{"id":540605,"date":"2026-04-04T17:17:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/540605\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T17:17:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T17:17:18","slug":"cole-eisermans-early-impact-in-bridgeport-shows-both-production-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/540605\/","title":{"rendered":"Cole Eiserman\u2019s Early Impact in Bridgeport Shows Both Production and Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>(Photo Credit: Jackson Sokoloski \/ Bridgeport Islanders)<\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\/X @KennyKaminsky<\/a> <\/p>\n

Can you believe it? It\u2019s already been three weeks since the New York Islanders\u2019 2024 first-round pick, Cole Eiserman, signed for next season and joined the Bridgeport Islanders on an ATO.<\/p>\n

Time flies when you\u2019re having fun\u2014and Bridgeport is having plenty of it.<\/p>\n

Since Eiserman joined the squad, the Islanders have gone 6-1-0, climbing from outside the playoff picture into fourth place in the division, good enough for a home playoff series if they keep it rolling. In that stretch, Eiserman has recorded 1G-1A-2P in seven games.<\/p>\n

Bridgeport\u2019s locker room has a strong mix of college backgrounds. Marshall Warren, an alumnus of Boston College and the University of Michigan (two tremendous programs), leads the way, alongside Cam Thiesing, who completed his bachelor\u2019s degree midway through this season at Ohio State. And don\u2019t forget Travis Mitchell, who spent four years at Cornell.<\/p>\n

As a student myself, I asked Eiserman whether he was still taking classes at Boston University\u2014and what he was studying:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no major, and I\u2019m figuring that out right now. I\u2019m trying to work out stuff with my teachers; since, obviously, I can\u2019t be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked if he had to leave any group projects behind:<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no, thankfully no projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the ice, Eiserman had a strong case to turn pro after his season at Boston University, but there was also a case for him to stay after scoring 18G-10A-28P in 32 games with the Terriers. For Eiserman, the decision to turn pro came down to development and experience:<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a good idea for my development to play this last part of the season with Bridgeport, try to help them make the playoffs, and get some pro games in. Obviously, BU is a great spot, and no matter what I did, I was going to be in a good position. I just thought coming here would be better for my development and to get those pro games\u2014that was the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eiserman\u2019s signing process played out publicly, with reports shifting before he ultimately put pen to paper two days later. Asked if that noise affected his decision, Eiserman said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m pretty good at blocking it all out. A lot of it was just what I was feeling\u2014I wasn\u2019t really on social media or anything. It was mostly just talking to my family and people I care about, getting a good read on what would be best for me, and that\u2019s kind of what I focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(Photo Credit: Matt Woolverton)<\/p>\n

I asked if his head coach at Boston University, Jay Pandolfo, played a role in the decision-making process:<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, a lot of the people I talked to were just giving me advice and stuff like that\u2014no one really told me which way to go. It was whatever I was feeling, and that was kind of the biggest thing\u2014just what I thought was better for me. I appreciate that, because they all care and want me to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

From covering Bruins prospects last season, development camp proved to be a major opportunity for both the media and fans to glimpse the franchise’s future, while players began building relationships and gaining an understanding of organizational standards.<\/p>\n

This year marked the first time in a while that the Islanders held one. I asked Eiserman about the experience and how it helped his transition to Bridgeport:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great. You know, I was with Rocky, and I met a lot of coaches and kind of just got around the area. Being able to be around some guys that I\u2019m playing with now, being around the player development guys, and really just getting hands-on with working and getting a read on how their work ethic has to be and stuff like that. It definitely made it a little easier coming here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eiserman is very familiar with Bridgeport assistant coach Chad Kolarik, who coached Cole at the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2023. Having a familiar face in Bridgeport helped the transition:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely nice, obviously, knowing somebody and a coach that I trust and has been there for me, so it was really nice to know that he was here. I was very grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(Photo Credit: Rena Laverty \/ USA Hockey\u2019s NTDP)<\/p>\n

As previously mentioned, Eiserman has already played a handful of games in the AHL. Asked about the biggest adjustment from the NCAA, Eiserman said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just bigger, stronger, faster guys. It\u2019s a tight playoff spot right now for a lot of teams, so the games are really tight and it\u2019s very systematic. You really have to know what you\u2019re doing out there because no one really wants to make a mistake, and you kind of have to be dialed in at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked him about the difference in atmosphere between right now in Bridgeport and the college playoffs:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s different in the sense of just the atmosphere and stuff because college playoffs are obviously playoffs, and it\u2019s one game elimination and little stuff like that. But I\u2019d say coming here, the regular season feels like playoff games. Obviously, the atmosphere is a little different, but the games are so tight and a lot of good hockey so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re as good a goal scorer as Eiserman is, you don\u2019t go long stretches without scoring goals. I asked him how he maintains that confidence when he isn\u2019t finding the back of the net: <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming here to develop and get better and do all the little stuff right. And that\u2019s where my mindset is at. But obviously you\u2019re not going to score every game, especially at the higher levels, and it\u2019s just about making sure you\u2019re doing the right things to help the team win. And that stuff\u2019s going to come with just doing the right things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cole Eiserman has been a phenom since he was 13, and some have set unrealistic expectations on him. I asked him how he deals with all that pressure:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just not really reading into anything. Just kind of doing what the coach asks, doing all the right things that you can so that you\u2019re making sure you\u2019re in a good spot, helping the team win and doing all the right things, and not really thinking about the extra stuff that comes with the attention and not really caring about that stuff.\u201d <\/p>\n

The goals will always be the headline, but in Bridgeport, it\u2019s the fine print that\u2019s impressing. Cole Eiserman arrived with the reputation of a pure sniper; he\u2019s stayed by proving he can handle the grind. By trading the “one-and-done” chaos of the Hockey East tournament for the systematic chess match of the AHL, he isn\u2019t just chasing a playoff spot\u2014he\u2019s building the habits of a foundational NHLer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Photo Credit: Jackson Sokoloski \/ Bridgeport Islanders) Follow me on Twitter\/X @KennyKaminsky Can you believe it? It\u2019s already…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5110],"tags":[5,122,3328,159,5190,5189,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-540605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-islanders","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-islanders","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-islanders","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkislanders","14":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116347578636555102","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}