On Tuesday, the Bridgeport Islanders signed three players, including their 2020 sixth-round pick, Matias Rajaniemi.
On Tuesday, the Bridgeport Islanders signed three players, including their 2020 sixth-round pick, Matias Rajaniemi.
With the 2023-24 season in the New York Islanders organization drawing to a close, their AHL club in Bridgeport is already looking to the future.
The Bridgeport Islanders announced on Tuesday that forward Matt Kopperud, defensemen Cam McDonald, and Matias Rajaniemi will join the team for the 2024-25 campaign.
The signings come days after the team inked Alex Jefferies and Kopperud to amateur tryouts last Tuesday, while forward Cam Thiesing inked a two-year, two-way entry-level contract.
Jefferies will play the remainder of the season on that tryout before signing an official contract this offseason.
Looking at the incoming talent, Kopperud joins Bridgeport after four years at Arizona State.
As the team's alternate captain, he tallied 23 goals and 13 assists in 38 games. He's hit the 20-goal mark twice in his collegiate career, both this season and in 2021-22:
Cam McDonald comes in from Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello's alma mater in Providence. The blueliner is more of a defensive type, only scoring nine goals and 23 assists in five seasons with the Friars.
Lastly, Matias Rajaniemi is an overseas addition, playing for SaiPa of the Finnish Elite League. The 2020 sixth-round pick also isn't much of a goal scorer, tallying a career-high of three in 2020-21.
In 53 games this season, he scored eight assists, his only point. He also represented his country in the 2021 and 2022 World Junior Championships, winning bronze and silver, respectively.