Islanders Game 9: Brent Thompson Chats; Lines & How to Watch

The New York Islanders (3-3-2) host the Anaheim Ducks (3-4-1) on Tuesday night in UBS Arena. The Ducks have two former Islanders’ coaches on their bench, along with former Islanders Ross Johnston and Ryan Strome. The Islanders will again be without Alexander Romanov, who remains sidelined with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Most recently, the Islanders blew a 3-0 lead on home ice against the Florida Panthers en route to a 6-3 loss. Mat Barzal has yet to register a 5v5 point this year. Kyle Palmieri leads the team with seven points through eight games.

The Ducks continue their road trip after dropping the first two games to the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils over the weekend. Their trip will finish on Thursday when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Brent Thompson Chats with NYI Hockey Now:

Following Anaheim’s morning skate, NYI Hockey Now chatted with Brent Thompson. Previously, Thompson coached within the Islanders organization for twelve seasons, from 2011 to 2023. 10 of those years were spent coaching the Bridgeport Islanders/Sound Tigers. Thompson is currently an assistant coach on Greg Cronin’s staff in Anaheim. Cronin himself was an assistant for the Islanders, most recently from 2014 until 2018.

Discussion Edited Lightly for Clarity

Q- After 12 years with the Islanders now firmly in the past, how have you kind of reflected on your time there?

A- I obviously look back at the time with the Islanders; it was a special time. I think the organization’s fantastic. First class from Garth Snow (Former Islanders General Manager) and obviously Charles (Wang, former owner) in the past and then now (John) Ledecky, (Scott) Malkin and that group, plus Lou Lamoriello and Chris Lamoriello, the management was outstanding. I think you learn a lot from these guys and the different coaches I got to coach under.

Then, obviously, the biggest thing is getting to work with some really, really good young players that you’ve seen evolve into NHL stars. So that’s probably the biggest reason why my 12 years with the organization were special: seeing them succeed now.

Q- You fostered the development of players like Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, and Ryan Pulock; just what does it mean to see them still thriving, and how happy does it make you?

A- I’m just very happy for them. They’re just really good people. They’re good people both on the ice and off the ice. Their habits are great. I’m happy for them.

Pulock was special; I just really think we had special bonds there in the early days of Bridgeport, and our guys were coachable. They wanted to get better. So, credit to them. I just helped a little bit.

Q- Bridgeport isn’t necessarily the easiest market to coach in sometimes. What made it special for you, to have the success in development that you had?

A- Quite honestly, I think Bridgeport’s a fantastic place as far as a “Minor-League City”, the support, the organization, how they took care of us down there, as far as the locker room setup, the surrounding towns. You know, I really became a Connecticut resident for all those years. I had a house there and loved my time there. So it’s a cool place and a special place (to me). Obviously, it’s helped my career grow, too. Now I’m here with the Ducks and enjoying this time.

Mayfield and Pulock on Thompson and Cronin:

The affection from Thompson isn’t just a one-way street, either. After practice on Monday, Scott Mayfield and Ryan Pulock shared memories of playing under Thompson.

Pulock: “I spent a few years with Tomer (Thompson) in Bridgeport, and I think there were days where he was hard on you in practice and expecting a lot, and he made us work. But I think that really helped grow my game and really helped me defend harder and learn some of those habits. I think the same with Greg. When I was up here, we spent a lot of time together after practice, working on one-on-one habits and just defending.

When I first came into the pros, I was a little more offensive-based, but I think those two guys really helped the defensive side of my game. They had a few different drills that I think over time doing it every day with him really helped me be able to kind of elevate my game to more of a two-way player.”

Mayfield:

“Yeah, Cro (Cronin) and Tomer (Thompson) are both great. We did a lot of development in Bridgeport. Then we were here with Greg, and there was a lot of just the fundamentals, the little stuff, a lot of the defensive work that we’ve kind of all embraced and turned into our roles on this team. So we owe a lot to them, and they’re fun to play for. They expect a lot out of us, and we kinda grew under them. So it’s always fun to see them again.”

Islanders Lineup:

Forwards

Simon Holmstrom – Bo Horvat – Mat Barzal

Maxim Tsyplakov – Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Casey Cizikas

Pierre Engvall – Kyle MacLean – Hudson Fasching

Scratches: Oliver Wahlstrom, Matt Martin

Defense:

Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock

Mike Reilly – Noah Dobson

Dennis Cholowski – Scott Mayfield

Out (Injury): Alexander Romanov

Goalies:

Ilya Sorokin (Semyon Varlamov)

How to Watch:

TV: MSGSN, Out-of-Market ESPN+

Radio: 88.7 WRHU FM