GILLINGHAM, UK – Invicta Dynamos have had a good start to the year despite big changes to the roster in the summer. The Kent side have won all of their league games this year, and aside from three defeats against the in-form Chelmsford Chieftains,they are unbeaten in all competitions.
Photo by David Trevallion
With an average age of just under 23 years old, this year’s Dynamos squad is the youngest in many years as Coach Kevin Parrish ices a fresh faced line up at Silverblades.
One of the more heralded signings of the summer was the capture of Jacob Ranson from the London Raiders. The speedy forward had a breakout year with the Raiders at Lee Valley last year and was a virtual ever present on their first line, before opting for a surprise move down to Gillingham.
“We have started well and I think surprised a few people with our results so far, beating some of the better teams in the league” admitted the 20 year old.
“I still feel we have a lot more to bring and have only just started to gel as a team. The locker room is becoming more connected with every training and every game I feel because everyone is becoming closer and getting to know each other.”
“At the first few training sessions it was very quiet with a very new team, but that is starting to change and the imports seem to be settling well, I know the feeling of being a different country at first, it’s hard but with time it becomes a second home and I think everyone at the club is making them feel at home and welcome.”
The imports in question, Eriks Ozollapa and Ondrej Zosiak have impressed Mo’s fans with their performances so far thanks not only to their skill level but more importantly their work rate.
Nicky Lewis leading the Mo’s (David Trevallion)
Ozollapa has already scored 6 goals in 3 league games and Zosiak provides a mobile yet composed presence on the blue line that the Mo’s have been crying out for.
Both are getting used to foreign soil in the ‘Garden of England’ and it is a feeling that Ranson can sympathise with. The Romford born player is one of the select band of British youngsters who took a chance to play abroad in his junior career icing in both the United States and Sweden before even hitting 18.
After making his debut at under 10 level for Romford in a team that included the likes of Cameron and Grant Bartlett, now of Chelmsford, Frankie Harvey now of London, JJ Pitchley of Basingstoke and of course his own sister Ellie, Ranson got the opportunity to spread his wings at the tender age of 14.
“It actually came about because of a goalie that used to be at Romford juniors called Charlie Kaylor going to Notre Dame and I said to my parents at 14 I want to go to Canada.” He explained.
“I moved over to the Pursuit of Excellence ice hockey academy in Kelowna just an hour down the road from a relative of mine – which is how I found about the academy originally. My experience in Canada was a life changing one where I made life-long friends and ended up travelling on the team bus for 10 hour trips and planes to California and the Yukon.”
It was a far cry from the experience of his old team mates back home who instead were practicing fewer times in the week and playing games locally.
“The big difference, although there is a few compared to English junior hockey, is that we were on the ice every day for 2 hours and played like 60 game seasons at such a young age.”
“Plus they just live and breathe the game out there, meaning the talent pool is stronger. I mean playing against or with guys at Curtis Lazar’s standard is only going to improve your game.”
Meatballs for dinner in Sweden
On his return from the States, clearly not quite ready to settle back into UK life, Ranson headed across to Scandinavia to play for Mjolby HC u18’s in Sweden.
Located between Gothenburg and Stockholm, Mjolby is a small city of around 12,000 inhabitants and far from any tourist trail. Thankfully for Ranson it turned out to be a good experience even if he didn’t quite get the hang of the lingo.
“Sweden was a slightly different experience as obviously the language barrier is tough for anyone going to a different country.” he admitted.
“Although they all spoke good English it was still predominately Swedish being hollered round the dressing room, plus unlike Canada I wasn’t doing any schooling so had a lot of free time.”
“I’d say the key difference between Sweden and Canada is the style of play, in Canada it’s a physical crash and bang type game and very well drilled systems, whereas in Sweden there is less physicality and the wide ice made for a lot for rink wide passes and skating. The Swedes love to dangle as well and the Canadians love to snipe bar down.”
“I could have learnt more of the language, but being there for just a season I only managed to pick up the basics like hello, thank you, come on boys and obviously some swear words to get under the opponents skin.”
“I would like to go abroad again at some point to play and learn a new language because I regret not learning to speak fluent Swedish.”
After returning to the UK, Ranson signed up with his boyhood team London Raiders, a club he had started watching at the age of six with his dad. A lack of ice time was mooted at the time for his then mid-season departure to MK Thunder, however when he returned last season, his performances saw him awarded Player of the Season at the end of season awards night. It was an accolade that the youngster certainly appreciated.
Good times with the Raiders (John Scott)
“I was over the moon that my hard work was recognised by the supporters, players and coach last season, as I might not be the most skilled guy or put up the most points, but I will never give up and give 100% every game and do anything I can for the team to win. I’d class myself more as plus/minus type player to be honest”
Despite this, Ranson ended up signing on a two way contract primarily with Invicta Dynamos and also with English Premier League side Basingstoke Bison. It was a move that raised eyebrows, however Ranson was clear on his decision.
“Well, I had a few offers this summer, which I didn’t really fully expect with offers from a few different teams from around the NIHL” he said.
“I’d say the reason I chose these two clubs was when I was speaking to different people I felt Parrish was very keen to have me on board, messaging me a lot to see what my plans were”
“I also liked his plan of building a speedy hard working team which I felt would be good for me with the additional training that the club do.”
“Basingstoke on the other hand, I really wasn’t expecting a phone call from them asking if I’d like to come out for a skate in the summer, but none the less I just want to improve my game and make it to the highest standard I can so when given the chance of playing pre-season games and a two-way it was a no-brainer.”
The two way deal has allowed Ranson to experience first-hand the differences between the two leagues.
“I think the difference I have seen so far, is speed, passing and systems are done at a higher level and I feel the import standard and Brit quality is still a big step above the NIHL. Also, the league is so tight and anyone can beat anyone and is a very open title race.”
Finally, no one who has seen the 5’ 10” winger this year can fail to notice the blonde/ginger flow of hair from the back of his helmet, so what’s it all about?
“I have been asked this a few times recently” he laughs.
Mo’s looking to build (David Trevallion)
“It started at the beginning of last season I was bored with my short hair, which some might remember as the Ranson (Miley Cyrus) cut from the year before, so I just decided to grow it out.”
“Then when it started to get longer I thought I’ll just leave it for the season and get some beaut hockey flow like Erik Karlsson, Carl Hagelin and Drew Doughty, but now I think it’s got a bit too long and I’m just too lazy to get it trimmed or cut.”
With all that sweating and crusty helmet interior, what product does he recommend for any budding hockey player thinking of a similar barnet…
“Head and Shoulders is my product of choice” comes the answer.
Invicta Dynamos are in action this weekend as they take on Streatham Redskins in league action. The table topping Londoners visit Silverblades on Sunday afternoon and Dynamos fans will be hoping that the team can continue their good start to the campaign.
The recent departure of Mark McGill two weeks ago has seemingly been sorted with the rumoured capture of Pro Hockey News All-Star and current MK Thunder goalie Damien King. This has not yet been confirmed by either club at the time of writing.
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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