Bridgeport Islanders Hire Rocky Thompson
The Islanders have hired the 10th Head Coach in their history, conveniently also a Thompson
On Monday, June 23rd, the Bridgeport Islanders announced that they have hired Rocky Thompson to be the tenth Head Coach in Bridgeport hockey history.
This will be Thompson’s second AHL Head Coaching gig. He previously coached the Chicago Wolves from 2017-2020, boasting an impressive 113-71-18-11 record and winning two division titles. They made a run to the Calder Cup Finals in 2018-19 but were snuffed out by the Charlotte Checkers.
Thompson has spent much of the 2020s in the NHL, splitting time behind the benches of the San Jose Sharks and Philadelphia Flyers. He spent 2020-2021 as the Associate Coach of San Jose and spent 2022-2025 as an assistant coach in Philadelphia under John Tortorella.
Like Mathieu Darche, Thompson is a veteran of both the AHL and NHL; he spent 566 games in the AHL, and 25 in the NHL. He accrued the tenth-most penalty minutes in AHL History during that span (1,919).
Conveniently enough, he’s a good friend of former Bridgeport Islanders Head Coach Brent Thompson, as they grew up in a similar region. Brent even coached Rocky during the latter’s final playing days.
Thompson’s task is simple: drain the swamp. As we’ve discussed ad nauseum, Bridgeport was one of the worst teams in the history of the AHL last season. That includes setting a new league mark for poorest win-percentage at home.
We’ll see what Rocky can bring to the table.
Feature image courtesy of Philadelphia Flyers