Ryan Finnerty speaks on signing for Cardiff

CARDIFF, UK – When the signing of 29 year old Ryan Finnerty was announced to the Cardiff Devils fans in mid-December it received a mixed response. If you had polled the supporters last season and asked them which was their least favourite opponent last season the majority would include a name from Sheffield Steelers and a large number would have said antagonistic forward Ryan Finnerty. Finnerty joined Sheffield Steelers in 2007 and remained there for 2 ½ seasons before leaving the UK last summer to play for Bloomington Prairie Thunder in the IHL. His decision to leave the EIHL was not an easy one for Ryan who whose Steelers won both the Elite League Championship and the Playoffs in April 2009, but the Canadian was looking for some stability and a chance for his wife to complete her studies which Sheffield was unable to provide.  With Ryan’s wife securing a place at a Canadian University to complete her Masters degree, Ryan signed with Bloomington along with one of his ex-teammates and best friends Robin Gomez before making the decision to return to the UK. 

He says “Bloomington is a great place and the organisation is fantastic, it was a difficult decision to make but I wanted to come back to the UK. I spoke to Nottingham and Sheffield but Cardiff called with a two year deal which is huge for me because I don’t want to be moving around too much. I’d like to stay in one spot for a while and help start something like we had in Sheffield and go on to win championships.” Sheffield Steelers have more than their fair share of rivalries, the most famous perhaps being between them and Nottingham Panthers, just 40 minutes away.  However, in recent years Cardiff who until last year had the same owner as Sheffield has developed a deepening rivalry with the Steelers. The 2008-2009 season saw a great deal of bad blood between the two teams, with Devils Captain Brad Voth receiving an unprecedented suspension during a game between the two.  Ryan Finnerty, known as a ‘mouthpiece’ on the ice for his agitating comments to other players was quoted in the Sheffield press saying insulting things to the Cardiff team and naming the Cardiff Arena “a gross little tent”. Whilst many Devils fans would be inclined to agree that the temporary rink they currently play in is not up to standards they would choose, Finnerty’s quotes caused uproar and ensured him a hostile reception every time the two teams met.    On signing for Cardiff, Finnerty said “I certainly made no secrets of the fact that I hated playing in Cardiff with the smaller ice, knowing you were going to get hit and hurt, it was never an easy game here. It is so much easier playing in the tent as a Devil than it has been in the past, I thought it might take me longer to adjust to the rink, but I liked playing in it – it’s not nearly as intimidating here when people like you!” Finnerty acknowledged that “I imagine that I have a few fans to win over in Cardiff after them putting up with my antics over the past couple of years, so hopefully I’ll show them what I can do for their team and win them round.” And winning them round is proving easier than either side imagined! At the time of writing Ryan who has played only 4 games, has scored 1 goal and incredible 9 assists for the Devils and is on his way to being a firm fan favourite. In their race for the top of the Elite League, the Devils needed to show some commitment to winning, a part of that was having proven winners on the side, those who have won cups and championships and can lead the team in what that takes. Coach Gerad Adams was aware of this when he moved mid-season to sign Finnerty, just as he was at the start of the season in securing the proven goal-tending skills of Stevie Lyle, who helped Belfast Giants win both the Challenge Cup and the British Knockout Cup last season. Finnerty says, of winning competitions “Once you win one you have the desire to get more, you know what it is like to win and the feeling you getto win and you want more and more. It’s the best feeling in the world, it is the ultimate goal and nobody can take that away from you. I think more than ever I want to get that back again and I want to get that for Cardiff.” So, in the second half of a season which sees the Devils in the top half of the league and with a semi-final place in the Challenge Cup, Finnerty with ten points from four games is a key part.  Surely that makes any dated rivalry obsolete?  
Contact the author Victoria.Silverwood@Prohockeynews.com
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