“I believe in developing in a winning environment, so the AHL will definitely be a focus.” That’s how Mathieu Darche set the tone for his general manager (GM) tenure with the New York Islanders. In his first press conference, he stated the importance of a good team in the American Hockey League (AHL). To have a good farm system, the Bridgeport Islanders must be a winning team as well as the NHL group.
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A lot must change after a historically bad season, one where they went 15-50-4-3 and won only four home games in six months. They were awful across the board, so Darche had to act fast and make some big changes. He did, and the Islanders are already crawling back into AHL relevancy, providing a winning culture for the prospects to play in.
The Rocky Thompson Hire & the Mixed Bag He Brings
It’s quite the reversal to go from Rick Kowalsky to Rocky Thompson as the head coach. Kowalsky was 52 when he was hired in the 2023 offseason, making him one of the older coaches in the AHL. Thompson will be 48 when the season begins, so he fits right in with the many other up-and-coming coaches in the league.
Thompson is a proven winner, taking the Chicago Wolves to the Calder Cup Final in 2019 and also having success at the junior level. Kowalsky was a below .500 coach who missed the playoffs in seven of his 10 seasons as an AHL head coach, while winning only 40 games in two seasons with the Islanders.
The question is how Thompson will change the team, aside from bringing a winning culture. An aggressive mindset and pressure stand out, something the Islanders lacked last season and clearly work in the AHL, as the Charlotte Checkers showed. Along with forechecking and looking to create turnovers in the offensive zone, this team will look to generate more shots on the net compared to waiting for a good shot, as they did multiple times under Kowalsky.
At the same time, it’s not all sunshine in Bridgeport (it’s usually cloudy for those wondering) with Thompson behind the bench. He’s a hands-off coach and not focused on the details, which explains why the power play was awful when he ran it for the Philadelphia Flyers in recent seasons. At the same time, Thompson won’t micromanage, so it could translate to the AHL level and get the most out of the prospects.
The Veteran…
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