HULL, UK – Swedish net minder Tommy Sandahl is all set to go for the new season with the Excel Hull Stingrays in the EIHL. Sandahl has moved to the UK from his hometown side Troja-Ljungby in the Allsvensken after returning there last summer having spent the previous couple of seasons in Division 2 and 1 with Värnamo and Gislaved respectively.
“ It’s very hard to compare leagues without playing in them. I know there are a lot of Canadians there, so it will be a different sort of game than what I am used to in Sweden. It will be tough in the start I think and I’ll be playing a different kind of game. I am expecting more shots and probably less structure than I am used to in Sweden. But at the same time the Swedish Allsvensken is a good league and I had some good games there last season and a couple of years ago as well so I think I will be just fine,” said Sandahl.
Sandahl comes to the UK with a reputation for solid and consistent net minding with a career average save percentage of 0.906 which will stand him in good stead with the Stingrays faithful. Sandahl was a standout in a spell in the Swedish third tier in the 2007-08 season when he amassed a huge 0.947 save average combined with a 1.40 GAA.
Needless to say a player with those stats would be in high demand and Sandahl knew this but knew where he wanted to play to test himself further.
“I had offers from France and other teams here in Sweden,” said Sandahl. “ My agent, David Imonti, got me some good offers from those countries as well as the UK. The difference was compared to those leagues I would get almost twice as many games in the UK and of course better pay. So that was the two main reasons.”
Sandahl added with a smile “ Plus I can speak some English, that had an effect on my choice too.”
Looking ahead to the new season, Sandahl knows what he wants to achieve and if he does meet those targets the fans and the league will be reluctant to let him go.
“For me personally, I’m aiming to be very solid and try to play at the same high levels every night. I want to keep things simple and build some confidence in the team that we won’t be letting any easy goals in. As for the team I think and I am hoping that we really can challenge every team in the league,” said Sandahl.
“I obviously don’t know much of the players in my own team and the opponents’ team either, but from what some of my new teammates have said they have belief in themselves and the team and I have no reason to go against that and will be doing my part to bring success to the Hull team”.
New head coach, Sylvain Cloutier told the Excel Hull Stingrays website “I learned about Tommy through a player that played with him last season in Sweden. I also got information from the coaches that coached against him. They told me he was more than ready to take on this challenge. He played at a high level in Sweden. The scouting report on him was good. He has quick feet, is very acrobatic, has a quick glove and more importantly he is a competitor. Tommy will be one of the better goalies in the league.”
Sandahl replied with mutual praise for his coach.
“I am very excited and looking forward to moving to a new country, a new culture and a different style of hockey. I wanted to look for a move outside Sweden and when I spoke to Sylvain Cloutier I felt comfortable. He seems to be a great person to lead the team and he told me he had full confidence in me being the starting goalie,” said Sandahl.
The 25-year old Sandahl is a dedicated player with positive attributes and self-belief.
“I want to work as hard in training as I do in games and perform well. I am a professional player and don’t believe in giving less than 100% every time I am on the ice. I want the fans to see that I will be doing all I can not to let them down as I know they will be supporting us as much as they can and we need to repay their faith”.
The Swede is going to be under pressure from local lad Andrew Jaszczyk who will be backing up the Swedish star.
“It was a good experience last season and I really enjoyed it. Curtis [Cruickshank] helped me a lot and when he was injured I got my chance. I am looking forward to working with Tommy and see how he plays. I want to improve every season and it will be good to look at a European style of hockey,” said Jaszczyk in an interview for the clubs website when he signed in June.
With the season just around the corner, Sandahl had some final comments for the fans.
“Let’s make sure the Hull Arena is a fortress and that we fill it up every game. We need to make a lot of noise and make teams scared of coming here. If you all bring a new person to every game, I am sure you can do your part in helping the team and we’ll do our part on the ice as much as we can. I can assure you, you will see total commitment and effort from me every night we play and the team will need every one of you to give 100% support too. You won‘t see highlight reel saves, but you will see very few rebounds and a solid net minder who does all the simple things regularly and that seems to work well for me”.
Contact pete.lewis@prohockeynews.com
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