EXCLUSIVE: Rocky’s Fighting Words Made The Bridgeport Islanders Punching Bags No Longer
Bridgeport Islanders head coach Rocky Thompson details how he changed the team’s culture, built accountability, and pushed a once-fragile group back into the playoffs.
BRIDGEPORT, CT — When we spoke with Rocky Thompson during his introductory press conference after being named Bridgeport Islanders head coach, he dropped a line for the ages.
“We aren’t going to be the punching bags anymore.”
That’s what Bridgeport had become, but with the prospect pool taking tremendous strides over the last two seasons and many of those top names coming over to the organization over the next two years, quickly changing the culture was paramount.
However, it’s easier said than done. But credit to Thompson, because he’d done it in his first season, the AHL affiliate’s final season in Bridgeport, getting them back into the postseason for the first time since 2021-22.
Here’s my chat with Thompson about how he turned Bridgeport around, plus some insight on the organization’s rising stars: