SWINDON, UK – As expected another pretty quiet week, as is likely for the immediate future, but still enough happening to keep things ticking along.
Take the Bees, for instance, where British forward Scott Spearing was added to their roster. Spearing joined the club part-way through last season but was then sidelined through injury so obviously will be hoping for better things this time round.
While things have been quiet at the Phantoms for a while, Coach Allen changed that and in buoyant mood and rearing to go said, ‘I really can’t wait to get started. I’m very pleased with the team we’ve been able to put together and I think it’s as good as any side on paper, so it will be down to coach and players to deliver on the ice, but I think the fans are going to really enjoy the team we have.’
Meanwhile British forward Josh Bruce rejoined the Tigers for his second term after a two-way and four games for EIHL Coventry last season following four seasons at various levels in that city. Bruce had been approached by a couple of other EPL teams but had made it known some months ago he felt settled in Telford despite it being a two-hundred mile trip from his native Glasgow.
The Jets announced the return of Adam Greener, who holds a top ten place in the EPL Penalty-Takers Chart, and returns to their blue line for a third season.
Milos Melicherik was re-signed by the Flames and the former Slovakian junior international became the first player to be import number five for any club in the EPL. Forward Melicherik also returned to his post as the Guildford Under 18 head coach.
19-year-old British forward Ashley Calvert, after spells with the Tigers and Bees last season, joined the Steeldogs. Coach Payette expressed his pleasure at having another locally trained player back on board, which is something he feels quite strongly about. So he must have been positively ecstatic when British forward Stuart Brittle also put pen to paper for what will be his eighth consecutive season with the Sheffield side. Payette said, ‘Stuart is one of the most under-rated British players in the EPL.’
The Lightning made two more additions to their roster with both last year’s netminders returning. Alex Mettam ended the season as the top British goalie on save rate, less than a puck’s depth – literally – behind the Flames’ top EPL net man Miro Hala. In other words Mettam was about four-hundredths of one per cent behind, a difference of less than a one shot per goal. With a differential so tight it makes you wonder if a stat to so many decimal places is really worth the effort of recording when you consider, for example, reaction time which is about one third of a second.
However, also back is fellow top ten netminder 36-year-old Barry Hollyhead who had been linked to a move but in the end decided to stay with the Lightning for what will be his eight of the last nine seasons.
There are now some one-hundred–and-forty-odd players already signed for the coming season of which just over a hundred are Brits, and 35 are non-British trained players meaning there are around five to find. Specifically, assuming four per team, then the Bison, Lightning and Tigers are one short and Phoenix and Steeldogs two amiss. And then there is the Flames who, with the signing this week of Melicherik, are the first and only team as yet to go for five imports.
Of all the imports that made the Top Ten Charts last season, whether it was for points, goals, assists scoring or as top D-men or netminding, other than those like Phoenix’s Marcus Kristoffersson, who has gone to Slovakia, and Flames’ so far unplaced Miro Hala, who are known about, all bar three have rejoined the league somewhere or other.
Those three are Bison’s Lithuanian forward Viktor Kubenko and Slovakian forward Ondrej Lauko who, according to Coach Steve Moria, were both doubtful some months ago but neither appears to have found a place anywhere as yet. The third is Jan Krajicek, the Jets’ top ten Czech defenseman, who is also not yet placed.
The only top ten Brit, other than a netminder, not so far having found a home is James Hutchinson who was due to play for the Braehead Clan, but has since fallen out with the club and is no longer on their roster.
The only other imports from last season either not returning as yet or accounted for are Lightning’s Andre Smulter who has gone home to play in Finland and Monir Kalgoum of which there is no word. The Wildcats’ Latvian forward Egidijus Bauba and Slovakian forward Jozef Liska both appear to have no places anywhere, and with four imports already on board it looks unlikely either will be returning to the Swindon side.
That leaves Canadian forward Peter Vaisanen and Latvian forward Kriss Grundmanis both from the Steeldogs with no homes to go to, and the Phantoms’ Canadian captain D-man Dwayne Newman, who has gone to head ENL Chieftains, and their Lithuanian forward Darius Lelenas apparently homeless.
The netminder situation looks a tad clearer because apart from the Jets most, if not all, of the starting slots are filled. The Jets last season had top ten netminder Greg Rockman, who is yet to sign anywhere, so that just leaves a few second slots empty. And while young James Hadfield has left the Wildcats and is supposedly on his way to Guildford as backup to Mark Lee, the Phoenix, Steeldogs and Jets, have yet to fill this position.
Perhaps we should also mention the top ten penalty-takers. British forward Andy Hemmings, who swapped Flames for Bison towards the end of last season, is the only top ten placing not accounted for.
On penalty game average the Steeldogs’ Latvian forward Kriss Grundmanis and the Phantoms’ Lithuanian forward Darius Lelenas, already mentioned, are included in the missing.
Curiously, of the rest of the names in the four penalty charts (EPL & Brit total PIM plus EPL and Brit on game average) all have returned to their previous teams apart from Nicky Watt, Michal Pinc and Shane Moore. Those three gentlemen were of course all Bees‘ players but have all joined the Wildcats; the only mass move of muscle, or whatever you want to call it, in the EPL and all in the same direction. Spooky.
Also spooky is the knowledge the Alternative EPL Awards Committee has met in solemn convocation to consider the current state of signings and have agreed an interim prediction of the coming season’s final standing. For anyone craving a hockey fix of any description or perhaps suffering from sun stroke and not thinking clearly, a more detailed explanation is available on site.
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
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