BRIDGEPORT, CT — On Oct. 22, New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche relieved goaltending coach Piero Greco of his duties with Ilya Sorokin struggling out of the gate.
Darche then elevated Bridgeport Islanders goaltending coach Sergei Naumov to the NHL squad, someone who Sorokin had known quite well from their days in the KHL.
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Naumov joined Bridgeport for the 2024-25 season with an NHL gig more of a when, not an if, given his experience with Sorokin.
After the goalie coach change, the Islanders said that Chris Terreri, the organization’s Director of Goaltending, would take Sergei’s Bridgeport responsibilities.
However, when on hand for Bridgeport’s practice on Monday, I saw a familiar face working with their goaltenders: Cory Schneider.
The now 40-year-old former NHL goaltender, who finished his 13-year playing career with the Islanders before moving into media with MSG Networks and the NHL Network, has been serving as Bridgeport’s goalie coach since Naumovs promotion, per the team. It’s not an official title, but that’s the job he’s serving.
Terreri still holds his role with the organization.
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It’s not uncommon to see former Islanders players remain with the organization.
Johnny Boychuk and Dennis Seidenberg both work in player development — so does Marty Reasoner — with Eric Cairns the organization’s Director of Player Development.
Schneider was a workhorse during his career, playing 410 regular-season games, going 171-159-58, with a 2.43 GAA and a .918 SV%. He also knows what it takes to reach the NHL level and stick, and what it’s like to overcome a major injury — hip surgery — to get back to living the dream.
Schneider had to wait 758 days before getting back to the NHL, playing his first and final game with the Islanders, the final game of his career, stopping 24 of 27 in a 4-3 win over his former team, the New Jersey Devils, on Apr. 3, 2022.
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It must have been a cool experience for Schneider to be on the ice with Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who is working his way back from two knee procedures.
Bridgeport has veteran backstop, Marcus Hogberg, along with youngsters Henrik Tikkanen and Josh Kotai. There’s no question that Schneider will have a positive impact on their development, regardless of how long he holds this position.
