The Official British Hockey Thread 2011-2012

[Calv]

Elite League Table Last Year:
Sheffield Steelers
Cardiff Devils
Belfast Giants
Nottingham Panthers
Braehead Clan
Coventry Blaze
Hull Stingrays
Dundee Stars
Newcastle Vipers
Edinburgh Capitals

Playoff Winners: Nottingham Panthers

Challenge Cup Winners: Nottingham Panthers

Teams:
Belfast Giants:
Belfast had the strongest team on paper last season, but unfortunately they got decimated by injuries so were unable to win the title; however they only finished 1 point off Sheffield. Top Brit Colin Shields has left for France and has been replaced by Rob Dowd; whilst the majority of the imports have been replaced as well. Belfast British contingent consists of Dowd, Garside, Peacock, Murphy, Walton, Hutchinson and Roberts, which is one of the best British groups in the league. The imports mainly come from the ECHL & AHL, whilst Jeremy Rebek is an Austrian international defenceman. They also managed to pick up last seasons EIHL top scorer (55G+55A=110P) Jon Pelle who rejected staying at Cardiff when moving over the water to Belfast. Again on paper they probably have the strongest team in the league, and they appear to be the only team to carry a spare import as they have signed 11 but only 10 can ice.

Coach:
Doug Christiansen

Netminders:
Stephen Murphy
Andrew Dickson

Defencemen:
Thomas Dignard
Nick Kuiper
Jeff Mason
Jeremy Rebek
James Hutchinson
Graeme Walton

Utility:
Ryan Crane

Forwards:
Benoit Doucet
Adam Keefe
Derek LeBlanc
Darryl Lloyd
Brock McBride
Jon Pelle
Robert Dowd
Mark Garside
Craig Peacock
Gareth Roberts

Braehead Clan:
Last season was their first in existance and they did extremely well to finish 5th in the league, helped by Coventry's injury problems and poor form. Unfortunately they lost their head coach Bruce Richardson who took up a coarching job in NA, however they have replaced him with the vastly experienced ex-NHL defenceman Drew Bannister. The roster is currently shaping up nicely as they were able to re-sign key players such as Wedderburn and Krestanovich whilst adding in quality players such as Jade Galbraith and Drew Bannister. The Glaswegians have also added young British defenceman Sam Zajac from the now defunct Nwecastle Vipers. I don't believe Braehead possess the quality to finish 5th again this season, however I didn't think they did last season either...

Player-Coach:
Drew Bannister

Netminders:
Jaakko Suomalainen
Michael Will

Defencemen:
Drew Bannister
James Jorgensen
Tim Wedderburn
Kevin Phillips
Sam Zajac

Forwards:
Kyle Bruce
Jade Galbraith
Jordan Krestanovich
Brock McPherson
Ryan Campbell
Mike Bayrack
Adam Walker
Matt Haywood
Vince Connon
Callum Adamson

Cardiff Devils:
Cardiff were very close to winning the league last season, losing out only on number of regulation victories to winners Sheffield. They also broke the world record for consecutive wins in professional Ice Hockey (21); however they suffered a turbulent summer when their operating company went into liquidation owing just under £800,000. Despite the events this summer Gerad Adams has once again put together a roster that could challenge for the title. Top points scorer Jon Pelle has joined rivals Belfast, however they were able to keep hold of Scott Matzka after his move to France fell through. They will always struggle to emulate last seasons achievements especially without Jon Pelle & Craig Weller, however I predict another strong season for the Devils.

Player-Coach:
Gerad Adams

Netminders:
Stevie Lyle
Joe Myers

Defencemen:
Gerad Adams
Chris Frank
Mark Smith
Kenton Smith
Mark Richardson
Josh Batch

Forwards:
Max Birbraer
Scott Dobben
Stuart MacRae
Scott Matzka
Jeff Pierce
Brad Voth
Ben Davies
Tim Burrows
Phil Hill
Sam Smith


Coventry Blaze:
Coventry suffered a poor season last time round, finishing 6th, and Coach Thompson will be looking for a big improvement this season. They have decided to only go with 9 imports, rather than the allowed 10, and have signed British Defenceman David Phillips out of the AHL to fill the whole left by the 10'th import. Their defence now consists of Team GB pairing Jonathan Weaver & Phillips as well as Russ Cowley (also Team GB, but counts as an import), whilst their forwards include Luke Fulghum & Owen Fussey who are both renowned goalscorers in the EIHL. There are some quality players in this Blaze roster, but I can't help but feel there aren't enough top quality players to win the title. I believe they will be challenging for the title, but will end up 3rd or 4th.

Coach:
Paul Thompson

Netminders:
Peter Hirsch
Brandon Stones
Adam Goss

Defencemen:
John Gordon
Jerramie Domish
Russ Cowley
James Griffin
David Phillips
Jonathan Weaver
Matthew Selby

Forwards:
Owen Fussey
Luke Fulghum
Shea Guthrie
Bryan Jurynec
Matic Kralj
Mike McLean
Robert Farmer
Greg Owen
Aaron Nell
Russ Venus

Dundee Stars:
Dundee started dreadfully last season, losing their first 16 games on the run; however they have learnt their lessons after their first season in the EIHL. Dundee look to have quality throughout their roster, Netminder Chris Whitley comes off 2 solid CHL seasons (including a brief AHL callup), Defenceman Brennan Turner is has solid ECHL and AHL experience whilst Ceman, Hughes, Konkle & Hutchins will provide the goals up front. I expect Dundee to make the playoffs again and to being mixing in with Braehead & Hull for 6th,7th & 8th.

Player-Coach:
Dan Ceman

Netminders:
Chris Whitley
Mark McGill

Defencemen:
Alan Mazur
Dan McGoff
Brennan Turner
Chris Zarb
Steven Chalmers
Euan Forsyth
Craig Mitchell - Injrued for whole season

Forwards:
Dan Ceman
Brent Hughes
Jeff Hutchins
A.J. MacLean
Jarrett Konkle
Gary Wishart
John Dolan
Lee Mitchell

Edinburgh Capitals:
Edinburgh had a good looking team at the beginning of the season last year, however in the poor weather running up to Christmas they lost a lot of gate money & also lost the majority of their players. They played a lot of the season with only a handful of imports and their British players were youngsters borrowed from semi-pro & amateur teams; obviously they suffered massively. This season GM Scott Neil waited until he knew he would be able to afford antoher season before committing to the league, securing new investment and sponsors. The roster is currently shaping up with a high proportion of Eastern European imports, rather than the normal NA imports we see round the rest of the league. Unfortunately the roster also appears to be lacking quality players at this current time, plus they have lost some of their more experienced Brits to other teams, so I foresee another tough season for the Caps. The one good thing about the Caps is that they are handing a starting netminder role to Nathan Craze, which can only be good for Team GB.

Player-Coach:
Richard Hartmann

Netminders:
Nathan Craze
Kevin Forshall
Craig Holland

Defencemen:
Jan Safar
Jozef Sladok
Tomas Volecko
Daniel MacIntyre
Joel Gatushi - 2-way with SNL Caps

Forwards:
Peter Holecko
Marcis Zembergs
Richard Hartmann
Rene Jarolin
Bari McKenzie
Ian Blake
Jordan Steel
Ashley Calvert - 2-way with Sheffield Steeldogs
Iain Beattie - 2-way with SNL Caps

Fife Flyers:
Fife are the latest addition to the EIHL, following the demise of the Newcastle Vipers. Fife are actually the oldest Ice Hockey club in the UK, having been founded in 1938, however they have been playing amateur hockey since the demise of the BNL. Fife have a strong tradition of bringing through excellent young talent, so a lot of their success or failure this season depends on how well their Brits can make the step up from SNL to EIHL level. This will be helped by the addition of Kyle Horne & Iain Bowie from Edinburgh. Their imports so far look like a bit of a mixed bag; Dutiaume has been with Fife for 13 years but has been playing amateur hockey for the last 5 seasons, Danny Stewart is a rink rat but won't put up big numbers; however Matt Siddall looks like a quality player who joins from Victoria Salmon Kings (coached by Ex-Flyer Mark Morrisson). Early indications suggest that Fife may struggle this year, but we will have to see how their roster shapes up.

Player-Coach:
Todd Dutiaume

Netminders:
Garrett Zemlak
Blair Daly

Defencemen:
Matt Cohen
Aigars Brencis
Kyle Horne
Tom Muir
Chris Wands
Willie Nicolson
Robbie Summers

Forwards:
Todd Dutiaume
Matt Siddall
Danny Stewart
Mike Hamilton
Steven McAlpine
Jamie Wilson
Steven Gunn
Josh Scoon
Iain Bowie
Marc Fowley
Iain Bowie
Andrew Samuel

Hull Stingrays:
Hull took a step up at the beginning of last season after a summer of turmoil; under new ownership they managed to challenge Braehead and Coventry for 5th place eventually missing out and finishing 7th. Sylvain Cloutier has build another strong squad this season that could be challenging for 5th or 6th. They look a little weak at the back; however McCluskey is a great British prospect & Rodin is Estonia national team Captain. In the forwards Cloutier and Campbell provide the grit whilst Silverthorn, Tendler and Bakrlik provide the goals.

Player-Coach:
Sylvain Cloutier

Netminders:
Christian Boucher
Ben Bowns - 2-way with Sheffield Steeldogs
Andrew Brummitt

Defencemen:
Joshua Mizerek
Matrin Ondrej
Dmitri Rodin
Sam McCluskey
Daniel Scott

Forwards:
Frantisek Bakrlik
Derek Campbell
Sylvain Cloutier
Dominic Osman
Jason Silverthorn
Jereme Tendler
Bobby Chamberlain
Matthew Davies
Tristan Cameron-Harper
Ryan Lake
Jack Watkins

Nottingham Panthers:
The Panthers have lost the honour this season of being the oldest club in the league with the addition of Fife, however they are still undoubtedly the biggest club in the league. Despite this they still cannot win the league title (their last win was 1956); however they once again look strong this season. Historically the Panthers have always been first to show their hand, and this season is no exception as they completed their roster before everyone else. Their is quality throughout the roster, with the crucial re-signing of Kowalski in nets, Lepine, Neilson, Meyers, Lee & new-boy Wilson provide a strong defence in front of him and they have proven goalscoring threats of Beauregard, Heerema & Clarke up front. Nottingham should be up towards the top of the table come the end of the season and I expect the title to go to either them or Belfast.

Player-Coach:
Corey Neilson

Netminders:
Craig Kowalski
Dan Green

Defencemen:
Corey Neilson
Brock Wilson
Guillaume Lepine
Danny Meyers
Steve Lee
Marcus Maynard

Forwards:
David-Alexandre Beauregard
Brandon Bendict
Scott Champagne
Jordan Fox
Matt Francis
Jeff Heerema
David Clarke
Callum Bowley
Rob Lachowicz
Matt Myers
Marc Levers
Thomas Soar

Sheffield Steelers:
Another summer, another liquidation and another owner for Sheffield; unfortunately it was another turmultuous sumer for the Steelers which has once overshadowed their success of last season. They have lost influential player-coach Ben Simon and bought in Ryan Finnerty from rivals Cardiff Devils. There was a large turnover of imports this summer with only 3 staying on from last season, whist they have lost top Brit Robert Dowd and a lot hangs on how Tom Squires steps up this season. As always I expect Sheffield to be challenging for honours come the end of the season, however their roster doesn't look quite as good as Nottingham's or Belfast's.

Player-Coach:
Ryan Finnerty

Netminders:
John DeCaro
Geoff Woolhouse

Defencemen:
Steve Birnstill
Chad Huttel
Rod Sarich
Matt Stephenson
Mark Thomas

Forwards:
Neil Clark
Ryan Finnerty
Colt King
Jeff Legue
Mike Ramsay
Lee Esders
Jason Hewitt
Tom Squires
Jonathan Phillips
Ashley Tait

Italics = import player

[Calv]

EPL Table Last Year:
Manchester Phoenix
Guildford Flames
Slough Jets
Basingstoke Bison
MK Lightning
Peterborough Phantoms
Swindon Wildcats
Sheffield Steeldogs
Telford Tigers
Bracknell Bees

Playoff Winners: Guildford Flames

EPL Cup Winners:

Teams:
Basingstoke Bison:

Player-Coach:
Steve Moria

Netminders:
Dean Skinns
Matthew Colclough
Connor Standing

Defencemen:
Marcel Petran
Daniel Harris
Sam Oakford
Kurt Reynolds

Forwards:
Marek Dubec
Steve Moria
Daniel Volrab
Oli Bronnimann
Nicky Chinn
Liam Chong
Jacob Heron
Joe Miller
Tony Redmon
Craig Tribe
Chris Wiggins

Bracknell Bees:

Coach:
Gareth Cox

Netminders:
Carl Ambler
Tom Annetts

Defencemen:
Sergejs Louskins
Carl Graham
Ben Johnson
Andrew Munroe
Samuel Waller

Forwards:
Pater Jasik
Martis Masa
Lukas Smital
Alex Barker
Michael Bowman
Matthew Foord
James Galazzi
Robert Lamey
Scott Spearing
Shaun Thompson
Bradley Watchorn

Guildford Flames:

Player-Coach:
Paul Dixon

Netminders:
Mark Lee

Defencemen:
Branislav Kvetan
Paul Dixon
Neil Liddiard
Jeremy Lundin
David Savage

Forwards:
Greg Chambers
Nathan Rempel
Milos Melicherik
Curtis Huppe
Ben Campbell
Andrew Hemmings
David Longstaff
Rick Plant
Stuart Potts
Matt Towe

Manchester Phoenix:
Player-Coach:
Tony Hand

Netminders:
Stephen Fone

Defencemen:
Ladislav Harabin
Luke Boothroyd
Ryan Johnson
James Neil
Ben Wood

Forwards:
Martin Cingel
Tony Hand
James Archer
Tom Duggan
Slava Koulikov
Ciaran Long
Stephen Wallace
Josh Ward

Milton Keyne Lightning:
Player-Coach:
Nick Poole

Netminders:
Barry Hollyhead
Alexander Mettam

Defencemen:
Lukas Zatopek
Lewis Christie
Michael Farn
Ross Green
Leigh Jamieson
Thomas Norton

Forwards:
Blaz Emersic
Nick Poole
Adam Brittle
Grant McPherson
Matt Towalski
Michael Wales

Peterborough Phantoms:

Player-Coach:
Chris Allen

Netminders:
Damian King
Stephen Wall

Defencemen:
Chris Allen
Joe Graham
Nathan Pollard
Greg Randall
Rick Skene

Forwards:
Eric Bochna
Jeff Glowa
Maris Ziedins
James Ferrara
Luke Ferrara
James Spurr
Warren Tait
William Weldon
Shaun Yardley

Sheffield Steeldogs:

Player-Coach:
Andrew Payette

Netminders:
Ben Bowns

Defencemen:
Pavel Gemoniuk
Lewis Bell
Steve Duncombe
Lloyd Gibson
Lee Haywood
Thomas Jeffrey
Ben Morgan

Forwards:
Janis Ozolins
Andre Payette
Edgars Bebris
Stuart Brittle
Ashley Calvert
Craig Elliott
Andrew Hirst
Scott Morris
Christopher Sykes
Greg Wood

Slough Jets:

Player-Coach:
Doug Sheppard

Netminders:
Gregg Rockman

Defencemen:
Mindy Kieras
John Connolly
Adam Greener

Forwards:
Adam Calder
Darius Pliskauskas
Doug Sheppard
Tom Carlon
Aaron Connolly
Joe Greener
Terry Miles

Swindon Wildcats:

Player-Coach:
Ryan Aldridge

Netminders:
Tom Murdy

Defencemen:
Jan Melichar
Joe Baird
Nick Compton
Shane Moore
Paul Swindlehurst

Forwards:
Jaroslav Cesky
Jonas Hoog
Michal Pinc
Ryan Aldridge
Sam Bullas
James Knight
Lee Richardson
Nicky Watt

Telford Tigers:

Player-Coach:
Tom Watkins

Netminders:
Declan Ryan

Defencemen:
Tomas Janak
Juraj Senko
Daniel Croft
Tom Watkins

Forwards:
Jiri Hanzal
Callum Bowley
Luke Brittle
Josh Bruce
Joe Henry
Scott McKenzie
Andrew McKinney
Tom Soar
Adam Taylor

[Primis]

Daryll Lloyd is a really good player Belfast is getting. He should still be playing North America probably but reportedly had some problems with management in Kalamazoo so the ECHL was no longer in the cards for him. He's a 110%-every-game kinda' guy , and a temper to go with it. He'll probably be amongst top scorers/producers in the league and be a fan favorite very quickly, just like he was in both Victoria and Kalamazoo. You can't watch the guy and not love him, he plays much bigger than he is.

Coventry... good luck with Bryan Jurynec. Guy couldn't skate and keep up in the ECHL level, and was barely keeping up in the vet-laden IHL 2.0 where skating wasn't as important. He's been mainly an energy guy and an "enforcer", but he's not a heavy and is a guy who takes as many licks as he gives out. And he takes plenty of dumb penalties.

That Belfast roster looks pretty good with the players I know of/about...

[Calv]

Matt Suderman has been taken ill & so will not be joining Dundee this coming season unfortunately.

It's the Sheffield & Cardiff 'Festival of Hockey' next weekend; tempted to go to the Sheffield day as it's 10 hours of hockey Although not sure I know anyone who will go with me...

[archibalduk]

It's the Sheffield & Cardiff 'Festival of Hockey' next weekend; tempted to go to the Sheffield day as it's 10 hours of hockey Although not sure I know anyone who will go with me...

Sounds good! Tell me more! Not sure if I could afford it though...

[Calv]

It's the Sheffield & Cardiff 'Festival of Hockey' next weekend; tempted to go to the Sheffield day as it's 10 hours of hockey Although not sure I know anyone who will go with me...

Sounds good! Tell me more! Not sure if I could afford it though...

Check your PMs!

[Calv]

Fife sign Matt Cohen straight from the AHL & DEL; should be a top player in the league.

[Manimal]

Fife sign Matt Cohen straight from the AHL & DEL; should be a top player in the league.

How can he be straight from the AHL AND the DEL?

[Calv]

Richard Hartmann is appointed player-coach of Edinburgh; the season starts in a few weeks and they need to get a move on signing some more players (as do Fife!)

[Calv]

First pre-season games were played yesterday:

Belfast Giants 2-1 Nottingham Panthers
Hull Stingrays 5-2 Coventry Blaze
Sheffield Steelers 3-2 Cardiff Devils

Edinburgh sign another Slovak in Rene Jarolin

[Calv]

Second load of challenge games today:

Belfast Giants 2-4 Nottingham Panthers
Coventry Blaze 2-2 Hull Stingrays
Cardiff Devils 2-2 Sheffield Steelers

[Calv]

Bit of a mistake from the Steelers here:

Off to cold start
editorial image

By Bob Westerdale Ice Hockey
Published on Wednesday 31 August 2011 07:13

RYAN Finnerty has had an awkward problem to solve in the week leading up to his debut as a player coach in the Elite League - no ice!

Sheffield Steelers open their season on Saturday at Belfast Giants , but their players were stunned to discover they cannot train at the Arena or at iceSheffield because the venues are hosting The Sainsbury’s UK School Games.

“I could have done without this ” said Finnerty. “Normally if the Arena hasn’t got ice then iceSheffield has but we got caught out.”

Finnerty must now take his team to Blackburn today after being unable to get ice at Hull, Coventry and Solihull. Sheffield Steeldogs drew 5-5 with Elite League Hull in a friendly last night.

Also would like to say RIP Wade Belak; he played the lockout season in the EIHL for Coventry.

[Calv]

The EIHL has started for all teams other than Braehead (the Davies Cup Tennis is being held at their arena); Fife are struggling as expected and Edinburgh look shaky as well. Fife have at least one more player coming in soon (Mike Hamilton) but will need others. Edinburgh should also be having a few players joining them soon.

Sheffield 2 at Belfast 1 (SO)
Cardiff 1 at Nottingham 6
Nottingham 1 at Cardiff 4
Coventry 1 at Nottingham 10
Hull 3 at Belfast 5
Belfast 4 at Cardiff 3 (SO)
Coventry 2 at Fife 0
Dundee 1 at Sheffield 4
Fife 0 at Coventry 9
Nottingham 5 at Edinburgh 1
Sheffield 6 at Hull 2

[JakeTheSnake]

Nice, in goal for Braehead Clan: Jaakko Suomalainen! I was wondering whatever happened to him after he left Finland.