GILLINGHAM, UK – Invicta Dynamos forward Corey Watkins left Wales behind this summer and is making an impact already for his new club.
The route from Cardiff to Gillingham is certainly a path well trodden with Phil Manny, Jamie Dancey and Nicky Lewis all making the switch from Cardiff to Invicta at some point in their careers.
Photo by David Trevallion
Watkins is the latest Welsh prospect to head to the Kent club, and has courted headlines already with a feisty start to the season. In the opening three matches he has dropped the gloves twice, firstly with MK Thunder enforcer Mike Lucas and then with Bracknell Hornets’ forward Alan Lack. For someone who amassed 104 penalty minutes in 25 games with Cardiff ENL Devils last season, the approach of Watkins in his new teams’ colours should not be surprising. The Dynamos lost gritty forwards such as Grant Baxter and Anthony Leone over the summer, but Watkins says he hasn’t come in specifically to play an enforcer type role.
“I don’t really know why that’s been happening (on the fights) and I certainly haven’t worked on it” admitted the Welshman. “I mean I have always dropped the gloves if I have too but I don’t go looking for it. I would say I’m more of a Sean Avery type player who just gets under players skin during games”
Getting under the oppositions skin as a member of last season’s league runners-up Cardiff ENL Devils side, is a habit that endeared Watkins to Invicta Head Coach Kevin Parrish. When Invicta announced the signing of Watkins, Parrish described him as a player who can change the momentum of a game with a big hit or by getting in other players faces. For his part, Watkins was in no doubt that a move to Invicta would be beneficial.
“Kev (Parrish) called me up and explained the situation in Invicta” Watkins explained. “After a brief conversation with him I couldn’t really turn the Dynamos down. I could see the calibre of players coming in this season and I knew we would have a good young team and I would fit in well with the guys, seeing as they are all similar in age”
At only twenty years of age, Watkins moves to England looking to add to a hockey CV that shows three guest appearances for the Cardiff Devils Elite League team alongside his several years with the ENL Devils. True to form however, the Dynamos have made every effort off the ice to help him adjust to an English lifestyle in the ‘Garden of England’ (Kent’s moniker).
“Yeah I do have a garden and it’s quite nice” said Watkins, who divulged no further details. “I love it here and everyone has been great, from the guys in the locker room to the fans who have made me feel right at home”
Photo by David Trevallion
Like anything, transitions are easier when things are going well. After a shaky 7-7 tie against a revamped Streatham in their opening fixture the Dynamos subsequently beat Milton Keynes Thunder 7-1 and then ended their jinx in Bracknell with a 7-3 win over the Hornets. In Callum Fowler, Liam Chong and Andy Smith the Dynamos have three of the quickest and most skilled forwards in the ENL, so the worry for other teams is if the imports Daniel Borges and Daniel Calitri can get it together, then the team will be pretty hard to stop.
After wholesale changes during the summer and also the added competition of Romford Raiders and an improved Wightlink Raiders, some followers of the ENL predicted that this could be the year the Dynamos miss out on the league title for the first time, following seven years of back to back championships.
“Naturally we are aware of the doubts about the team” admitted Watkins. “It is something we are using as a motivational tool and it has given us all a bit more focus and drive. All the new guys are settling in great and we have a really close group of guys in the dressing room.
“Everyone feels comfortable where they are, which makes playing hockey and winning games so much easier. Every game we are stepping it up another level and the lines are gelling together nicely”
The Dynamos now face a tough weekend with a road trip to the Isle of Wight to take on Jeremy Cornish’s Wightlink Raiders, followed up by a home game against table topping Oxford City Stars twenty four hours later. The game on the island will be a particular test for Watkins and his team mates, with the home side packing a physical punch that perhaps the Dynamos have yet to face so far this season. The Raiders will be going all out for the win against an Invicta side that lifted the league title in their rink last season, and the match-up is one of the most eagerly awaited fixtures in the ENL this year.
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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