The Islanders have brought in Cory Schneider as the goaltending coach for their AHL affiliate, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports. He’s currently with the club in Bridgeport but will presumably follow them as the Isles relocate their top feeder club to Hamilton, Ontario, next season.
Schneider, who ended his playing career in Bridgeport, has largely stuck to TV and broadcasting work since his retirement in 2023. He spent three seasons as the Islanders’ third-stringer and AHL starter from 2020-23, making his final NHL start in April 2022. He hasn’t held a staff role since.
Bridgeport had gone without a dedicated goalie coach for much of this season. Sergei Naumov, previously Ilya Sorokin‘s goalie coach in Russia with CSKA Moscow, had held the role since the beginning of last season but was promoted to the NHL bench back in October. The position had remained open until now.
While injuries limited Schneider’s effectiveness at the end, the 40-year-old was briefly one of the league’s most dominant goaltenders. He received both Hart and Vezina trophy consideration in 2016, capping off a ridiculous six-year stretch to begin his career in which he posted a save percentage above .920 each time for the Canucks and Devils, although he only started 50-plus games twice in that span. He was an average starting option at best following that, though, and retired with a .918 SV%, 2.43 GAA, and 171-159-58 record in 410 career appearances.
Now, the Massachusetts native will play a key role in the development of the Islanders’ next wave between the pipes to support Sorokin. They’re not overflowing with high-end prospects, especially stateside, but did recently ink Augustana University standout Josh Kotai to an entry-level deal. With few other intriguing options on the horizon, he could take over as the Isles’ #3 next season without any external additions and be the first real test for Schneider’s coaching skills.
Imagine if they hired a backup goalie to be GM or something?
Or wasted a #1 overall pick on a goalie before rushing his development and screwing over both the player and the team?
I remember Schneider. He came into an impossible spot in New Jersey and did pretty well. I appreciate the approach Darche has taken with the AHL team, because we really haven’t developed much in our own system in some time.