CHELMSFORD,U.K- This season saw Karl Hopper given the responsibility of captaining a young side that was basically starting afresh after a few seasons of struggle and financial problems. Hopper has previously played for the Chelmsford Chieftains but had little input last season and left the club after just eight games, much to the disappointment of many within the fan base and to Hopper himself. There were rumours of off-ice issues and also disagreements with the coach regarding tactics and fitness, but Hopper would be the first to admit he enjoys the social side of hockey as much as the on-ice work. This season the new coach, Dean Birrell, felt that it would be beneficial to both the player and the club if he was given more responsibility within the new regime.
“Karl has demonstrated good leadership on and off the ice in recent seasons so it was fairly natural for him to be considered for the captaincy role, his no nonsense and hard nosed approach to the game is what I am looking for from my team, but also a team that plays the game fair,” Head-coach Dean Birrell said “Karl’s experience and knowledge of the game is invaluable and the younger players on the team can learn a lot from him in both his work ethic and commitment to the Chieftains organisation,”
The Yorkshire native had commented pre-season that he was looking forward to the challenge “It will be a tough season, despite what some fans are saying, there are no easy games in this league and it will not only be a test of ability, but also of mental toughness and strength,” Karl Hopper said “I am looking forward to playing well and proving to the Chieftains fans that this team will not be one to push around.” Having now played 11 games this season, although he missed two through suspension, how does Hopper feel about the way things are going?
“Its good to be captaining a group of players that are showing great enthusiasm for the cause and everyone playing with the same aims and It is nice for me to pass on some of my skills and knowledge to the younger players and also to give the elder players a pat on the back as they have all done an outstanding job this season,” Hopper said “I’ve always been vocal in and around the dressing room, so being given the responsibility has made things more enjoyable for me personally, I don’t feel like my own game has suffered but its nice to know there are plenty of people around you to pick you up and back you up if you’re having an off night.”
How does the former Hull Stingray and Peterborough Phantom defenseman feel playing in the lowest tier of senior men’s hockey in the UK?
“We knew that the off-ice stuff went on and none of us really wanted to be in division 2, but we knew what we had to do to rectify it and so far things are going well, there is still room for improvement, as there always is, but I am confident Coach Birrell and the guys in the locker room will be able to maintain our excellent start,” Hopper said “We should not stop trying to progress because we know that if we go up it will be very tough next year and we need to be in a position to be ready for those challenges,”
One of the Chieftains newer signings, Slovakian born Rudi Dzurko, recently stated in a club video interview that he believed the club could go up and he was looking to do all he could to help the Chieftains to win the English National League Cup, the ENL2 (South) league and gaining promotion to division 1. I asked Hopper if he felt these were realistic goals for the season
“Why shouldn’t we think they are? We have proved so far in our great start to the campaign that we can play and beat the best of them and it’s not beyond our capabilities at all to reach those goals,” Hopper said
“Hopper did pick up a two game ban for fighting towards the end of the 11-0 drubbing of the Chieftains rivals, the Romford Spitfires. It was a culmination of a match penalty as well the totting up of penalty points and so he sat for two games.
“It wasn’t pleasant some of the things the Spitfires players got up to during that game and some of the stuff that was being said, I felt it was my role as captain to stick up for the younger lads and show teams that they cannot come to the Riverside and take liberties, whatever the score line is,” Hopper said Hopper fought James Restarick of the Spitfires during a bad tempered final few moments of a great game of hockey while his team mate BT Williams went to work on Paul Merchant who had been throwing his weight around for most of the game. At the same time Restarick’s brother Dan was being given the same treatment by fiery defence partner Sean Easton.
“I was pleased to see the lads sticking up for one another at the end of that game, which had been out of control at times and we felt we had little protection from the officials, but I guess it goes both ways to, It’s not in my nature to stand by and watch players on my team being squared up to by more than one opponent,” Hopper said “As soon as I saw BT was surrounded, I looked over and saw that Easton was steaming in to help even things up and I knew then that we were a team on the ice, It was a nice feeling as we came off the ice as we knew we had beaten them both on the scoreboard and the ice and had sent a message to the rest of the league, the Chelmsford Chieftains are not to be messed with,” Contact the author at Pete.lewis@prohockeynews.com
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