SWINDON, UK – We have, at last, entered the dog days of summer. Well, I say dog-days in the sense the seasonal period is right and activity has dwindled, but not in the sense it is due to the heat, so maybe it should be ‘cat’ days anyway because the Tigers started their week with the news Slovakian D-man Juraj Senko had been recruited to strengthen their blue line.
Senko has played in Europe and was a Slovakian Under 20 international prior to joining Scotland’s Solway Sharks two seasons ago where he clocked up some impressive numbers. I say impressive because during his time there he achieved just over a point-and-a-half a game on average; not bad for a D-man. OK, so it is a big ‘if’ but that game average is better than anything achieved in last season’s EPL when the Flames’ Jez Lundin topped the D-men Chart with a point per game. So, while scoring points is obviously only one of the talents he will have been employed to inflict, if he replicates his previous numbers this has is going to be an exciting signing for the Tigers.
Talking of the Flames, Matt Towe, an EPL Top Ten Points Scorer Chart and Assists Scorer Chart resident was finally re-signed, as per rumour, and added to their formidable line-up. This just leaves a few of last season’s names unaccounted for most notably is Neil Liddiard, now 33, who some months ago was linked to his birth town, Swindon, where he played in the glory-days of the Swindon Icelords.
The Bees added two more to their squad with the re-signing of D-man Ben Johnson and forward Alex Barker which takes their roster to a league-leading eighteen. It was also announced the Bees would face local rivals Slough Jets in what was the first of the pre-season challenge games to be made known. This 2-leg competition will take place over the weekend of 17th/18th September and will be known as the Berkshire Cycles Cup.
Meanwhile in the Jets’ camp new coach Doug Sheppard said he had been surprised at the announcement former coach Pete Russell had been dropped which, of course, led to his appointment. Sheppard said he had spoken with all the players Russell had signed and all were happy to stay with the club. Well, almost all because according to the local press D-man James Morgan, who had been enticed out of ‘retirement’ by Russell after quitting the Phantoms half way through the season, would not be returning. Sheppard said it was a decision he took in agreement with the management.
Morgan played 35 games in his last season and attained better than a half-a-point average with more than double that in his previous full season with Peterborough. He is greatly experienced over his fifteen-year career and while still only twenty-nine must be worth a punt somewhere.
However, while not suggesting he’s a replacement – he shoots right-handed to Morgan’s left, for one thing – the younger John Connolly, a GBU20 international who played sixteen times for the Jets last season after starting with the Braehead Clan in the Elite League, was signed this week for a full season.
Over at the Phoenix Coach Tony Hand again reiterated his lack of urgency to complete his roster. He did, however, announce the signing of Josh Ward, the GBU20 forward who iced six times last time out for the Phantoms while on a 2-way contract with EIHL Nottingham. Hand also proclaimed the capture of British forward Ciaran Long from the Bison who has also seen service with the Jets and Wildcats. Long ended last season in the Top Ten EPL Penalty-Takers Chart on game average, so no stranger to standing up and being counted.
Hand also commented he was still in need of, ‘two imports, two more Brits and a backup netminder’ adding he believed his team would be stronger this season and needed to be because, ‘the league is getting stronger.’
Also hoping to be stronger is the Lightning who recalled British forward Matt Towalski, a former GBU18 and GBU20 international who returns for a seventh time and fellow forward and international Adam Brittle who signs on for a second season.
And that about wraps it up for this week, but having looked at the top and bottom of last year’s league over the previous two weeks, it is just the middle ground left to cover being the Bison, Lightning and Phantoms.
New imports, as before, will be noticeable by their absence but only because of their unpredictability so these comments should not be taken as an assessment of what’s to come. Happily I leave predicting to those with an inclination in that direction.
In Basingstoke, where things are looking close to completion, Mindy Kieras, their top ten D-man has gone to the Jets although their other top man on the blue line, Tony Redman, has re-signed. Viktor Kubenko, top ten points and goals scorer, and top ten goals scorer Andrej Lauko are both unaccounted for; however top ten Brits Ollie Bronnimann and Nicky Chinn are both back. Chris Wiggins, the top British penalty-taker in the league is also back, although Ciaran Long, their other big penalty-taker has signed for the Phoenix.
The Phantoms, who finished strongly last season, have a new player-coach in Chris Allen. His big signings have to be top ten points scorers Jeff Glowa and Maris Ziedins, while their only top ten Brit, Tom Carlon, will appear for the Jets. Steve Wall, one of the strongest EPL netminders is also back. Curiously, the Phantoms have called up Slovakian forward Erik Bochna who, when he iced for the Wildcats and Romford a few years ago, clocked up some very respectable figures. James Hutchinson, the Phantoms’ Top Ten D-men Chart entry quit in favour of the Elite League’s Braehead Clan and was almost immediately ousted in a quite disgraceful disregard of his contract.
The Lightning are something of an anomaly in that they don’t have a top twenty EPL scoring player with Andre Smulter having gone to Sweden and Gary Clarke to the ENL, but it does leave Captain Adam Carr, a top ten British goal scorer. Perhaps surprisingly the Lightning were also only a middle order penalty-taking team even with top ten bad boys Leigh Jamieson, Michael Wales and Grant McPherson. But oddly, like the Phoenix, they had some pretty dire bench penalty totals. Anyway, their strongest signings so far, other than Carr, are Jamieson and Michael Farn, who were both top ten D-men and, of course, Blaz Emersic back for a full season and on whose shoulders must be hopes for producing the figures of which he is capable.
One final point of interest concerning the Lightning is that while it was the Phoenix who were claiming a mass return in April, it is only the Bees and Jets with fewer returning players while the Lightning on eleven have the most returnees of any team.
For more EPL facts and figures, results and news and the graphic-enhanced version of this Roundup, why not try www.iceman-epl.com
Contact the author Bill.Collins@Prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.