Sound Tigers Coaches Optimistic

A day after conducting the first official practice session for the team, Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach Steve Stirling took some time out Saturday morning to meet and greet fans arriving at the Arena at Harbor Yard to purchase tickets for the Tigers’ inaugural season.

Once at the box office, fans had the opportunity to buy team merchandise and speak with various team representatives. But Stirling, who was an assiatant coach with the Islanders last year, was by far the main attraction. The former Boston University captain answered various questions from fans eager to get the inside scoop on the team.

Prior to becoming an assistant coach on Long Island, Stirling, 51, served as as assistant for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Lowell, Mass., for three years. During that time, the Islanders and Los Angeles Kings had a duel-affiliation with Lowell. The Islander brass, particularly Mike Milbury, became very dissatisfied with the limited ice-time New York prospects were getting in Lowell this past season, which resulted in Milbury’s removing all Islander-owner players from the team.

Stirling believes having a primary affiliate will greatly benefit the Islander organization.

“It’ll make a difference,’ he said. ‘The younger kids will be able to develop because we can control their ice time.”

“Now that (the Islanders) have a primary affiliate, it will help them because they won’t have to rush an 18-year old kid into the lineup,’ said Sound Tiger assisstant coach Dave Baseggio, who was also at the event. ‘Now they have the depth where they can send him down to the farm and let him play a lot and develop.”

‘It’s going to be the best thing we’ve had for the New York Islanders because it is close (to Long Island),’ said Stirling, noting Bridgeport’s closeness in proximity to Uniondale. ‘Players can hop in their car and get there. There are no transportation issues.”

While no players have officially been assigned to the Sound Tigers yet, Stirling understands most of the 25 players he is working with in practice this week will be in Bridgeport once the regular season begins in October.

“Most of the guys that are here know they’re going to start here. I know they’re going to start here. It just hasn’t been made official. So if you come over and see us (during the pre-season), what you see out there is probably three-quarters of our team come October.”

Many players expected to start the year in Bridgeport are still competing in Islanders camp. The Isles and Sound Tigers are expected to make their final cuts this week. Stirling named a few of the youngsters expected to frequent southwestern Connecticut this season.

“A guy like Torres, a guy like DiPietro, Krog, Kolnik – they’re right on the fence. If we get them, I don’t think we’ll see them before the season starts. Those guys are still in the hunt for a position up top.”

“I was really impressed with the talent and the depth the Islanders have,’ said Baseggio. ‘They have quite a few good players. In that matter, Bridgeport’s going to be lucky. There are only so many that can play on Long Island so we’re going to have some pretty good players here in Bridgeport.”

A major question mark on Long Island revolves around the goaltending situation. According to Stirling, free-agent signee Garth Snow is expected to have the starting job, which leaves young Rick DiPietro and Czech import Danin Salficky to battle over the backup position. The odd man out will more than likely see the majority of ice-time in Bridgeport.

“It’ll either be DiPietro or Salficky,’ said Stirling. ‘I wouldn’t mind having either one of them because they’re both pretty good.”

Despite the uncertainty in goal, Stirling expects the Sound Tigers to field a club Bridgeport fans can be proud of. Besides possibly seeing yougsters like DiPietro and Raffi Torres, Tiger fans will be entertained by AHL veterans like Marko Tuomainen, Ray Schultz, and Stephen Valiquette.

“I think we’ll be competitive,’ Stirling said. ‘We aren’t a really young team, which is an advantage. We have a lot of 22 to 24 year old players that have two to four years experience, which is good.”

While the initial reaction to the Sound Tigers in Bridgeport has been upbeat and positive, Baseggio understands there are still many critics that do not believe an Islander farm team will maintain a steady fan base, especially in an area known primarily as Ranger country. However, the former fourth-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres says the Islander organization is starting to build a winning attitude that has been nonexistant in recent years.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that the Islanders have gone in a better direction the last couple years with their new ownership group. Mike Milbury went out this summer and picked up Alexei Yashin and Mike Peca - that’s a commitment to winning. I think it’s going to spread through the whole organization.”

“With the ownership group and the brand new building here in Bridgeport, we’re committed to developing some prospects and helping the Islanders out.”