Six Questions with Colin McDonald
Sep 15, 2019By Alan Fuehring (@alanfuehring) / Bridgeport Islanders
Sound Tigers forward Colin McDonald has played more than 800 games between the National Hockey League and American Hockey League. Seventy-five of those contests were played with the Sound Tigers between 2012-15 and 133 of his 148 NHL appearances were with the Islanders.
McDonald is a three-time AHL All-Star and a former Willie Marshall Award winner as the League’s top goal scorer in 2010-11 (42 goals). He was Bridgeport’s captain during the 2012-13 campaign and served as captain of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for each of the last four seasons. He signed a one-year, AHL contract with Bridgeport on Aug. 29 and is currently gearing up for his return to the organization during Islanders training camp at the Northwell Health Ice Center.
SoundTigers.com sat down with McDonald this weekend to get his take on six important topics.
As a Connecticut native and former Sound Tigers captain, could you ever have imagined this opportunity would present itself?
“No, not at all (with a wide smile). It’s crazy how things turn out sometimes. The three years I spent in the Islanders organization (2012-15) were some of the best in my career and I’ve always found a way to keep in touch with the guys. It’s kind of funny how life always finds a way to work itself out. I’m just very thankful for Chris and Lou Lamoriello for giving me this opportunity to come back, and I was very grateful that I not only do I get to extend my career by at least one year, but to be able to do it here makes me very, very happy.”
There was a really interesting tidbit in the Connecticut Post last month about one of the hidden reasons why you hoped to come back…
“Obviously with my Providence College background, I was very well aware of the Lamoriello family. Even if you’re not in the hockey world, you’re aware of their success. But I’ve never had an opportunity to work with them directly. It’s funny how life works itself out and here I am 13 years as a pro, and I finally get a chance to see what they’re all about and see it on a first-hand basis. I hope to help them in whatever aspect they expect of me. I think both the Islanders and South Tigers are going to be very competitive. Definitely a bit of a culture change from my last time here, but based on the success both teams had last year, they’re doing something right.”
After spending each of the last four seasons with Lehigh Valley in the Philadelphia Flyers organization, what did you notice about playing against Bridgeport?
“They’re certainly tough to play against. I know Thommer’s personality, and it filters its way down to the players. Hard-nosed, no days off, no practices off. That kind of suites my personality too and the way I approach the game. I think that’s one reason we get along so well. I’m happy to be back on this side of things.”
You’ve played for both Brent Thompson and assistant coach Eric Boguniecki before. In what ways have they impacted your career?
“I owe so much to both of them and I’ve been pretty open to that since I signed here. They both advocated for me to come back and thinking back to my first time with Bridgeport, I remember Bogy sitting me down and saying ‘listen, you may not be a points and skill guy, you have to try and fix your game for that fourth line, physical role.’ And because I bought into that and made the change, I was able to get my opportunity on the fourth line. I’ve always tried to keep in touch with them.”
It’s been four years since you wore the blue and orange, and despite playing for just one other team during that span, how has your life dramatically changed?
Sometimes, four years doesn’t seem like much, but to me a lot has happened in my personal life. My last year (in Bridgeport), Lexi and I were dating here and since then we’ve gotten married and we now have a five-month-old daughter, Ryleigh. But not just me, (former Sound Tigers and current New York Islanders) Hickey, Marty (Matt Martin) and Casey (Cizikas) have also gone through similar life events. It’s good to have that in common and be able to discuss things with them like sleep habits, and feeding, and all of the stuff that’s part of your life off the ice. Even though not much has changed in some regards, a lot has in others.”
What are you most excited for this season?
“Change can be good. I was worried for a little bit this summer as to what was going to happen with my career. Selfishly, as far as that’s taken care of and still being able to play. Just to be back in this organization and have some familiarity, and being able to continue to win. Hopefully I can add something to this locker room about being a pro and all of those clichés you hear. I like the role that I’m in. Hopefully I can have an influence on guys. Maybe they pick up one thing, maybe they pick up 10 things, maybe they don’t pick up anything. I just hope to bring leadership on and off the ice.”
McDonald and the Sound Tigers will open the 2019-20 season on Saturday, Oct. 5 with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Springfield Thunderbirds at the MassMutual Center. Fans can follow all of the live action on the Sound Tigers Radio Network and AHLTV.