Rocky Lee Thompson (born August 8, 1977) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former

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 ...

right wing Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...

, who currently serves as the head coach of 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 ...

. He was most recently an assistant coach with 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 ...

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 ...

. He was drafted in the third round, 72nd overall, by the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. This Cree forward/defenseman was born in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and raised in

Whitecourt Whitecourt is a town in Northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Woodlands County. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton and southeast of Grande Prairie at the junction of Alberta Highway 43, Highway 43 and Alberta Highway 32, Highw ...

, Alberta. Along with hockey, he showed promise in boxing as a teenager, winning gold in the 1993 North American Indigenous Games as well as in provincial Golden Gloves tournament championships in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Playing career

After playing four seasons in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

, Thompson made his professional debut with the Flames'

affiliate, the

Saint John Flames The Saint John Flames were a Canadian ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1993 to 2003 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Calgary Flames bought and relocated the Utica Devils, to be their AHL affiliate. History The Saint ...

. He appeared in 15 NHL games with the Flames during the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons. He made a brief return to the NHL with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

, appearing in ten games during the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons. In only 25 NHL games, Thompson racked up 117 penalty minutes. Rocky Thompson Roadrunners

Most of his professional career has been spent with various AHL teams, tallying numerous penalty minutes. Most recently, he played in 55 games for the Peoria Rivermen during the 2006–07 season, recording 127 penalty minutes.

Coaching career

Following his professional career, Rocky Thompson turned to coaching, becoming the assistant coach for the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings of the

in 2007. He would later become an assistant coach for the

Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11 AHL season, 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ...

. On July 16, 2014, Thompson was promoted to assistant coach of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

. On July 3, 2015, Thompson was hired as head coach of the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

. In his first season, he took a Spitfires team that finished last in the conference and guided them to 87 regular-season points and second place in the OHL West Division, before losing in five games to the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...

in the first round of the playoffs. Thompson coached the Spitfires as they became champions of the 2017 Memorial Cup. On June 7, 2017, Thompson was hired as head coach of the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

of the

. He spent three seasons in the position before joining the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

as an associate coach on September 22, 2020. He did not return for the 2021–22 season, as he would not be

vaccinated A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

as required by the NHL for people in close contact with the players. In the summer of 2022, it was announced that Thompson was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant coach for the 2022–23 season. He remained in this position through the 2024–25 season. On June 23, 2025, he was hired as head coach of the

, the AHL affiliate of 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 ...

(

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Rocky 1977 births Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves coaches Edmonton Oilers coaches Edmonton Road Runners players First Nations sportspeople Florida Panthers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Calgary Living people Louisville Panthers players Medicine Hat Tigers players People from Whitecourt Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players Philadelphia Flyers coaches Saint John Flames players San Antonio Rampage players San Jose Sharks coaches Swift Current Broncos players Toronto Roadrunners players Windsor Spitfires coaches