As the NHL hits pause for the 2026 Olympic break, the New York Islanders find themselves in a holding pattern - but their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport is anything but idle. While the big club waits to resume play against the Canadiens on February 26, the Bridgeport Islanders are staying busy with nine games on the docket during the league-wide hiatus.
The Olympic break brings with it a league-mandated roster freeze. That means no trades, no waiver activity, and some very specific rules about who can be sent down to the AHL.
The key detail here: only waiver-exempt players are eligible to be loaned back to their AHL teams during this window. It’s a mechanism that allows younger players to keep getting ice time and development reps, even while the NHL hits pause.
Now, on paper, the Islanders have two players - Maxim Shabanov and Calum Ritchie - who fit that waiver-exempt category. But there’s a catch.
Even though neither forward played in 16 of the team’s final 20 games before the freeze went into effect Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, both players have spent at least 80 days on the NHL roster this season.
That’s the cutoff, and it makes them ineligible to be sent down to Bridgeport during the break.
For the Islanders, though, this isn’t a setback - it’s actually a bit of a silver lining.
Shabanov, in his first NHL season after transitioning from the KHL, has been adjusting to the grind of the North American game. The NHL schedule is a different beast - tighter travel windows, more physicality, and a faster pace night in and night out. A midseason breather might be just what he needs to recharge for the stretch run.
As for Ritchie, he’s just coming off a lower-body injury that sidelined him for five games. While he’s back in the mix now, the Olympic break offers a timely opportunity for him to fully recover and ramp up for what’s expected to be a heavy workload once the Islanders return to action.
So while the roster freeze limits the Islanders' flexibility for now, it’s also providing two of their young talents with exactly what they need - rest, recovery, and a chance to reset before the playoff push begins. Meanwhile, Bridgeport will keep the organizational engine running, giving other prospects valuable game experience during this critical development window.