BRIDGEPORT — The deep forward corps of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers picked up another sharpshooter last week when Jeff Tambellini came down from the New York Islanders.

It's the other contributions Tambellini can make that excite coach Dan Marshall. "A goal scorer who backchecks is pretty rare," Marshall said. "That's a bonus."

Tambellini scored two goals and added an assist Friday in his first AHL game of the season. The left winger also stepped right into the penalty kill. That versatility helped make Tambellini, 22, a first-round draft pick in 2003. It also helped him land an opening-day spot on the Islanders. "For a second-year guy, I was pretty proud of myself," Tambellini said. "Sticking there, that's the hard part."

Tambellini was one of the stories of the Islanders' training camp last month in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Marshall said Tambellini, son of former NHLer Steve Tambellini, arrived there in outstanding physical condition. "He brought it every day: intensity, speed, tenacity on the forecheck," Marshall said. "He worked hard, and he was pretty consistent in his overall play."

Consistency is one of Tambellini's biggest goals for the season. He played 25 NHL games last season, including 21 with the Islanders after he was acquired in a trade-deadline deal with Los Angeles. If he can be reliable every night, he can get a call back up. "The level of play up there, that's the highest jump of any other league, whether junior to college, college to pro," Tambellini

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said. "To be able to stick at that level of play, you have to get used to that pace."

Speed and talent are givens for Tambellini, as well as most of his fellow forwards. With his arrival, nine of the Sound Tigers' 13 active forwards were picked in the first three rounds of an NHL draft, including four first-rounders. Marshall has to pick 11 of them to dress every game, including Friday's home opener against Hartford. Tambellini gives him an excellent option. Tambellini settled down after a rocky start last Friday — he took two penalties in the first period — to score three points. The next night, a 4-1 loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Tambellini had a team-high five shots. "Obviously he helped us offensively, speed-wise. He played the (penalty kill). He's great for the locker room, too," Marshall said. "Everybody knows he puts the team first."

Speaking of team-first players, Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, the new Islanders' executive director of player development, will drop the ceremonial faceoff Friday night. Wade Dubielewicz was back from the New York Islanders after spelling Rick DiPietro (groin) for three days. The Islanders next play Thursday.