Cole Bardreau

Cole Bardreau
Bardreau with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2018
Born	(1993-07-22) July 22, 1993 (age 30) Fairport, New York, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Center
Shoots	Right
AHL team Former teams	Bridgeport Islanders New York Islanders
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2015–present

Cole Bardreau (born July 22, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers and has played for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

While playing for the United States National Team Development Program, Bardreau committed to Cornell University. ^[1]

In his sophomore season, Bardreau was lent to Team USA to compete at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. 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. ^[2] 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. ^[2] The following season, Bardreau was forced to miss some games to recover from back-to-back MCL tears ^[3] but was still able to rank fourth on the team with goals. ^[4]

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. ^[4]

On March 12, 2015, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Flyers and played the rest of the 2014–15 season with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. ^{[5] [6]}

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. ^[3] 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. ^[7]

"The main thing with Cole is that he is tenacious," Gordon said. "When you are a pro, it means you can replicate the same process, not just here and there but with consistency. He takes pride in playing sound defense, killing penalties, finishing checks, winning puck battles; all those work ethic things we talk about. He has some skill, too, but the things he does that set him apart are in details."

– Scott Gordon on Bardreau. ^[8]

After his sophomore season, Bardreau was forced to miss the Philadelphia Flyers training camp due to abdominal surgery. ^[9]

On July 15, 2017, Bardreau signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Flyers. ^[10] However, Bardreau broke his hand in a preseason game against the New York Islanders and started the season on injured reserve. ^[11] He returned to the lineup on October 25 and recorded five points in six games. ^[8]

On July 2, 2019, Bardreau signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders. ^[12] Bardreau's first NHL game came on October 19, 2019, when the New York Islanders were visiting Columbus, Ohio to play the Columbus Blue Jackets. ^[13] In his first game Bardreau logged 8:54 over 15 shifts. His first NHL point came on October 27, 2019 in Nassau Coliseum against the Philadelphia Flyers. He received the primary assist on Ross Johnston’s goal in the first period.^{[ citation needed ]} He recorded his first career goal on a penalty shot against the Ottawa Senators on November 5, 2019, ^[14] which was the game-winning goal in a 4–1 Islanders win.^{[ citation needed ]} On September 20, 2021, Bardreau was re-signed to a two-year contract by the Islanders. ^{[15] [16]} 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. ^[17]

International play

Medal record
Representing   United States
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	2013 Russia

Bardreau was named an alternate captain for Team USA at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. ^[18] Bardreau scored three points in seven games to help lead the team to a gold medal. ^[19]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009–10	U.S. National Development Team	USHL		35	4	8	12	25		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	U.S. National Development Team	USHL		24	4	7	11	23		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Cornell University	ECAC		34	4	4	8	18		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Cornell University	ECAC		13	2	5	7	12		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Cornell University	ECAC		26	7	9	16	14		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Cornell University	ECAC		30	5	17	22	38		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL		15	1	1	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL		54	13	17	30	54		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL		72	9	15	24	85		5	0	0	0	4
2017–18	Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL		45	11	19	30	59		13	0	3	3	34
2018–19	Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL		40	7	5	12	38		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		38	2	2	4	25		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	New York Islanders	NHL		10	1	1	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		24	10	6	16	10		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Bridgeport Islanders	AHL		45	14	11	25	6		6	0	0	0	4
2022–23	Bridgeport Islanders	AHL		67	15	16	31	37		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	New York Islanders	NHL		1	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Bridgeport Islanders	AHL		70	11	13	24	65		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				11	1	1	2	8		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010	United States	U17			6	0	0	0	6
2011	United States	U18			6	0	0	0	4
2013	United States	WJC			7	1	2	3	4
Junior totals					20	1	2	3	14

References

1. "Cole Bardreau". hockeysfuture.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
2. Snow, Bob (October 28, 2013). "Cornell's Bardreau returns from neck injury". NHL.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
3. Gross, Stephen (October 18, 2016). "Phantoms' Cole Bardreau nearing return after yet another injury". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
4. "Cole Bardreau". cornellbigred.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
5. "Flyers sign collegiate forward Cole Bardreau". Philadelphia Flyers. March 12, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
6. Isaac, Dave (September 6, 2017). "Meet Cole Bardreau, a dark horse to make the Flyers' roster". Courier Post. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
7. "Phantoms Forward Cole Bardreau Named CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month". phantomshockey.com. February 3, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
8. Meltzer, Bill (November 6, 2017). "Phantoms 411: Young players contribute to leading the AHL". NHL.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
9. "Cole Bardreau will miss chance to impress at Flyers training camp". nbcsports.com. September 8, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
10. "Flyers sign goaltenders Lyon, Stolarz; forward Bardreau". NHL.com. July 15, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
11. Isaac, Dave (May 6, 2018). "Cole Bardreau, if healthy, could be an option to help Flyers' penalty kill". Courier Post. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
12. Kandrach, Sasha (October 24, 2019). "Bardreau Relishes Chance For Second 'First Game'". nhl.com. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
13. Gross, Andrew (October 19, 2019). "Islanders call up forward Cole Bardreau at the last minute for his NHL debut". Newsday. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
14. @NYIslanders (November 6, 2019). "THAT'S A GOALLLLLL! 🚨🚨 FIRST NHL GOAL FOR COLE!! WOO!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
15. "Islanders Sign Five Players". NHL.com. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
16. "Islanders add Andreoff, LaDue; re-sign Timashov, Bardreau, Koivula". CTPost.com. September 20, 2021. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
17. "Bridgeport Islanders sign Kubiak, Bardreau and Cipollone". Bridgeport Islanders. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
18. "Bardreau Named Alternate Captain for U.S. National Junior Team". ecachockey.com. December 23, 2012. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
19. Starman, Dave (January 5, 2013). "Starman: USA finds perfect formula to mine WJC gold". NHL.com. Retrieved December 20, 2018.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database