Islanders Tap Alaska Aces Coach Brent Thompson for AHL Bridgeport
by Dominik on Jun 28, 2011 4:52 PM EDT
in Roster Manoeuvres in the Dark
Email
Print
Brent Thompson served as the head coach of the Alaska Aces in the ECHL the past two seasons. This past year, he led the Aces to a league-best 47-22-0-3 record and the club’s second Kelly Cup Championship in team history. Thompson also won the John Brophy Award as the ECHL Coach of the Year.
"Brent’s background as a player and his recent success as the head coach of the Alaska Aces makes him the perfect fit to show our young prospects what it takes to play at the NHL level," Islanders General Manager Garth Snow said.
That's from the team release. Thompson previously was an assistant coach with the AHL Peoria Rivermen. His path is similar to St. Louis Blues coach Davis Payne, who coached the Aces before graduating to AHL Peoria and then taking the current NHL job after Andy Murray was fired. Payne and Thompson can each claim leading the Aces to a Kelly Cup championship. Can't claim to know much about him, but you can say the Isles have hired a winner for Bridgeport.
He's also played more NHL hockey than you have: From 1991 to 1997, he compiled 121 NHL games with the Kings, Jets and Coyotes. And of course there's a Boston connection: He finished his pro career with Providence in 2005.
Look to Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post for much more in the days to come.
5 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I guess I can stop asking now...
…and Chynoweth, hopefully, will stay close to the Isles young defensive core in Long Island. Okay… on to the UFA period and camps.
Lighthouse Hockey: where "you better check yourself before you rec yourself" -bobl
If your life isn't pathetic enough already, follow me on twitter @JPinVA
one guy i'd really like to see back in the system is...
John Chabot…very underrated. Nolan was the motivator but Chabot took care of a lot of the skills and technical training.
by CanadianIsleslifer on Jun 28, 2011 7:12 PM EDT reply actions
Good coach
Having seen the Aces play Las Vegas quite often…actually a great rivalry as the teams HATE each other, Thompson will be a good fit. Knows how to coach special teams very well. Hey Brent , in honor of you …" The Alaska Aces are coached by Brent Thompson"…….And he sucks TOO!"
"Being thrown under the bus and scorching the back of my neck with a revolving red light."
seems like a nice get
strong new coach. could be the Isles coach of the future if Cap fails, but I hope Cap is around for a long time
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
by Rickfansince76 on Jun 29, 2011 10:42 AM EDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Lighthouse Hockey
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
Islanders Schedule
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Why the Devils and the Kings are evidence the Capitals shouldn’t trade Alex Ovechkin
- Eulogy: Remembering the 2011-12 New York Rangers
- Stanley Cup Final: 5 keys for New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings
- Friday’s Three Stars: Devils head to Final; Brodeur, Kovalchuk the difference in Game 6
- Devils eliminate Rangers in Game 6, ending fear of the past, setting course for the future
SBNation.com Recent Stories
1979-80
Source: Uploaded by user via NYIslanders on Pinterest
May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
Source: Uploaded by user via NYIslanders on Pinterest
May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
Source: Uploaded by user via NYIslanders on Pinterest
May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
Source: Uploaded by user via NYIslanders on Pinterest
May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
