SWINDON, UK – Well, a short week it may have been in the sense of little news, but it got away from the blocks pretty fast with the announcement from Bracknell that British forwards Ollie Bronnimann, who left the Bison the week before, and Alan Lack from the development programme but who played seven times for the senior side last season, had both signed on.
Meanwhile over in Milton Keynes it looked like a bit of a shake up was starting to take place as Matt Towalski, who had seven seasons with the club, and Michael Wales who has been in Milton Keynes for eleven seasons, were both released. Returnees, though, came in the shape of British forwards Adam Brittle for a forth term and Grant McPherson for his sixth. McPherson’s return, as some saw it in preference to Towalski, seems to have raised some eyebrows although, to be fair, also some smiley faces. So could it be with Wiggins already on board, an EPL top four penalty-receiver both on total and game average, McPherson has been recalled to beef up the side even more? McPherson himself is no slacker in that department being a top ten member of the bad boys’ club too.
Also adding some beef is Brit forward Nicky Chinn, who quit the Bison a couple of weeks previously.
Also not slacking is Slough’s new coach Slava Koulikov who made his first signings in bringing back top-scoring Lithuanian Darius Pliskauskas, and D-man Adam Greener, thereby accounting for yet another high-penalty-receiver. Also now accountable is D-man Alex Symonds who quit the Jets a week ago and followed his boss Doug Sheppard to the Bison.
The Flames, meanwhile, added GB international forward David Longstaff to their roster for a third season. Longstaff really is a smart signing when you think he has a career spanning over twenty years and is still making the GB team. Not only that, but when you consider the likes of Nicky Chinn at 39 and Tony Hand at 44, it isn’t as though at 37 he is on his last legs.
But, when you think of age, it has to be said that the Bison’s ex-player-coach Steve Moria, who announced his retirement this week, takes some beating. Now 51 and with a playing career stretching back to 1980, what a remarkable run this Canadian has had having iced for nine British sides and nearly fifty times for the national side in his 25 years here. Not only that, he has clocked up over thirteen hundred appearances in total since he first stepped onto the ice for the Richmond Sockeyes in British Columbia.
In a farewell message the great man said, ‘Father Time tapped me on the shoulder and whispered in my ear that my time was up! I never envisioned playing 25 years in British hockey. When I initially joined the Fife Flyers mid-way through my first season, it was meant to be a half-season before moving on to play in mainland Europe. However, I fell in love with the British game and immediately knew I wanted to stay here.’
At the other end of the age scale the Tigers signed up 19-year-old Ben Hunt from the ENL Titans and re-signed his mentor Declan Ryan. Did I say ‘mentor?’ Well, I suppose he might be seeing that this will be his third season for the Tigers despite being also only nineteen, which must be something of a record for a netminding duo.
So, while the rosters continue to fill up, apart from the Phoenix that is, it just leaves Richie Bentham who re-signed for the Phantoms. Coach Jon Kynaston said, ‘I like how Richie wants to play for our club…He is also versatile to play as a forward and in defence, and is capable in both positions.’
But finally, a word about the Jack O’Donnell Foundation ice hockey charity game.
But firstly, who was Jack O’Donnell? Well, Jack came from Thame in Oxfordshire and discovered ice hockey, and had just turned sixteen when he died from a tragic accident. At the time he had turned out to be quite a talent and was training with the Swindon Wildcats Academy for junior players and was expected to sign for the senior team shortly.
The Foundation, set up in his memory, offers free access to ice hockey coaching and ice time to give children the inspiration and support that Jack had found. Chairman David O’Donnell said, ‘We want to give children an alternative to spending all their spare time hanging out in parks or on the streets, and provide opportunities for them to participate in sport with all the benefits that brings’
Jack’s coach was top British player and Wildcats’ forward Nicky Watt who told me: ‘I coached Jack in the Southwest Under 17 Conference. He was a very talented player with a good work ethic and fantastic attitude. He was a pleasure to coach and did everything you asked. I saw within the room how much the boys valued him as part of the squad. He was a natural leader.’
Last year ‘Rico’ Richards, the Wildcats’ equipment manager, organised a charity ice hockey match to raise money for the Foundation. Rico told me, ‘I had an idea last year that I wanted to give something back to Jack for all he put into hockey and life, and I wanted to put something into his Foundation to give a chance for kids to have the sport support Jack had as a kid.’
Rico explained that the event raised over four thousand pounds but this year, on 27th August, the bank holiday Monday, a second charity match will take place, a marathon 14-hour event with the intent to surpass last year’s total and will involve, well, just about anyone.
Rico explained, ‘This year is going to be bigger and better with extra sections added in throughout the day; one being a chance for you to see some of your teams’ past and new signings take to the ice in a pre-season skate to raise money for the Foundation.’
The list of players taking part is mounting so no need to explain what a good idea this is, and for anyone interested in learning more you can contact Rico on richardsr780@aol.com
But to finish this piece I am going to quote Nicky Watt again and make no apology because unless you have the emotional development of a dodo, he expresses the feeling generating interest in the Foundation much better than I could.
‘Jack’s passing was one of the hardest things I have had to deal with,’ he told me. ‘Losing a talented player is hard at any age, but at 16 he was robbed of a bright future and a great hockey career. It’s such a sad thing to happen to any family.
‘The funeral made me look at myself and realize sometimes hockey doesn’t matter as much as I thought. His family spoke so bravely at such a sad time. Also his young girlfriend was phenomenal, the way she spoke was like she had a 30-year-old head on her shoulders, not that of a 16-year-old girl that had just lost her boyfriend.
‘After Jack’s passing I had a lot of contact with the players that played on the same team. It was a really difficult time for these kids and many talked about quitting the game altogether. I had to do some convincing that Jack would not have wanted that and playing in his memory would be a much bolder statement. I am happy to say the lads stuck with it and we now have guys playing in the EPL and ENL.
‘The following year in Hull the lads organised a Chinese lantern service for Jack, and what started as just something for our team soon spread around the rink. So as 9 o’clock came round a gathering of twenty turned into a massive crowd of 300-plus turned up. It shows how much people thought of Jack. It was very emotional, but brought a smile to a lot people’s faces.
‘We have retired Number 10 for the Southwest in his memory. He has and always will be missed.’
Thank you to Nicky, Rico, the Foundation and all the players taking part of all ages, and anyone else sponsoring and donating or working behind the scenes.
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