what their role will be with the team moving forward and that they can be there for a depth position for the future."

NEWCOMERS

The Sound Tigers training camp roster features 11 newcomers, five of whom were drafted by the Islanders and will be entering their first season of professional hockey; Samuel Bolduc (2019 second rounder, 57th overall), Felix Bibeau (2019 sixth rounder, 178th overall), Blade Jenkins (2018 fifth rounder, 134th overall), Cole Coskey (2019 seventh rounder, 209th overall) and Nick Pastujov (2016 seventh rounder, 193rd overall).
Making a jump up to professional hockey is difficult under normal circumstances, but doing so in the midst of the ongoing pandemic presents its own challenges. Coach Thompson and his staff and Bridgeport General Manager Chris Lamoriello have praised the group for embracing the unique situation.
"The biggest thing we tried to do was get them ready for how unique this year was going to be," Lamoriello said via Zoom ahead of training camp on Monday afternoon. "None of us have a crystal ball on how it's all going to go. Before they came in, we met with them a number of times to talk about some of the different circumstances that they were going to be in, all the different challenges that they were going to have to address not only on the ice - because that's going to be the easy part of their job - but off of the ice. A lot of them are coming from junior, coming from college, maybe it's the first time that they're in Bridgeport full-time. Some of them may not have been there at all so they're trying to learn their surroundings. We tried to prepare them like we normally would to prepare them to be in the best shape they could be in. We knew we were going to have an exciting group. We have spent time talking to them about all of the protocols that teams are going to have to follow each and every day. The biggest thing was just trying to get ready for that day-to-day circumstance that was going to be a lot different than it normally would be."
In addition to the five Islanders draftees, the Sound Tigers are welcoming other new faces to the AHL and the organization, respectively with forwards Kyle MacLean (Oshawa Generals), Brett Neumann (Oshawa Generals), Adam Brubacher (Rochester Institute of Technology) and goaltenders Francis Marotte (Clarkson University).
A.J. Greer, who was acquired on Oct. 12 by the organization in a trade between the Islanders and the Colorado Avalanche, offers valuable experience after spending the last four years playing between the Avalanche and their former AHL affiliate the San Antonio Rampage (2016-18) and their new affiliate the Colorado Eagles (2018-20).

FRESH LEGS

For most players on the Sound Tigers roster, it's been nearly a full-calendar year since they played in an official game, as the AHL went on pause on March 12. The AHL Board of Governors came to a decision last May to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 season and the Calder Cup playoffs a result of the COVID-19 rampant outbreak.
Despite the surplus of time off, Thompson emphasized how pleased he is after discussing the diligence and extent of on and off ice conditioning that his players and staff have undergone in order to maximize their extended offseason and prepare themselves for when game action resumes.
"The extra time gave a lot of guys the opportunity to put on the extra weight and to work on the deficiencies that they had through the course of last year," Thompson said. "Each one of the guys has put in the work this summer. From talking in individual one-on-one meetings or over Zoom I've been hearing what the guys did through the course of summer."
For nine players on Bridgeport's training camp roster including; Greer, Simon Holmstrom, Kuhnhackl, Ladd, Grant Hutton, Bolduc, Wilde, Parker Wotherspoon and Jakub Skarek, they had the chance to join the Islanders at the beginning of the month for their training camp on Long Island as they worked directly with Islander Head Coach Barry Trotz and competed against the organization's top group.
Thompson has been impressed with their performances after attending the Islanders training camp with the casual skates they've participated in back in Bridgeport since.
"Each guy has done a lot to prepare for this year," Thompson continued. "That extra time off and then the time with the Islanders, for some of these guys has been outstanding. I've challenged them, but they're driving the engine in our practices. They've got a little leg up on the guys that had to sit and quarantine for a time frame before they could get on the ice."

THE SCHEDULE

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Unique circumstances are bountiful this season and the schedule is not exempt from such.
The AHL announced on Jan. 4 that 28 teams would be competing this season, Bridgeport being one of them. The Sound Tigers will be playing in the Atlantic Division and facing just two other opponents, the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers) and the Providence Bruins (AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins) for the entirety of their 24-game season that spans from February to May.
"We had great communication with our divisional partners and it just seemed to make sense," Lamoriello said. "We felt that this schedule put us in a position with players that hadn't played in almost a calendar year, a lot of them. They were going to need a lot of practice. We did not want to put them in situations where they were playing too many games and didn't have enough time to prepare for the games or respond to the stress that a normal season would give you. We basically felt that two games a week, on average, made a lot of sense. It allowed us to work on their skill sets on and off the ice and see where they're at developmentally."
Bridgeport will play against both Hartford and Providence 12 times each this season. The Sound Tigers' longest homestand at Webster Bank Arena will be early in the season from Feb. 13-19 with three games as they host Providence, Hartford and then Providence. Bridgeport will not have a road trip longer than two games during the regular season. Another oddity - and perhaps luxury - of this season's slate is that Bridgeport will not have a single back-to-back set of games.
While playing the same two opponents may get redundant, the Sound Tigers are eager for the opportunity to play competitive hockey teams against two of their rivals for an entire season.
"The guys are getting to play games," Thompson said. "There's always battles and wars as it is. I don't think we're going to get sick of it, it might just get a little ugly at times. They're always good games against Hartford. Always very intense, competitive games. Just like the Islanders and the Rangers, you don't get sick of that because it's such a fantastic rivalry. I don't think we'll get sick of it because we aren't playing as many games as you'd want to. Providence is the same thing. It's a crazy intense battle whenever you play them. We have to be ready against those two teams. That's all we're playing. It is an opportunity to showcase yourself and win those games."

DEVELOPMENT FOCUS

For any AHL team, the goal is always to balance developing and fostering their talent to grow into an NHL-caliber player while also trying to win hockey games and have success as a team. This season's circumstances of limited travel, more practice time and less games, provide the Sound Tigers with an opportune window that Thompson referred to as 'a glorified training camp' to really focus on all developmental aspects of their players and inundate them with the systems and structure of Islander hockey.
"There won't be any less emphasis on the result," Lamoriello said. "With a shorter season, some decisions will be made a little differently than you'd normally make because we're only going to have about three months to maximize whatever we can do. It'll be a delicate balance, it's something we're thinking of. Every year you have to manage the development and the winning and losing aspect of it. Your roster is always changing. This year, we'll see how the roster changes during the year and we'll manage it as best we can. I think the coaches are really looking forward to that challenge of managing it day-to-day because they're excited, like the players."

THE NEW NORMS

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While the players, coaching staff and management are all ecstatic to finally have hockey back, they're all continuing to adjust to the realities and necessary means in order to safely and hopefully, smoothly execute this season while COVID-19 is still ongoing.
So, whether it's social distancing whenever possible, wearing masks at all times, getting routinely tested, even just limiting face-to-face interactions and using Zoom, the players' resilience and willingness to partake in whatever means necessary so they can play and stay healthy has already impressed the coaching staff and management.
"They've reacted positively to the forum that all of us are on right now which we're all getting used to, remote in technologically a lot different than we're used to," Lamoriello said. "They've responded great and the communication has been good. We've had to do some different things, but they've taken everything in stride. Whether it's a first-year player or a seasoned player, they've been very consistent in their level of patience. They haven't gotten frustrated. I've been particularly impressed with how they've handled everything; they've been outstanding."
With an abundance of unknowns and what-ifs still ever-present in these fluid times, Bridgeport is focusing on the tangibles that include the opportunity to get back on the ice and compete in their upcoming 24-game season.
"This year's going to be different, but everyone wants to play," Thompson said. "There's going to be sacrifices, but we get to play and that's the most important thing."