WORCESTER—If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, the Railers and Bridgeport Islanders have had an insane relationship through the years.
After being swept in Wheeling last weekend Worcester’s all-time record since joining the ECHL is 249-249-57. The Railers have earned 555 points in 555 games, the definition of mediocrity. When this season ends they will have made the playoffs once in seven tries and missed them six seasons in a row.
Bridgeport has been its American Hockey League partner all this time.
The Islanders move to Hamilton, Ontario, after this season. That seems like a perfectly good reason for an amicable divorce in light of the fact that the Worcester-Bridgeport agreement is up at the end of this year.
The relationship has just not worked, or at least just not worked well enough to keep it going. Worcester has had only one terrible season, the Covid-shortened one in 2019-20 when it was 15 games below .500. Otherwise the Railers have been playoff contenders — they remain mathematically in the mix at the moment but barely — but not playoff qualifiers.
The Islanders’ relocation to Hamilton makes sense for them financially. Bridgeport has never done very well at the gate and Hamilton is offering a very attractive deal. Canada loves major junior hockey and the NHL, but not minor league hockey other than same-city relationships. We will see how it works out in Hamilton’s second try at the American Hockey League.
This year has been especially disappointing in Worcester. With former Shark Mathieu Darche taking over as the New York Islanders general manager, it figured that there would be some trickle-down effect. Darche has done a splendid job at the NHL level and Bridgeport, with David Cunniff as an assistant coach, is greatly improved after being the AHL’s worst team by far last year.
Of the three teams in the Islanders organization, the Railers are the only ones with a worse record than 2024-25.
Darche is not responsible for all the Islanders players in town this season. It has been an especially poor group, though. Heading into the weekend the Worcester position players here on Islanders contracts were a combined minus-54.
Geography does not seem to be a major factor in the success of ECHL affiliations. The Florida Everblades are connected with Springfield, the South Carolina Stingrays with Hershey. Both teams are traditionally among the best in the league.
Hartford has a long-distance ECHL affiliation—Bloomington, IN—which expires at the end of this season. The Wolf Pack and Railers have worked well together on occasion through the years. Worcester has used defenseman Case McCarthy this season. Goalie Hugo Ollas played the second half of last year in Worcester under a Hartford contract.
If the Railers separate from the Islanders, that would seem like a better Connecticut match. Also, with Bridgeport gone from the AHL, the door would be open for Hartford to relocate there and be closer to its NHL parent, the Rangers, although by just a little.
That move remains strictly theoretical.
Worcester has had five head coaches and six assistants in the last five seasons. It has had one AHL affiliate. What does that say about what the problem is?
********************************************************
The Railers play three games in four days at the DCU Center this weekend. It was originally going to be the final homestand of the season but the brief players strike at Christmas extended the schedule.
Reading is the opposition for the games Thursday and Friday nights and Sunday afternoon.
Thursday will be Bravehearts Night with co-branded Railers and Bravehearts baseballs as the giveaway. Friday and Sunday will feature multiple giveaways along the concourse with certificates and coupons available for goodies ranging from food, massages, and alcohol to dermatology.
Before Friday’s game there will be a ceremony as the DCU Center entrance pavilion is renamed the Novalarm Pavilion, formerly the Fallon Pavilion. That ceremony is scheduled to start at about 4:15 p.m.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
