The Bridgeport Islanders’ coaching search comes to an end. The team announced that the club hired former defenseman and assistant coach Matt Carkner as the newest head coach for Bridgeport.
Carkner, 44, played 75 games over two seasons for the New York Islanders from 2012-2014. He also played 60 games for Bridgeport in the ensuing two seasons, wearing an ‘A’ for both.
During those seasons as a player, he led a team that sometimes featured defensemen Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Scott Mayfield, and Anders Lee at forward.
After he retired in 2016, Bridgeport hired him as an assistant coach. He served as an assistant for five seasons, lasting from 2016 until 2021. As an assistant with Bridgeport, he continued to coach Pelech and Mayfield ahead of their final and permanent call-ups in 2017. He also fostered Devon Toews, Sebastian Aho, and Grant Hutton as they worked their way through the system.
When he left Bridgeport, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s (Darche’s former employer) ECHL Affiliate, Orlando Solar Bears, hired him as their head coach and general manager.
Carkner’s Most Recent Stop:
Most recently, Carkner worked for the Tampa Bay Lightning (Darche’s former employer) organization. Their ECHL Affiliate, the Orlando Solar Bears, hired him to be their head coach and general manager.
From Orlando’s press release upon his departure last week:
“The Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning, announced today Head Coach and General Manager Matt Carkner will be leaving his position immediately to pursue a coaching role in the American Hockey League. He led the Solar Bears to two playoff appearances in his three seasons at the helm.
In each of their playoff appearances under Carkner, the Solar Bears knocked off the first-place team in the South Division, including the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs, when Orlando upset the Brabham Cup champion South Carolina Stingrays in seven games.”
