SWINDON, UK – This must be the lull before the storm because as far as news goes, it has been the quietest week since this time last year. I can only imagine it must be all the nice weather encouraging people to head for the beaches. As far as player news goes, Matty Davies, who joined the Phantoms half-way through last season after a falling-out with the Hull Stingrays, settled their differences and rejoined the EIHL club. Another blow for the Peterborough side was the news forward Dean Tonks has quit the club to pursue ‘other interests’ in New Zealand. At the Jets, where the roster is still a little thin on the ground, 18-year-old forward Aaron Connolly, who iced on a 2-way contract last season with the ENL Chieftains, signed on for the full package. That means the Jets, now at eleven, have the fewest number of players signed in the EPL, so obviously there are more names to come. They do, however, have four imports on board, split three and one, giving them a total of seven forwards and four at the back, which would have been six only two recently jumped ship. Plus, with a single netminder, clearly this is a team that has some additions to announce in all departments. While no team has as yet declared a completed roster as such, there are some which must be close, and some which may be complete but have just not mentioned it. After all, last season not all teams made such an announcement, and it was left to the fans to guess and assume. I think most worked it out that the first league game of the season was a safe indicator a team wasn’t looking for anyone else, but let’s take a quick look at the rosters and make some guesses about where clubs currently stand. Starting with the Bison, where Coach Moria has pretty much declared a full house at eighteen and where apart from Moria himself there are three new imports, all forwards, and three netminders. The make-up is ten forwards and five on defence and although not a lot different to last season, a tried and tested ratio . In Bracknell, where Coach Gareth Cox has had more of a free hand to formulate a side of his choosing, he has gone for eighteen which along with the Bison and Steeldogs, is the biggest bench so far. Presumably his squad is complete with eleven forwards, of which three are imports, and five on the blue line. The Bees are also sticking with the more usual two netminders.
The Flames are definitely not finished yet at sixteen, maybe. For a start they need a second netminder, rumoured to be coming from the Wildcats, and there could be more. They are in the unusual position of having five imports, the only team to do so, four of which are forwards, but with ten up front and five at the back they are on a par with some other clubs although from recent statements you feel this is not the full compliment. We known the Phoenix have a way to go. It is no secret the Manchester side are torn between who should fill the back-up netminder slot, and are two short in the import department. The two they have are split between the front and back, and with nine forwards and four on the blue line there are some obvious gaps. Coach Hand expects his waiting game to pay off as it has in the past, and although he has so far fourteen on board he has also made it known he would like a bigger roster than last time out when he benched seventeen. With three imports on the books, all re-signed from last season, the Lightning have at least one to add unless they go with five like they did last year. With fifteen already signed including two netminders, also re-signees, that leaves eight forwards and five on defence, so room to squeeze in more.
The second biggest roster is at the Steeldogs, and still there is a gap or two. They have three imports, a single netminder and nine forwards. They also have the biggest back line with eight defensive players and with it being almost a tradition in the Sheffield side to have a big roster, even at eighteen a few more would still not look amiss. With a roster standing at sixteen, the Phantoms are looking almost complete. They have two netminders and six at the back, but only eight up front so another name could be in the offing. Three of their four imports are forwards, one an EPL returnee after a three-year absence in Europe, and their player-coach playing at the back. Another team with just a single netminder declared is the Wildcats, whose roster currently stands at fourteen. They have their four imports in the bag giving them three at the front for a total of eight forwards and five on defence. Two more names have been banded about, one for the front and one for the back, so a little way still to go. Last but not least come the Tigers also on fourteen including a single netminder. They have three imports declared with two up front giving them ten forwards, so that could be it for that end of the rink, but with just three on defence we must expect some more names to fill that part of the ice.
So all told that’s 150 players on the books ready for the start of the season and about ten fewer than left the starting gates last time out. By using the magic of mathematics and taking a logical view of how things stand the numbers suggest about twelve more are needed, including three-to-five imports, to complete all the rosters. There are ninety players who re-signed for their previous clubs, with the Flames in the lead with thirteen of them and the Steeldogs and Lightning one behind. The Bees have the lowest number of returnees at six along with the Jets, although that will probably change, with the Wildcats on seven.
In terms of overall movement, by which I mean the sum of departing players and incoming new ones, the Bees have experienced the most changes with 23 player moves, way ahead of their nearest rival, the Bison, on 17 and Jets on 16. The lightest disruption can be found in Milton Keynes where only four total moves have occurred and at the Tigers with five. And that’s it for another week as the count-down continues. For more EPL facts and figures, headline mailing list, and the graphic-enhanced version of this Roundup, why not try www.iceman-epl.com Contact the author Bill.Collins@Prohockeynews.com
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