Bolduc, Gill Excited for ‘Homecoming’ This Week

Mar 10, 2025

By Michael Fornabaio (@fornabaioctp)

It’s normally a pretty simple question, how many tickets Sam Bolduc will need for a Bridgeport Islanders road game. Bolduc needed a second to think this time, though.

“I don’t know,” he said, and he paused, then smiled. “A lot.”

Bridgeport will play Wednesday night in Bolduc’s hometown of Laval, Quebec, against the Rocket at Place Bell. He has not played there since 2021 despite possibilities that included the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic.

“It’s always fun. There’s always a lot of people. I’ve got a lot of friends there,” the fifth-year defenseman said. “I’ll probably go home Tuesday and go for dinner after with friends on Wednesday.”

For Justin Gill, Wednesday will be his first pro homecoming. He’s from Blainville, and from home to Place Bell, he said, is about 15 minutes. His father is a detective in Laval.

“To go back to the city where you grew up, see everyone, spend some time with family and friends and play in front of them, you don’t get to do that often,” said Gill, 22. “I’ve been away from home since I was 16 years old. Going back home once a year is pretty special.”

Bolduc, 24, has only played at Place Bell for Bridgeport once, in his first, as he called it, “real year” — his first unreal year was the 24-game 2021 season as the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laval, the Montreal Canadiens’ top affiliate, won that game in overtime on Nov. 12, 2021, but Bolduc was +2, on the ice for goals by then-teammates Arnaud Durandeau and Paul LaDue.

“It’s a pretty sick rink to play, too, a lot of people,” Bolduc said.

Place Bell also includes two other rinks, one the wider Olympic size and another NHL-sized. Gill, a forward in his first pro season, said he has practiced there, but this will be his first time on the showcase sheet of ice. Bolduc said he’d practiced there too when he was younger but always thought it would be fun to play there.

Bolduc has since grown to 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. He was an AHL All-Star in 2023, but he’d been up with the New York Islanders. He was also up in both 2023 and 2024 when Bridgeport visited his hometown.

As the all-star selection suggests, Bolduc has had some very solid moments as a pro. A second-round draft pick in 2019, he is working on making those moments happen more often, and he feels he has been more consistent over the…