CHELMSFORD,U.K- Hot on the heels of players leaving to pastures new, the Chelmsford Chieftains were quick to allay fears that their roster for the 2008-09 English National League South division Two would be free of familiar faces. New Head-coach Dean Birrell moved from division one side the Streatham Redskins and was happy to put pen to paper. “I am pleased to be back in Chelmsford and I believe I can coach the team into division one next season I will sign the best possible side I can and play entertaining and exciting hockey,” Birrell said. Birrell wasted no time in getting players signed up and the first to commit was popular and hard-working forward Nathanael Williams. The 21year old joins the team for his first full season, after joining the Chieftains shortly after the season started last year. Williams is a tireless worker for the team. Last year he battled hard for every puck and was never afraid to stand up for his team-mates, dropping his gloves and squaring up to anyone who tried to take liberties with his team. The fans will be expecting similar from him this term. Another player that has come back from last season is net minder Mike Robinson. Robinson spent most of last season backing up Andy Moffat, as well as playing when he could for the Chelmsford Warriors who the Chieftains have merged with. However, there was a spell when Robinson was forced to start when Moffat was carrying an injury. Robinson has come on a lot while at the Riverside and he has no reservations about stepping up to the plate for the coming season. “To be honest I don’t feel like I’m filling shoes, I know that Moffs is a great goalie and we have two very different styles in net, people know I’ve been the backup and when Moffs has had a bad game, as is human its time to switch it up,” Robinson said. “When I have had my chance to play I’ve played to the best of my ability, also having a great team in front of you helps, everyone knows the goalie is the last resort and its going to be down to me this coming season.” “Yes it will be hard for me to step up but there is a first for everything, I hope that we as a team and a organization can achieve a lot more this season.” Robinson had an easy choice to make when Birrell offered him a roster spot. “Chelmsford is my home and that’s where I want to be, I’m looking forward to the upcoming season and I’m very happy to be working with Dean for the 08-09 season,” Robinson said. “I get nervous and knowing there are other goalies that I’ll be competing with only makes me want to play even more because there is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, I will do my utmost to play and work hard every game till that buzzer sounds.” Moffat was full of praise for Robinson. “I think Mike will do a great job for the team as he proved last season when I was injured and he had to step in with no game practice, which is hard for any goalie to do,” Moffat said. “I think he did a great job for the team and will continue to do so, I wish him luck and he will be a starting goalie in the English Premier league (EPL) in the next couple of seasons without a doubt.” For the coming season Robinson will have former Chelmsford junior Ben Clements battling for the starting spot with him. Clements returns to Chelmsford after spending the last few seasons at rivals Romford Raiders. When Birrell led his Redskins team to Romford to face the Spitfires and Clements, he was very impressed. “One particular game stood out for me last season, I took a Streatham team down to Romford and Ben played out of his skin, He made saves that he had no right to get to and If he continues with those kind of performances then we have a tremendous competition for the starting net minder jersey,” Birrell said. “Both net minders know what’s required of them and the fans will enjoy seeing both battle for that starting spot, especially as both are very popular off the ice as well as on it.” Birrell has been quoted as saying he wants all round toughness in the team, but not out and out goons. With this in mind, his third signing was Karl Hopper. Hopper will make his return to the Chieftains for a fourth spell. Hopper originally played for the club in 2001 making 10 appearances. He returned to the club in 2004 when he and team-mate Slava Koulikov travelled from the Hull Stingrays to bolster Chelmsford’s play-off push. Hopper was picked up again in 2007 by then coach Simon Howard and made eight appearances before changes to the team were made and Hopper left the club. Birrell knew that he needed some toughness and experience on the blue line and Hopper fits that bill perfectly. An official statement regarding the signing said. “Karl demonstrated last season that he has developed his checking game by pulling off a number of mid-ice hits, Karl’s no nonsense approach to hockey has won him a number of devoted supporters at the Riverside.” Continuing the theme of bringing back players, Williams, Clements, Robinson and Hopper are joined by young Danny Hammond. Hammond has come through the Chelmsford set-up but moved to Romford for personal reasons at the beginning of last season. Hammond left there at the end of the season and knew his heart lay in Chelmsford and he was quick to come back to the club that gave him his first opportunity. Lots of EPL clubs were chasing his signature but Hammond wanted to stay in Chelmsford and he quickly signed a contract with the Chieftains. Hammond was a very popular young player who broke into the team at just 15 and made his mark very quickly. In his second season at the club in 2006 Hammond picked up 19 points in 41 appearances, which was remarkable for the 16 year old. Hammond had a not quite so good season after and his move to Romford saw him back scoring at a similar rate racking up 15 points in 36 games. With the lower standard of league, many predict Hammond to be one of the main scoring threats on the Chieftains side. The first new face at the Riverside will be import Jaroslav “Jerry” Pavlus who joins the Chieftains from Birrell’s former club, Streatham Redskins. With 22 points in just eight games, the Chieftains fans can look forward to seeing a very fast and hard-working player with a powerful shot and great speed. One of his team-mates from the Redskins, Sean Easton, commented on Pavlus, “Jerry is a cracking player who works hard and is very quick. He has very fast hands and the fans will see some great moves from him and plenty of skill and goals.” The list of players leaving the Chieftains continues to grow as net minder Andy Moffat is upping sticks and returning to Scotland. Losing someone of the calibre of Andy Moffat is a big blow to any team, but it was always a possibility that he would be moving on. “We had spoke about moving before but we made our mind up when I found out my girlfriend and I are going to have a baby,” Moffat said. Moffat is not looking to hang his pads up just yet. “At the moment I’m talking to a couple of teams in Scotland and who knows what the future holds, maybe one day it will be back in a Chieftains shirt, you can never say never,” Moffat said. “I would love to come back again but I have a family to think about now so its not as easy to move back down to Chelmsford just for hockey.” As commented in a previous article, the club has lost Danny Cox who has returned to his former club Haringey Greyhounds. Cox came in from the ENL side and raised a few eyebrows as he was not thought to be able to make it in the EPL. By the end of the season though, everyone agreed that he had proved them wrong and then coach, Simon Howard, thought it right to award Cox the “Coach’s player of the year award”. Cox admits it was disappointing to leave the EPL, but did enjoy his time in Chelmsford. “I definitely feel that my season at Chelmsford helped my career, from the beginning being a new player in the league I was helped no ends by the coaches and players and could actually see the improvement myself throughout the season,” Cox said. “I would have liked to have stayed in the EPL this season but it was not possible, I would look to return to Chelmsford if they can offer me EPL hockey in the future.” One thing that unites players is their admiration of the fans in Chelmsford. “I would just like to say thanks to all our supporters, even at points in the season when we were losing games back to back, we always managed a healthy amount of fans at our games which always helps a team,” Cox said. Robinson agreed with Cox’s assessment of the fans at the Essex club. “Yeah I’d agree with that Danny, I would like to say thank you too to the fans for all their support over the last few years, we have all had our ups and downs but I know that whatever happens the fans will stick with the team and support us to the end,” Robinson said. “I hope to see the friendly faces I always like to see at the club and lets get ready for a exciting action packed season.” Long-serving and popular player Moffat had this final word for the fans who have supported him over the years. “I will miss the fans and the rink, It was a great team to play for and the fans were brilliant all the way and It didn’t matter win or lose you always felt that they were behind the team,” Moffat said. “Thank you for supporting me and the team over the years and good luck for the future.” Contact the author at Pete.lewis@prohockeynews.com
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