Jeremy Colliton protected his rookie roommate on the first road trip of his professional career.
It was just one example of why Colliton’s teammates in the Islanders’ organization always pegged him as a future coach.
It was early in the 2011-12 AHL season and Colliton, then Bridgeport’s captain, and Casey Cizikas, a fourth-round pick battling to get to the NHL, had overslept and were five minutes late for the team bus.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take this one, I’ll tell the coaches it’s my fault,’” Cizikas recalled. “It just showed what kind of guy he is.