The Bridgeport Sound Tigers were a dying breed in the American Hockey League.
An expansion franchise in 2001, Bridgeport was purchased by the New York Islanders three years later.
The Sound Tigers kept their quirky but cool-sounding name, a pleasant change from AHL teams becoming clones of their NHL parent clubs. The club also had one of the better mascots in the league, an ice-skating Tiger named ‘Sound.’
That was until May 2021, when the Sound Tigers would lose their unique identity and become another clone.
It was a baffling decision given the issues on the ice.
The focus from New York should have been on developing prospects and placing a winning product in Bridgeport to halt the rapid decline in attendance.
An unoriginal rebrand wasn’t going to help matters.
Regardless, Bridgeport was named the Islanders and the unexciting logo had direct ties to the parent club.
In the three seasons that have transpired since, the on-ice problems remain and attendances have dwindled further.
The Bridgeport Islanders own a losing record in that time, qualifying for the playoffs once. A fanbase which once attended Sound Tigers games in the high 4000s to averaging over 5000 for a couple of seasons, slunk as low as 2500 in 2021-22 and flattened out around the 3100 mark since.
New York’s answer to this? Another rebrand.
Not in the name this time but with the logo. The infamous New York Islanders Fisherman logo has been passed onto Bridgeport with one small alteration.
Unlike the NHL original, the goal behind the Fisherman has been omitted but it’s essentially a replica with some colour tweaks.
It’s an improvement on the ‘B’ logo and jerseys will doubtless look cool and many will be purchased.
This a mere cosmetic change for an AHL affiliate which has been misused and unloved by New York.
The good vibes from this makeover won’t last long once the puck hits the ice in October if results do not improve.
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