I had the chance to attend the Bridgeport Sound Tigers practice this morning at Webster Bank Arena. The practice was defense minded with constant work on breakouts, odd man rushes and d-zone awareness. As the Sound Tigers are slowly trying to come together as a very young team one thing is obvious to the naked eye; Ryan Strome and Anders Lee are a lot of fun to watch.

After practice I had the chance to ask the pair about life in the AHL but I wanted to know how two kids who have only been playing together for a few months have so much natural chemistry. “It’s been good, when you’re playing with guys like that they are very skilled obviously and they make good plays out there. It’s kind of a cliché but they make the game pretty easy. We complement each other well and we have to just keep going and not get complacent,” said Strome of his line mates Anders Lee and Mike Halmo. Despite the lack of team success this line has been the most consistent this season and is putting up points. Lee spoke candidly about his center Ryan Strome, “He’s such a good playmaker; he sees the ice so well and he has speed and hands, and for me to be out with him it’s a lot of fun. I try to get open for him and create space for him in the corners and we just go together.”

Both Anders and Ryan are trying to get used to life in the AHL and the pair have taken very different paths. While Strome was a star in juniors he said his biggest adjustment has been getting used to life away from the rink. “Off the ice living alone obviously, and being in a different environment; the last couple of years have been pretty comfortable in juniors, but now; kind of a new environment and new people around you; all and all it’s still hockey and it’s an adjustment we all have to make .” Lee took a much different route and in the past year has seen his college career end at Notre Dame; scored his first goal with the Islanders and is now developing in Bridgeport. Lee said the past 8 months have been a blur. “It has been quite a ride, but it’s been a lot of fun and I have learned a lot. It’s been a good thing for my game; being at Notre Dame and learning how to play under Coach Jackson and the staff there really help me get to this level and I’m trying to keep it going here in Bridgeport. At each level, the speed; guys are making quicker decisions. Their fast, their huge and they are smarter hockey players so you have to be ready every night.”

Both Islander prospects know they have a lot to work on to round out their game but they have been pleased so far on their development in the AHL. Strome talked about how he has played in the first two months of the season, “I think pretty good, there was a lot of things I wanted to work on to start the year and I think 17 games in here I have accomplished a lot of those things and there are still areas of my game I want to work on but all in all its been a huge improvement and I just want to keep going on that upward trend. Anders Lee also is pleased with his start but he knows there is always something you can get better at. ”Everything; taking care of every zone and working on my speed in the play as well and just continue to work hard night in and night out.”

Hopefully all of the kids in Bridgeport will continue to develop at this pace as the Islanders sure are a team that could use the help. I will continue to focus on different Islander prospects each week and if there is someone you are dying to here from please drop me a line. For more from both Strome and Lee please follow me on Instagram where I have videos and photos from practice and as always for more on all things hockey you can find me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.

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