Islanders Prospect Cole Eiserman Scores First Professional Goal for Bridgeport

Cole Eiserman did not need long to show why the Islanders brought him to Bridgeport.

The 19-year-old scored his first professional goal on the power play in a 6-4 loss at Providence on March 28, exactly the mechanism the New York Islanders anticipated when they selected him 20th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. A Ty Gallagher holding penalty gave Bridgeport the man-advantage chance late in the third period; Eiserman converted to pull the Islanders within 5-3 before Riley Tufte's hat trick sealed the final margin. The goal came in the team's final regular season game, roughly ten days after Eiserman signed a three-year entry-level contract with New York and joined Bridgeport on a try-out contract on March 18.

The how matters as much as the what. Head coach Rocky Thompson deployed Eiserman on the power play and in four-on-four situations from the outset, treating him as a special-teams asset rather than a bottom-six curiosity. That trust reflects what the statistics back: at Boston University this past season, Eiserman led the Terriers in power-play goals with six, registered 112 shots on goal in 32 games while shooting at 16.1 percent, and finished second on the team in overall points. Before college, he set United States National Team Development Program records with 127 career goals and 52 power-play goals across two seasons. The first pro tally was a power play conversion. The continuity is hard to miss.

"I have a new opportunity to prove myself at this level, especially with my shot and on the power play," Eiserman said shortly after joining Bridgeport. "The past is the past, and this is the present. I just have to be in that mindset to prove myself."

A comparison from the same night adds context. In that same game at Amica Mutual Pavilion, Boston Bruins prospect James Hagens, the seventh overall pick in the 2025 draft, also scored his first professional goal for Providence: a one-time slap shot on the power play set up by Tufte. Two first-round picks from consecutive draft classes, both scoring their first pro goals via the power play within days of signing professional contracts. The pattern is instructive. Elite college scorers with genuine special-teams pedigree are not grinding for weeks before producing at the AHL level; they are finding the net almost immediately because their core skill set transfers.

Eiserman arrived in Bridgeport carrying real momentum. He had scored in five of his final five games at BU before turning pro, finishing tied for third in Hockey East in goals and second on the Terriers in points. Across two collegiate seasons he compiled 38 goals and 19 assists for 57 points in 64 games, led all NCAA freshmen with 25 goals in 2024-25, and scored the game-winning goal in the 2025 national semifinal against Penn State to help BU reach the Frozen Four. He also won gold with Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The adjustment buffer Thompson built into Eiserman's line assignments also matters. Skating alongside Matthew Highmore and Matt Luff, who combine for more than 600 AHL games, Eiserman has spaceplayers who help manage puck battles and territorial positioning while he executes what he does best. His debut came in a 4-3 shootout win over the visiting Hershey Bears; the first goal followed.

Bridgeport is chasing its first Calder Cup Playoff berth since 2021-22. Whether the Islanders get there depends on variables beyond any freshman's control. But the power play goal logged, the shot-first identity confirmed, and the role already expanding: Eiserman's development checkpoint is exactly on schedule.