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Our next "Show Stopper," Jeremy Colliton, was no stranger to the New York Islanders locker room. A second round draft choice in the 2003 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Colliton played his first professional season in 2005-06 starting the year with the Sound Tigers then receiving some time with the Islanders. In 19 games with the big club that season, Colliton recorded his first NHL goal and assist while finishing the stint with a plus two rating. He finished the season with the Islanders and returned to Bridgeport for the Sound Tigers first round playoff series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He scored 20 goals and 32 assists that season for the Sound Tigers while centering the team's top line flanked by Sean Bergenheim and Robert Nilsson.

Colliton had a lot to look forward to as he entered last season. The Sound Tigers coaching staff named him an assistant captain and Colliton would now be counted on for leadership on and off the ice.

"Jeremy is the perfect fit as our assistant captain because of his successful rookie year," Sound Tigers president Howard Saffan said. "He is now able to show the new prospects that they too can achieve their goal of making the NHL as long as they respect the opportunity they have and do not take playing in the AHL (American Hockey League) for granted."

Colliton also had his first pro year under his belt and could use the experiences that he gained from that year to help him settle into his new leadership role. The Sound Tigers opened their season on the road and in their second game against the Hartford Wolf Pack, found themselves trailing 3-1 at the end of the second period. Colliton led the way in the third period, scoring his first goal of the season and it could not have come at a better time. 30 seconds after teammate Steve Regier tied the score, his goal would turn out as the game-winner and the Sound Tigers would go on to win the game 6-3.

He played one game for the Islanders last season on December 5 against the Ottawa Senators.

Talk about your terrific rookie season.
It was a great year. Coming out of training camp that year, the coaching staff had confidence in me that I could contribute both offensively and defensively so I received a bunch of ice-time. I was paired with incredible players from Bergenheim to Nilsson to Jeff Hamilton. All I had to do was feed them the puck and they would take care of the rest. Robert's creativity, Sean's all out mentality and Jeff's ability to one-time a pass was easy to play with. Then when I got the call to join the Islanders, it was a dream come true. I knew my role with them was to play sound defensively and then if there was an opportunity to contribute offensively to jump at it. That experience really helped me returning to the Sound Tigers that year for the playoffs. It was a shame we did not go deep into the playoffs because we had a great team.

What was your reaction to being named assistant captain last season?
It was a nice honor and I was happy that the organization had the faith in me to be a leader in our dressing room. With the role, I honestly did not view myself as any different from the younger guys on the team since I am one of them. The thing that I could do was relate to what they were going through. From the experiences in my rookie year, I tried to show them that they too could make the NHL.

Your call-up to the NHL was not one you were probably hoping for. A lot of players might get discouraged from that, how do you build off of it?
Entering that game I felt pretty good from my time with the Islanders the year prior. We were playing the Senators and they had a very high-powered offense. Dany Healtey made a nice move around me and scored and I didn't see much ice time after that. As much as that situation was not one I like to remember, it is one I am happy I had. Everyone wants to have success with the big club but I like to think that without those rough times, we wouldn't appreciate the success that awaits in the future. I try to learn from every mistake I make on the ice and dedicate myself to correcting it and seeing that it never happens again.

Your shoulder injury cut your season short last year. How is the shoulder?
Injuries are something that you never plan for before a season and when they happen, you hope you can do rehab and return quickly. That wasn't the case with me this season unfortunately. I have been doing a lot of strengthening exercises since the surgery and feel like I am almost back to 100%. I skated for the first time at Mini-Camp and it felt good. Bernie (Sound Tigers assistant coach) put me through some skating drills to get my legs and lungs back under me and I feel by Training Camp I should have full strength and mobility.