Can the Bridgeport Islanders make the playoffs next season ?

The Bridgeport Islanders were the worst team in the AHL last season and one of, if not the worst team ever in the AHL. Is there any chance this team goes from worst to playoffs?

I believe that Bridgeport can be a playoff team next season for three reasons.

Six of the eight teams make the playoffs in the conference

The majority of the Islanders division makes the playoffs. The squad needs to finish a few games above .500 and it should be able to squeak in as a 6th seed. I don’t think they’ll catch some of the elite squads like the Hershey Bears and the Charlotte Checkers but it wouldn’t surprise me if they caught the Springfield Thunderbirds or the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Coaching

Rocky Thompson is a proven AHL coach with a record including a trip to the Calder Cup Finals after boosting a regular season record of 44-22-10. Thompson is the best coach Bridgeport has had in the last decade.

Thompson should be able to develop some of the prospects like Matt Maggio, Calle Odelius, and Jesse Pulkkinen and if they can all have a good developmental year then the B-Islanders could take a step in the right direction this season.

Depth

The Islanders had no depth last season and with NHL players on top of AHL Players getting injured it was a recipe for disaster, but this season it looks like that will change. Mathieu Darche and his staff made a plan to add depth to the AHL squad.

The key moves they made include

-Re-signing Liam Foudy and Julien Gauthier

-Signing Matthew Highmore, Ethan Bear and Cole McWard

-Re-signing Chris Terry

All of these moves help the AHL significantly. Darche also made some big NHL signings which will cause some players to be sent to the AHL like Pierre Engvall and David Rittich who would both help Bridgeport.

Some prospects will also see time in the AHL like Calum Ritchie and Jesse Nurmi. Ritchie will see big minutes and Nurmi could be a bottom six contributor to start but this will be both of their rookie seasons in the AHL.

There are some positive bright spots that could help the B-Islanders be a playoff team this upcoming season.

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