Forshee gives Oxford a high five

OXFORD, UK – Oxford City Stars strengthened their squad for the 2010/11 season with the signings of Gareth Endicott, Andy Cox, Grant Bailey, Josh Oliver   and Wayne Fiddes. All five have iced with City Stars coach Ken Forshee at some point in their careers and bring a wealth of experience to the team.

 
Grant Bailey has been a regular fixture in the side over the past few years and filled in as Captain on the occasions Darren Elliott was not available in the last campaign. Noted as a tough no nonsense power forward, and also a funny guy in the locker room, Bailey is a character Forshee wants to keep around Oxpens Road:
 
“Grant will be assistant captain once again this season” said Forshee. “He is known for keeping things loose in the room. He had a good season offensively last year but I am looking for even more this year”
 
Wayne Fiddes has spent pretty much the whole of his career at Swindon and represented Great Britain at junior level. A solid defenseman who is comfortable on the blue line in the English Premier League, never mind the English National League, Fiddes is an impressive pick up for the City Stars and the 31 year old will hope to impress for his new team.
 
Gareth Endicott has played in Oxford colours before back in 1999 as a member of the ill fated and short lived Oxford City Fox Blades. Since then he has enjoyed a number of years in Swindon colours, along with a spell as a player coach on the Isle of Wight with Wightlink Raiders. He will be looking to rack up the points in the ENL this coming season and will be assisting Forshee with the coaching duties.
 
Both Fiddes and Endicott have played under Forshee before, so the Canadian knows exactly what he is getting with both:
 
“I am extremely excited to say the least that Gareth and Wayne are joining us this season” smiled Forshee. “They are both very competitive and great leaders,
 
“Gareth is a natural goal scorer and proven offensive producer. He will add some depth to our scoring which is what we lacked a bit last year. He will also be my assistant coach this season and that is going to really help myself and the team out,
 
“It is a good experience for him to keep his nose in the coaching part of it. I have to be in Canada for two weeks in September so at that time he will run the team. Wayne is a great two way defenseman with tons of experience. He is a defensemen that I will look to match against the other team’s top line,
 
“When I played with these guys in Swindon they were all great team guys. This is something I take pride in when coaching. My teams will always stick together and play for each other”
 
Forshee is equally pleased to have signed up Oxford locals Andy Cox and Josh Oliver to the Stars. Andy Cox is a versatile player who can play either in defence or as a centre man. He is Oxford through and through and has a good set of hands along with an energetic style of play. Cox notched 11 goals and 14 assists in his 29 appearances last season, which was impressive given his utility status in the squad.
 
Josh Oliver is the youngest in the trio of Oliver brothers who have iced for the Stars. He spent last season on a two way deal with Swindon and will be looking to rack up the ice time in the ENL this season. Forshee believes that these two can make an impact for the Stars this coming year:
 
“Josh is a hard working player with great potential” said the Stars Coach. “He’s a guy that I really hoped would come back to Oxford as I would love the challenge of working with him and bringing out that potential. He really impressed me in the games he played with us last year,
“Coxy is another great team player who gives 100% every time. He does whatever is asked of him and fits in perfectly into the hard working team I am trying to put together”
 
Signings have been relatively slow for the City Stars so far this summer, but with these five players announced and rumours of a new team sponsor, things are looking brighter at Oxpens Road.
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com