They said what ?

LONDON, UK – With 2011 entering its final few weeks we look back at the memorable quotes from last season by players, management and agents from the ENL North and South and other leagues besides.
 
Each season the Ice Hockey Annual publishes a number of ‘Quotes of the Year’ in a popular feature that draws on interviews from across the UK leagues. Pro Hockey News looks back at some of our own archives from the 2010/11 season along with other snippets from the local press.
 
We hope you enjoy some of our memorable quotes below…

 
“I have been working really hard. It won’t be long until I’m back. I keep getting asked ‘Are you worried’? Well, after everything I’ve been through, hockey is the least of the problems. I had to teach myself to walk again. That was a challenge. Getting back on the ice can’t compare. It’s something I enjoy and I’ll ensure I’m okay before I play contact, I won’t risk it”
 
Young Invicta Dynamos defenseman Ryan Giles after a serious car crash left him with a titanium bar holding his leg together. Giles did return to action but retired a few months later.
 
“This goes against a lot of my beliefs as I have been in hockey in this country a long time now and all too often I see imports being made the scapegoat when things go wrong. But this is not the case in this situation. I needed to change the makeup of this team and this was the only way we could do it”
 
Oxford City Stars coach Ken Forshee on his decision to release Swedish Netminder Robin Lindva midway through the season.
 
“In my experiences hockey players are pretty grounded. I have never really had any out of the norm requests. The majority of guys are realistic in what they can get and understand that it’s a very difficult market right now. Overall, sports like football are a totally different beast to the world of hockey at the level I operate in, I am sure there are guys in the likes of the NHL, Extraliga, Eliteserien who are a little more cavalier with their demands but I haven’t come across anyone like this right yet”
 
9 Hockey Management’s Gareth Chalmers on being an agent in the more mundane world of UK hockey.
 
“I think there is great potential in Blackburn. I just think there has been a few years of constant chopping and changing of coaches and players, and this has lead to the performances on the ice not being of the level expected. I think with a few seasons fine-tuning the current talent base that is in Blackburn and helping to develop the players from the u14’s, 16’s and 18’s the team would be prime for a move into the EPL”
 
Blackburn Hawks coach Jared Owen optimistic about the future of hockey in the Lancashire town.
 
“I think it’s hard for goalies to move up leagues without putting in some serious bench warming first. I’m always interested in how many games I’m going to be playing so it’s tough to justify stepping up when I’ve been approached. I feel very capable of doing a job at a higher level without losing respect for the level I play at now. I think the ENL North is a very competitive league with the lack of EPL teams around; and one of the reasons I think Whitley have always put out a really good side”
 
Highly rated Whitley Warriors goalie James Flavell on the frustrations of geography.
 
“There were only three or four lads missing from the squad so after three takes, Kammy was knackered. We decided not to take any head shots or slap shots and it was a £1 fine to the kitty for anyone who missed. Funnily enough Kammy caught one of the shots in his catcher but didn’t realise until somebody told him afterwards. Michael Wales failed to score which was amusing, as was Leigh Jamieson leaving the puck behind on his first attempt”
 
MK Lightning Captain Adam Carr on Sky Sports presenter and former top flight footballer   Chris Kamara’s on-ice penalty shot challenge with the team for popular TV show Soccer AM.
 
“Thankfully there’s no damage to my vision but there’s a lot of swelling around my eye. I can’t open it at the moment which obviously isn’t great. As for the mask, I won’t be using one for the time being but maybe in the future I will use one again”
 
Bristol Pitbulls goalie Michael Crisp after a puck went through his visor after a slapshot from Bracknell’s Danny Hughes.
 
“The Kingston game not taking place was a big blow. The frustration was not only from a financial aspect but just watching people coming to a hockey match for the first time being turned away. If it was you would you bother again?”
 
Solihull Barons Chairman John Butler on turning over 1000 fans away from Hobs Moat Road due to snow stopping Kingston travelling to the West Midlands.
 
“The players had less teeth back then and the equipment was poor. These days the players are much better protected and the speed of the games are quicker. Shooting was more accurate and stick handling was an art practiced not just by a few but by many. Back in the day guys used to just play but nowadays they have a role to play. Things are more organised now, but I have to say I miss the lovely figure skaters that used to come out between periods”
 
Dave Richards Senior, 75 year old Lee Valley Lions Coach who skated at the Harringay Arena in North London in the 1940’s.
 
“Having played for two struggling clubs in Lee Valley and Haringey, it doesn’t look great when you are searching for a new club in the summer. I skated with a few clubs in the off season but I was lucky that Streatham were really keen to sign me and take a chance on me. I think coaches are wary about where a player has come from, but you just have to put yourself out and show them on the ice”
 
Streatham forward Michael Ranby who ended up as one of the stars of the season for the South London club.
 
“Some of the guys have shown a total lack of respect for their team-mates and for the organisation. We’ve talked about it plenty of times but there are only so many times you can tell them. They think its okay to just look after number one. I don’t know if that’s the way they’ve been brought up because you might be able to get away with that at junior level but at senior level you will get found out”
 
Invicta Dynamos Coach Kevin Parrish during a slump in results for the former league champions (Kent News)
 
“Yeah I will admit to falling for it. I figured it out as soon as the bus got onto the boat and they thought it was hilarious. I was not too happy about it”
 
Chelmsford’s Canadian import Kyle Jones after being persuaded by his team mates to take his passport to show the invisible border guards on the way to the Isle of Wight.
 
“I don’t care whether we win 1-0 or 10-0 so long as we play as a unit. If I see any more individuality, then I will have to do the only thing I can do and take their ice time away”
 
Invicta Dynamos Coach Kevin Parrish on his talented forward line’s lack of teamwork. (Medway Messenger)
 
“I will say one thing about Ed. He makes an excellent mocha, and I know this because I trained him”
 
Streatham Redskins player Dan Marashi after employing team captain Ed Koral in his newly opened Shisha Lounge in South London.
 
“Working six days a week I knew I wouldn’t be able to make two, sometimes three games a week and give the commitment that was needed in those leagues. The higher leagues are much faster and more physical; I have had some pretty serious injuries in the past and working in tree surgery I need to be healthy to be able to work”
 
Former Basingstoke Bison and MK Lightning star Ross Bowers on his surprising decision to drop to play in the English National League for Milton Keynes Thunder.
 
“After my break away from the ice, my new found love for the sport is a bit of surprise. I could say it was work or family commitments but I just think I lost my passion for the game.   Having a couple of years off is a good cure for that and I’m now keen to get back into the swing of things and have some fun before I start drawing my pension”
 
37 year old former Swindon Wildcat Drew Chapman on joining Bristol Pitbulls mid season.
 
“The Welsh people are probably some of the most passionate people you’ll ever meet too, they take a lot of pride in their nationality which I think is great, I really don’t buy into the whole GSTQ national anthem argument, I’m English and I have the Welsh anthem at the start of each home game and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, its a great anthem”
 
Cardiff ENL Devils top scorer Luke Piggott on the age old anthem argument.
 
“Presenting Smithy with the champagne was a special moment for me I’ve seen him get his first point right up to the leading point, and what pleased me the most was the response from his team mates. Most of the team is new and never played with him before, but every guy knew what it meant to him and it showed after the break-away goal was scored, the whole team left the bench to go and celebrate with him”
 
Invicta Coach Kevin Parrish on presenting Andy Smith with his award for becoming teh clubs highest ever points scorer at the tender age of 26.
 
“One of our main philosophies is to be the fittest team in the league, which I think is shown in our games when we generally dominate in the third periods”
 
Bracknell Hornets forward Grant Rounding on the coaching style of Lukas Smital.
 
“I got a couple messages from friends around UK hockey (upon winning the award), it was the best award I’ve received through hockey and I was pretty honoured that people voted for me. To be fair, the guys on the team are responsible for that award; they were a pleasure to work with and made my job easy on most nights”
 
Wightlink Coach Jeremy Cornish after being voted ENL South Coach of the year by his peers in the annual Pro Hockey News all-star awards.
 
“The team chemistry is great and there isn’t a guy on the team I could say a bad word about. Everybody gets on like they have known each other for years and that is a real plus point for a first place team to have”
 
Former Belfast Giants youngster Robbie Brown following Wightlinks league title win.
 
“He has played his part in getting us to ENL1, so he will be playing at a higher level next season anyway.   You find that the people who moan about him playing in our league are the ones who would love him to be on their team”  
 
Slough ENL Jets title winning Captain Jamie McIlroy talking about former NCAA and Elite league player Zoran Kozic’s high scoring antics in the UK’s lowest league tier.
 
“The guys would say my English accent causes more of a problem than I have with theirs”
 
Bristol Pitbulls Swedish forward Henrik Sahlin gets to grip with the local west country dialect.
 
For more quotes and a review of the 2010/11 season at all levels of UK ice hockey in full colour. Please pick up a copy of the latest Ice Hockey Annual edited by Stewart Roberts.
 
You can buy it online at the link below or at the supporters club tables at many rinks around the country on game night.
 
http://www.icehockeyannual.co.uk/
 
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com