Exclusive: The future of New York Islanders hockey is bright

Aatu Raty, Simon Holmstrom, William Dufour, and Ruslan Iskhakov are developing their craft with the New York Islanders AHL affiliate the Bridgeport Islanders this season.  They’ve all shown they have a bright future ahead of them.

“We got a lot of young guys this year, which is nice. It brings the mood up a little bit…a lot of these young guys bought into what the system is and what we kind of have here as an environment and what Coach Thompson and Coach Kowalsky have kind of preached at the beginning of the year and that’s based on maturity,” Bridgeport Islanders captain Seth Helgeson said.

Helgeson ranks third on Bridgeport’s all-time games played list and is in his third year as the Bridgeport captain.

“You’re pretty lucky to see some of what these guys can do and that’s a positive, we build off that. and they’re gonna keep on learning. And as an older guy and the older crew that we have, we got to do a good job of making sure that happens.”

Learning and development are what the American Hockey League is all about and the 32-year-old noticed almost immediately the level of skill the younger members of the Bridgeport Islanders bring.

“Some younger guys maybe take a while but these guys get right into it. They’re learning as they go and bring the energy and you kind of sit back and watch as an older guy.”

About two months in, there have been some impressive moments from the youngsters of this AHL squad. Most recently Raty with an overtime goal on the road in Providence against the best squad in the league currently, the Providence Bruins.