Islanders Organization Announce the Hiring of New Head Coach

This summer is going to be huge for the New York Islanders, as the team have already hired a new General Manager, and with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, there's going to be some more changes for this organization.

Now, they've officially announced one of those, as the organization officially has a new Head Coach, naming Rocky Thompson as the coach of the Bridgeport Islanders in the American Hockey League.

The 47-year old was a former third-round pick of the Calgary Flames in the NHL Draft, going on to play 25 games at the NHL level, but after retiring in 2006/07, he's taken up a fairly successful career as a coach.

Since then, he's worked in the AHL, NHL and the WHL as an assistant coach, most recently serving as an assistant with the Flyers between 2022 and this past season, but now, he finally gets his shot as a Head Coach.

Already this appears to be a move that the fans are getting behind, and at just 47-years of age, there's plenty of time for Thompson to learn and grow within the Islanders organization.

Last season, Bridgeport posted a record of 15-50-7, finishing in last place in the Atlantic Division, and now Thompson is given the job of turning things around quickly, even without top level prospects coming through the team.

Only time will tell if this is a good hire, but for now, the fans appear to be getting on board, and with Patrick Roy at the top level, this is now a franchise that has two very good Head Coaches leading the way.