SWINDON , UK – Whew! Now we can all sit down and put our feet up knowing the Scimitars, er, Steeldogs, will be competing in the EPL this season. Or can we? Well, the news that filtered out of Sheffield through the week all sounded promising apart from Bob Phillips, owner of the EIHL Steelers, announcing he was putting the club up for sale a week after his coach and GM walked out. Previous comments had indicated the Steelers were in discussion with the Scimitars regarding ownership, but in the end it made no difference because Sheffield businessman and Academy coach Shane Smith took over although there was still that report the two clubs will train together. Ummm. So what do we know? The new name for a start – Steeldogs, which apparently came from the players but hints at a reluctance to cut with the locality’s manufacturing roots. Personally I would have gone with something a tad more futuristic like Phoenix, as in rising from the ashes, and all that. Oh no, that’s gone, hasn’t it, then how about the Snowdrops, as in heralding a new year and rebirth through the frozen ground. Yes, I think the Sheffield Snowdrops has a certain ring to it. What else? Assistant coach Matt Darlow takes over as head coach, team colours have reverted to blue-and-white and the roster seems quite adventurous with a proposed squad of 21 including three netminders. The two signed imports, Peter Vaisanen and Matej Kangyar, will stay while Russian netminder Dimitri Zimozdra does not qualify as an import and Pavel Gomeniuk has already gone over the wall to Manchester, so there will be no increase in that department until more sponsorship is found. A final, and perhaps telling note, was the statement ticket prices have been lowered to compete with the neighbours Sheffield Steelers, and thereby hangs the crux of the whole problem as I see it. Most teams released their fixtures this week, apart from the Lightning and Steeldogs, and some included details of pre-season challenge games, perhaps the most interesting and nostalgic being Telford against Coach Watkins’s old team Coventry Blaze where he holds the club record of over 600 games played. Former Tigers’ D-man Tomas Janak, who had been playing in the USA last season until he picked up an injury, attended one of the recent open trials, and as a result has been re-signed by the club, but as a forward! Coach Watkins explained that Janak was far the best player on the ice that day and would now be playing in his preferred position. As Janak doesn’t live a million miles away Watkins isn’t faced with housing costs, which is often the case with imports, so can now sign a forth import which he would announce as soon as the paperwork was completed. The Tigers first game will be away to the Wildcats where Coach Ryan Aldridge welcomed the Telford club back to the EPL and wished them well for the coming year. Also re-signed was British forward Rob Lamey who rejoins the Flames for a fifth season where he will add to his 500-plus game total. Last season Lamey took over as captain and Coach Paul Dixon commented: ‘ He did it without any negative impact on the value of his game, which is not always how that situation pans out.’ GB U18 international Billy Phillips was also re-signee, but for the Jets for his second spell after joining from Romford half way through last season. Coach Pete Russell said the D-man’s signature completed his blue line. To finish this somewhat sparse week player-wise a Phoenix article reminded me of some mumblings near the end of last season about whether or not player-coach Tony Hand should still be playing at his age and how much longer he can go on. Well, another season at least because at aged 43 when the new season starts and with twenty-seven seasons behind him Hand issued a statement concerning his health and future and apparently he is going to be around for a while yet. Me, I just look at the figures. Last season Hand played a full season, plus playoff games and finished in the top ten of EPL points scorers, British points scorers, EPL Assist scorers and British Assist scorers, was eleventh top British goal scorer and twenty-eighth top EPL goal scorer with less than a minute on average of penalties per game. So, figures a lot better than most and not suffering a huge decline with age. Now, here’s an amusing comparison. The oldest rookie in the NHL was Connie Madigan who at 38 played his first game for St Louis, albeit in the balmier climes of 1958. But Christos Kostas Tselios, better known as Chris Chelios of Montreal, Chicago and Detroit fame at 48 was oldest player in the NHL and subsequently AHL and as yet hasn’t officially retired at the end of the 2010 season although has deigned to acknowledged ‘my career may have come to an end.’ You want closer to home? Then how about Bison’s Steve Moria from Canada who has also been known to fill a top ten spot or two who was born in 1961 so is a smidgeon older than Hand. Also from the Bison forward Nicky Chinn at 37 is the oldest Brit still playing in the EPL, assuming he is fit enough to survive another two months. As my old grand-pappy used to say, ‘If you back your pickup into an apple tree only the rotten fruit will fall off.’ So let’s have none of this nonsense about Hand, the ‘lad’ can linger lots longer up that tree even with figures half as good as he posted last year. For more EPL facts, articles, figures and news try my website – www.iceman-epl.com Contact the author Bill.Collins@Prohockeynews.com
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