Cole Bardreau (born July 22, 1993) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

who is currently playing for the

Bridgeport Islanders The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the franchise. The team started in 2001 ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL). He was originally signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

and has played for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Collegiate

While playing for the United States National Team Development Program, Bardreau committed to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. In his sophomore season at Cornell, Bardreau was lent to Team USA to compete at the

2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2013 IIHF World U20 Championship (commonly known as the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships) was the 37th edition of the IIHF World U20 Championship, Ice Hockey World Junior Championship (WJC). It was hosted in Ufa, Russia. It began o ...

. Two weeks after returning from winning gold, Bardreau suffered a cervical fracture in his neck while playing at Cornell that caused him to miss the 2012–13 season and the NHL draft. Bardreau spent three months post-surgery in a neck brace with limited activity allowed before slowly being allowed to return to skating six months later. The following season, Bardreau was forced to miss some games to recover from back-to-back MCL tears but was still able to rank fourth on the team with goals. In his last season at Cornell, Bardreau eclipsed more than 20 points for the first time in his NCAA career. He was named an NCAA (ECAC) Third All-Star Team and NCAA All-Ivy League First Team and awarded the NCAA (ECAC) Best Defensive Forward.

Professional

On March 12, 2015, he was signed as an

by the

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and played the rest of the 2014–15 season with their

affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Le ...

. The 2015–16 season was Bardreau's first full season in the AHL. Bardreau was forced to miss most of October and November due to an arm and knee injury. Bardreau was named CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month for the month of January after he scored 12 points in 11 games played in January. After his sophomore season, Bardreau was forced to miss the Philadelphia Flyers training camp due to abdominal surgery. On July 15, 2017, Bardreau signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Flyers. However, Bardreau broke his hand in a preseason game against the

and started the season on injured reserve. He returned to the lineup on October 25 and recorded five points in six games. On July 2, 2019, Bardreau signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders. Bardreau's first NHL game came on October 19, 2019, when the

were visiting Columbus, Ohio to play the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. In his first game Bardreau logged 8:54 over 15 shifts. His first NHL point came on October 27, 2019 in

Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately east of the eastern limits of the Borough (New York City), borough of Q ...

against the

. He received the primary assist on

Ross Johnston Ross Johnston (born February 18, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the New York Islanders. Playing career Johnston played junior ice hockey s ...

’s goal in the first period. He recorded his first career goal on a penalty shot against the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

on November 5, 2019, which was the game-winning goal in a 4–1 Islanders win. On September 20, 2021, Bardreau was re-signed to a two-year contract by the Islanders. On December 1, 2022, the Islanders called Bardreau up from Bridgeport as one of two forwards to fill in for players who were out day-to day with injuries. Following a productive 2022-23 season in which Bardreau scored a career-best 15 goals and 16 assists in 67 games — the eighth most on the team — at the conclusion of his NHL contract with the Islanders he opted to remain within the organization by signing a one-year AHL contract with the Bridgeport Islanders for the 2023–24 season on July 6, 2023.

International play

Bardreau was named an alternate captain for Team USA at the

. Bardreau scored three points in seven games to help lead the team to a gold medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* *
Cole Bardreau
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bardreau, Cole 1993 births Living people American men's ice hockey centers Bridgeport Islanders players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey players Lehigh Valley Phantoms players New York Islanders players Sportspeople from Fairport, New York Undrafted National Hockey League players Ice hockey players from New York (state) 21st-century American sportsmen