Ready For Freddie: Islanders name Brathwaite head goalie coach

Hm. Wasn’t expecting this today but okay. The Islanders have named former NHL goalie Fred Brathwaite head goaltending coach, the latest of Doug Weight’s ex-teammates to find himself a new job with the club.

Brathwaite’s been with Hockey Canada the last few years, working with their junior teams. He also worked as a coach in the German League in 2013-14.

"Fred's experiences at just about every level of hockey make him a tremendous addition to our hockey club," Weight said. "Not only has he had a solid NHL career, but he's also worked with some of the top net-minder's coming out of Hockey Canada. He's ready for this next step and we look forward to him working with our organization's goalies."

Brathwaite was a surprise visitor at the Islanders prospect mini-camp last week, allowing Dom to use a great picture from the goalie’s Atlanta Thrashers days. Brathwaite compiled a record of 81-99-37 in 254 NHL games with the Oilers, Flames, Blues, Thrashers and Blue Jackets. He made the playoffs just once in nine seasons, getting in one minute of action with St. Louis in 2002. But that never stopped him from becoming a fan favorite during his time.

He joins Luke Richardson and Kelly Buchberger as former Oilers added by Weight to the coaching staff for next season.

This comes with a shakeup in the coaching staff as Mike Dunham will move on.

If you didn’t get our own Mark anything for his birthday, don’t worry. This should cover all of us. Fortunately, Dunham has a side gig he’s apparently pretty good at.

The other figure in the Islanders goalie coaching ranks is Marc Champagne, who is Jaroslav Halak’s personal coach and is sometimes seen around the team’s practices. I’m assuming he sticks around for Jaro, too. If that changes, we’ll note it.