LONDON, UK – One of the UK’s oldest ice hockey clubs, Streatham Redskins have revamped their squad with no less than five new signings made already ahead of the 2012/13 season.
After narrowly avoiding relegation on the last game of the 2011/12 season it is fair to say that Streatham have raised more than a few eyebrows with their recruitment campaign so far this summer.
New season%2C new faces in London
The arrival of league All-Star defenseman Dominic Hopkins from Wightlink Raiders shocked supporters across the league, with the transfer prompting big debates on hockey forums across the internet.
Widely viewed as one of, if not the best defenseman in the league for the past two seasons, Hopkins is joined on the blue line by a player widely viewed as one of the competition for the accolade, former Romford Raider star Tyrone Miller.
Miller, a hard hitting no nonsense player who was voted defenseman of the year for last year’s league title winners comes with a top pedigree from time spent with numerous clubs in the UK.
Up front the Redskins have also snapped up smooth skating Czech Jakub Klima, fresh from his Play-Off winning campaign with Chelmsford Chieftains.
Sanderson back
Klima finished as fourth top scorer in the league with 39 goals and 51 assists in only 34 league games for the Essex side. Joining him is former fans favourite and a player closely associated with the club, Joe Johnston.
The 32 year old winger has been the star forward for the Redskins for a fair number of seasons until his year out last season. Now back with the club in his iconic number 17 jersey, Johnston will be looking to return to form in 2012/13.
The latest new signing is gritty Scot Jamie McIlroy from Slough, who captained the ENL Jets to the ENL South 2 title in 2010/11. At 6’ 1” McIlroy is a tough forward who adds a bit of steel to a squad that in recent seasons has at times struggled to dig in when up against more aggressive opponents.
All five new signings bring something different to a squad that is shaping up nicely thanks to seven returnees in Casimir Madren-Britton, Liam Rasmussen, Adam Mahoney, Will Sanderson, Stewart Tait, Stevie Balmer and Russ Stevens.
“We don’t want a repeat of last season” admitted Redskins Coach Barry Spours.
Happy Redskins fans
“This club and the supporters deserve better and we are determined to be competitive this season in the NIHL”
“I am obviously pleased with the way the squad is shaping up but we are still looking to sign a couple of goal scorers. One British and one import if possible but we have plenty of time until the start of the season”
“We have a good rink now in a vibrant part of London and I think we are an attractive proposition for players who want to play hockey in one of the best cities in the world at a competitive standard”
Streatham have also announced two pre-season friendlies to be played at the end of August. Streatham will play Bracknell Hornets over two legs with the game in Bracknell on 25th August and the return in Brixton on the 26th August. Further details are available on the respective club’s websites:
www.streatham-redskins.co.uk and http://bihc.org.uk/hornets/
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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