Slough not bitter about Best

SLOUGH, UK – After opening the season with a four point weekend, Slough ENL Jets are now settling into life in ENL South Division 1. Jets’ Captain Jamie McIlroy speaks to Pro Hockey News about losing players and a veteran forward back on form.
 
Seven months ago Slough ENL Jets were all smiles as they lifted the ENL South 2 title to earn a promotion ahead of closest rivals Solent & Gosport Devils. Roster changes needed to be made to cope with the rigours of the higher division and indeed alarm bells began to ring after two pre season games against local rivals Bracknell Hornets both ended in defeat.

 
Fears were allayed early on as the Jets put Oxford and then Bristol to the sword on home ice, but in the following thirteen games Slough have won only once, against a struggling Streatham side in South London.
 
“The games are faster and more physical and the teams are definitely of a higher calibre” admitted Jets Captain Jamie McIlroy, when asked if the competition was as he expected.
 
“There are no easy games in this league and you need to play for the full sixty minutes, otherwise you will be punished, which we’ve found out on a number of occasions already”
 
“Obviously the schedule is more demanding and this impacts on all the players and affects team selection. With most of us having full time jobs, and in some cases a family it takes up a lot of time and makes it hard to put out the same team every week and get continuity in our lines”
 
“It’s a good league to play in though, I think it’s where we belong and need to stay to progress as a team and a club as a whole”
 
Slough will play almost double the amount of games they did last season and the strength of the squad will be tested throughout the campaign. With this in mind, losing arguably their best forward (both in name and ability) last week was possibly not the kind of news anyone at Absolute Ice would have enjoyed.
 
Top scorer Callum Best upped sticks and headed east to Kent to join the Invicta Dynamos as the natural order of selection left Slough without the man who had scored seven goals for them in the first few games of the season.
 
“Callum was one of our top point scorers so far this season and losing someone like that is always going to be a blow” explained a philosophical McIlroy.
 
“Greener (Coach Adam Greener) told us the week before he left at training and to be honest I think it was the right move for him and the team. He’s a young lad with a lot of potential and talent and I hope it works out for him at Invicta”
 
Best was not the only talent at Slough being eyed up by other clubs, and the impressive early season performances of forward Andrew Melachrino put him in the spotlight of attention.
 
“Mels has been outstanding for us this season and has put in some good performances for the EPL Jets as well” explained McIlroy.
 
“He’s got bags of pace and skill and the ability to win us games in this league and has been the worthy winner of a few MOM awards already this season. I think the infrastructure of Slough is set up in such a way that we should be able to keep hold of players like him as they have the next step to aspire to in their playing career”
 
“Don’t get me wrong, we’ve got a few players, including Mels, who I think could go on to play higher than the EPL even, but I can’t see that they would be tempted to move to another ENL club”
 
“This obviously has a direct effect on our team as we will lose them from our roster. That is, however the primary aim of our team and I’m just happy that we’re able to have players like Mels for however long that may be”
 
“When these guys move on there are other young players coming through who are capable of stepping up and are hungry to make their mark”
 
Despite a plethora of youth in the side, it has been one of the old Slough guard that has surprised many with his good form, despite retiring from league hockey a number of years ago.
 
With 5 goals and 8 assists in twelve games for the Jets, veteran forward David Heath is up there with the highest scorers in the team and has shown he can still cut it in league hockey, after spending the last couple of years icing for the London Devils recreational side based in Alexandra Palace.
 
“Heathy’s been a revelation this season and along with the youth we have in the team it’s brilliant to have some experience as well” admitted McIlroy.
 
“He brings energy, a healthy point production and an unquestionable level of commitment to the team. It’s good for the lads to have someone like Healthy on the team and be able to draw on his experience, there’s very little he hasn’t done and his never ending tales of “the good old days” brighten up the changing room on a regular basis”
 
“Dave’s got 16 years EPL experience which is the same amount of time that some of our players have been alive! In saying that, at the age of 38, he still puts most of us to shame with his fitness and dedication in training and his hunger to win is infectious”
 
“He was skating at Slough through the summer just for some extra ice but I think Greener managed to convince him he definitely had something to offer the team, he’s certainly caught the bug again and I hope he carries on for a few years yet”
 
With the early season victories a memorable highlight, frustrating ties with Milton Keynes and Streatham sandwiched alongside defeats against the big boys, have left the Jets in 9th position in the league after the first quarter of the season.
 
As a second team in the town and a primary focus on player development, a lack of fan expectation does not take away from the ambition of the squad and coaching staff and whilst a league title challenge is not realistic this season, the play-offs are not beyond scope.
 
“At the start of the season I would have said that anything above 11th would be our aim to ensure ENL1 status next season” conceded McIlroy, who started playing hockey in Paisley, Scotland.
 
“However, looking at the league and our performances, I would have to say that we have to be aiming higher than that. Looking at our results up to this point, we have thrown away a lead in far too many games”
 
“I think that 6th is a realistic target for us, but to be honest as long as we manage to secure a playoff spot in our first season then I would say it will have been a success. We have had two close games against both Romford and Invicta lately and on a different day those results could have gone in our favour”
 
“I think we’re more than capable of giving the top five a run for their money and hopefully we’ll be able to nick a few points from them over the remainder of the season”
 
“We’ve got a tough run in to Christmas and after three straight losses, I know the boys are hungry to put things right and get some more points on the board”
 
With a title charge out of mind, McIlroy can look at the top of the table and be objective regarding the race for the league championship.
 
“Out of all the teams, I would say Romford and Chelmsford are definitely the two favourites for the league/playoff titles this season. They have both got a lot of depth and a vast array of experience in their squads and I think that will make all the difference when it comes to the crunch”
 
“Romford obviously try to bring a lot more of a physical aspect to their play and are capable of grinding teams down with this. My personal opinion is that Chelmsford will walk away with the major honours this year though”
 
“They are fast, move the puck extremely well and are clinical in front of net and in my eyes are the best team we’ve played against. Wightlink, Cardiff and Invicta are all teams who have gone through some major changes over the summer and in Invicta’s case through the first quarter as well”
 
“They are quality teams who still pose a threat to both Chelmsford and Romford and will definitely have a say in who wins the league but I don’t think they will have enough this year to mount a challenge of their own”
 
“In effect there are three leagues within ENL1 South with Chelmsford & Romford, Wightlink, Cardiff and Invicta, and then the rest of us battling it out for the remaining play-off places. I definitely think the league is more competitive and there aren’t too may blow out games which can only be good”
 
Aside from the blow of losing Best, feisty defenseman Joe Webb has announced that he will be stepping down from the roster to focus on his personal training business ‘JW Training’.
 
Even the team captain himself will not be able to play for the team after January as he flies out for a tour of duty with the RAF. All in all it will make the job of Greener and team owner Zoran Kozic that little bit harder to fulfil their ambitions but with some top young talent available on occasions from the EPL side it seems likely that Slough will begin to establish their place in ENL South Division 1.
 
  Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com