Kowalsky Becomes 26th Member of 300-Win Club

Mar 8, 2024

Bridgeport Islanders head coach Rick Kowalsky became the 26th American Hockey League head coach to win 300 career games when the Islanders defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds, 4-2, at MassMutual Center on Friday. He is the third active head coach to reach that mark following Kevin Dineen (Utica) and Todd Nelson (Hershey).

In his ninth season as an AHL head coach, and his first with Bridgeport, Kowalsky is 300-278-43-46 in 667 regular-season games. He won 281 games with the New Jersey Devils’ AHL affiliates in Albany and Binghamton between 2010-18.

Kowalsky, 51, was hired as Bridgeport’s ninth head coach on July 13, 2023, after spending two seasons as an assistant coach under Brent Thompson. Previously, he spent three seasons as an assistant coach with New Jersey (2018-21) and was head coach of the Devils’ AHL affiliates, Binghamton (2017-18) and Albany (2010-17). He led the Devils to back-to-back Calder Cup playoff berths in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Kowalsky was the recipient of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award, given to the AHL’s outstanding coach, in 2016.

A native of Simcoe, Ont., Kowalsky served four seasons as head coach of New Jersey’s ECHL affiliates, the Trenton Devils and Trenton Titans, from 2006-10. He received the 2009 John Brophy Award as league’s top coach and was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in January 2017.

Kowalsky’s professional playing career spanned 12 seasons and included six teams/two leagues in North America. A right wing, he captained the ECHL’s Trenton Titans to the 2005 Kelly Cup championship in his final season as a player. Kowalsky participated in the 1995 and 2003 ECHL All-Star Games, serving as team captain for the North team in 2003. He totaled 221 goals and 329 assists for 550 points in 516 career regular-season ECHL games and scored 92 points (35 goals, 57 assists) in 183 AHL games for the Cornwall Aces, Portland Pirates and Norfolk Admirals.  He served as the team captain for the Soo Greyhounds (CHL) when the club won the Memorial Cup in 1993.

Next Time Out: The Islanders host the Hartford Wolf Pack for the final time this season, squaring off inside Total Mortgage Arena tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The first 2,500 fans will receive a collectors-edition Storm bobblehead when doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets to the pre-game “Hockey & Hops” event are officially sold out! Great seats for the game remain available by clicking here or by…