Stefen Rosner on 'Running It Back' On Tuesday afternoon, the Anaheim Ducks announced that former New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/new-york-islanders-goaltending-keith-kinkaid-thomas-greiss] American Hockey League head coach Brent Thompson was joining first-year NHL head coach Greg Cronin's staff as an assistant. Thompson spent 12 seasons with the Islanders organization. Per Anaheim Ducks press release: Thompson, 52, brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience, most recently serving as the head coach of the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League (AHL) the last nine consecutive seasons. He was also the head coach in Bridgeport in 2011-12 (10 total seasons). As the head coach of the New York Islanders' primary development affiliate, he led Bridgeport to a 328-286-73 record in 687 AHL games behind the bench. Last season, Bridgeport went 34-30-8 while he led the club to a division championship in 2011-12. Thompson also served as the New York Islanders' assistant coach in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The Hockey News reached out to the Islanders, who confirmed that Thompson was not fired by the organization. He was offered and accepted the job with Anaheim. Thompson's AHL coaching career with the Islanders brought a tremendous amount of scrutiny for the failures of prospect development. With a new age of prospects in the organization, from the Matthew Maggio's to the Calle Odelius's, the next Bridgeport Islanders head coach will have a tremendous opportunity to re-write what has been a shaky prospect past as the organization tries to shape the next generation of New York Islanders to help keep their Stanley Cup window open for as long as possible.
