Giles to beat the odds for Dynamos return

GILLINGHAM, UK – When the puck dropped at Streatham Ice Arena last Sunday, there was one person watching who probably wanted to be kitted up for the game more than any other.

Sporting an Invicta Dynamos tracksuit and stood alongside Head Coach Kevin Parrish, the Dynamos highly rated blue liner Ryan Giles could only watch, as his team faced-off the new season with only four defenseman icing. Whilst most injured players bemoan missing games, Giles is perhaps lucky that he was even able to watch the match at all.
Rewind six months back in time and Giles was taking part in a standard 8-2 win over the Haringey Greyhounds at the Gillingham Ice Bowl. He would not have been aware that his two assists and two minutes sat in the penalty box for an innocuous holding call would be the last action he would see that season. Three days after the Haringey game, Giles’s fell unconscious at the wheel of his car, collided head on with a truck and suddenly hockey was the least of his worries.
“I remember driving to work on a Wednesday morning, all as normal” he explained. “Everything was fine; I was not tired, I was not distracted and I hadn’t been drinking. Suddenly it all cuts out and the next memory I have is opening my eyes to be unbelievably shocked,
“I had a back board down my back and I was strapped to the head and neck brace, still in my driver’s seat. My hands had been placed on my lap and had needles and all sorts in. I had blood all over my hands and jeans. The steering wheel was very close to my body too. I could just see canvas around me and hear the fire crew’s tools cutting the car to pieces,
“I remember someone speaking to me, but I don’t have a clue what they were saying. I cannot describe the pure fear. All this was going through my head in about 2-3 seconds and I genuinely thought I was paralysed or dying, then suddenly the fire crews shouted 3..2..1 and I was pulled out backwards. My leg was snapped (right femur) so when I was moved the pain made me pass out again”
“I remember a couple of seconds in the ambulance and then they pumped me with some more painkillers etc and I went back out. The next memory is being on a hospital bed with about 10 people (at least) all around me. These few memories are honestly the scariest thing you can imagine. I can’t explain the fear. It’s just not possible”
All in all, it took two fire crew’s, two ambulances’ and a fleet of police to ensure Giles escaped from the wreckage after 45 minutes trapped inside his car. With a completely snapped femur, Giles had to have a titanium bar fitted between his knee and hip with pins at both ends. Initially told he would never play hockey again, he was then told recovery may happen but that it would take many months, with the initial prognosis over two years rehabilitation.
Luckily a further meeting with the surgeon who initially did Giles’s operation told the disheartened twenty year old that subject to the muscle healing correctly, he could be back on the ice in 2-3 months. Naturally delighted to hear of the unexpected good news, Giles set about ensuring that he put in the hard work to make sure he pulled on a Dynamos jersey as soon as was naturally possible.
“Over the last few months I have been doing hydrotherapy, lower limb clinics, physio and loads more” said Giles, who has penciled in the 26th September as his comeback game. “More recently I am skating with the boys (as normal, but everyone knows not to hit me) and I’m in the gym every day as well as doing all sorts of specific exercises for my leg to regain the wasted muscle.
“I have been working really hard. It won’t be long until I’m back. I keep getting asked ‘Are you worried’? Well, after everything I’ve been through, hockey is the least of the problems. I had to teach myself to walk again. That was a challenge. Getting back on the ice can’t compare. It’s something I enjoy and I’ll ensure I’m okay before I play contact, I won’t risk it”

The temptation to risk playing full contact hockey too early, is one which Head Coach Kevin Parrish will ensure doesn’t happen. Currently aiming for his level three coaching qualification, Giles assists Parrish with the running of the Invicta Junior development club and the pair have a good understanding. Still, despite a sensible approach, Giles admits he would have loved to play in the game at Streatham last weekend, and he thinks this season will be a good one for the Dynamos:
“It was horrible to have to stand on the bench and watch the boys play Streatham” said Giles, who made his senior hockey debut in 2006 for the Kent side. “I wanted to play so bad. I think the new team will surprise a lot of people and we’ll be up there or thereabouts again. We have some real class this year; it’s a young and fast team but a team that is physical too,
“I think we have been underestimated, but that’s excellent. I don’t think anyone can match our group of Brits and we only have one import at the minute – he’ll do well, and hopefully there will be another one soon. It’s a new team and once we’ve all gelled and got to know each other more – we’ll be flying”
The Dynamos team certainly has a new look about it with a total of twelve new faces added since last season. Callum Fowler, Grant Bignell, Scott Beeson, Michael Timms, and Liam Chong add more speed to the far from sluggish Andy Smith up front, plus they have added toughness in the form of Corey Watkins from Cardiff. The new Canadian import Daniel Calitri failed to register any points in the opening game but looked tough and clearly has ability.
Last season Giles had an interesting campaign. He enjoyed a taste of the English Premier League with Romford Raiders and made 11 appearances for the Essex side. Still at a young age, and obviously now taking into consideration his recovery period, Giles still has the chance to push on and despite things not quite working out with the Raiders, he remains ambitious.

“I’ve played in the ENL1 for 4 years now and this will be my 5th season” Giles points out. “The league is ever improving and is such a good standard now. It just doesn’t make sense for any of the top teams to go EPL financially; unless they have a huge, huge sponsor. The EPL was a great experience and I want to play there again. To have been taking 2-1’s with Tony Hand and Ed Courtney and the next day 1-1’s with Rempel, Smital, Masa and Gary Clarke was a great experience,
“I enjoyed it and I think I did well for a young Brit; I played a bit of power play and penalty kill (for a low end team, but still, I don’t think I was out of my depth). I only left Romford when another player was released and we were sharing the travelling. I decided that driving 4 times a week, an hour there and an hour back, alone, with double the cost I had before, wasn’t viable. I was asked to stay but going ‘home’ was the best option for me. I had a lot on with my job and university, it just wasn’t best for me at the time,
“I will play EPL again (if it suits my life at the time), but ideally with Invicta. Have I got ambition to play higher? Yes, like a lot of people. But it isn’t as plain cut and simple and some fans think. It’s an awful lot of travelling or you have to move and live there. The commitment is far bigger. For anyone with a job it isn’t necessarily the best option – especially when the ENL is so good nowadays. I have a job and just can’t afford (time and money) to do that at the moment. From playing in the ENL1 and the EPL last year, I know Invicta could have definitely beaten a couple of EPL teams, maybe more”
Giles is not alone in dreaming of an Invicta side in the EPL, but for now he will be happy to help the club defend their league title, and fingers crossed will be lining up on the blue line sooner rather than later.
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com