(Image permission: Duncan Speirs)
CAMBRIDGE, UK – This week was a quiet one in terms of signings, however news later in the week slightly over shadowed the announcments.
First out, Peterborough Phantoms confirmed that head coach, Slava Koulikov, had signed a further two-year extension to his contract with the Cambridgeshire side.
Koulikov originally joined the side from Slough Jets part way through the 2013/14 season and made an immediate impact, leading the side to the EPL play off title the following year.
“Over the past six years the team has gone from strength-to-strength, with every year the team progressing in success on and off the ice,” he said.
“I’ve always wanted to work with a club with stability and always have the chance to compete – the Phantoms have delivered this, and with future aims to get even better.
“I have built a great relationship with Dave and Jo Lane, the owners of the Phantoms, so it made the decision to commit to the organisation for an additional two years an easy one.
“My family are settled here in Peterborough and that is very important to me, so along with the opportunities to be involved off-ice within my new role, it’s really exciting times ahead.
“Recently, I stepped away from my role as GB U20 coach, to concentrate on my team. The league is increasing in professionalism and the level of hockey is higher and I want to ensure we have every chance to compete hard every game.
The first player signing of the week was announced in South Yorkshire with the recruitment of Reece Cochrane from Fife Flyers. The 18-year-old made his Elite League debut at the age of 16 and has run up 60 appearances for the EIHL side.
Steeldogs’ co-owner, Ali Cree, said: “Reece was someone we’d been aware of for a while and we found his attitude and ambitions matched well with ours.
“He’s clearly got great ability and his repeated selections for Scotland plus representing GB three times in the past 18 months, show he’s got huge potential.”
Head coach, Ben Morgan, added: “Ali has spoken to a few people north of the border, keeping an eye on British talent that we weren’t getting to see through our own games.
“Reece was on our radar and when we heard he was interested in moving to England, we got in touch. We knew he wanted to get into our league to develop and increase his ice time and opportunities, hopefully looking to move to the Elite League when he’s ready.
“He is still developing his game, his play and his style. He has fantastic promise having played for both GB U18s and U20s this year. I watched him in the recent Scotland v England match and he was one of the stand out players in that game.
“I see Reece as very much an aggressive ‘D’ man who plays hard and skates extremely well. He doesn’t mind getting into the gritty areas, which not many people like to do and he will probably want to jump up into the offensive side of play.
“Most importantly he’s a guy who will battle hard and work hard in front of the net, doing all that you need from your defensive players.”
The final signing of the week came from the Leeds Chiefs. Again, looking north of the border and picking up former Solway Sharks forward Steven Moore.
The Ayr native picked up 17 goals for 52 points last term, capping off seven seasons with the Dumfries based side which had seen year-on-year increases in his points production.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post about the signing, Leeds Chiefs head coach Sam Zajac said: “I’ve known Steve for quite some time now and I know he’s going to be an impact player for us.
“It’s a big move for him as he has spent his entire career in Scotland so far, so it was good to see that he wanted to make that step. With the formation of the new league and revised structure, this season is a good time to move away and challenge himself at what should be a higher and more competitive level.
“He will see time on our powerplay and he’s another guy – much like James Archer – who we can move up and down the lines and who will fit in alongside anybody.”
The news however that overshadowed, (in the nicest way), by the announcement of the NIHL National Division fixtures for the 2019/20 season.
The annoucements, made on Saturday morning by all clubs and the NIHL, are the final piece of the picture and confirm a few long standing questions.
The first ever National League game will be on Sunday, 16th September, between Sheffield Steeldogs and Leeds Chiefs at iceSheffield.
The main season faces off a week later on Saturday, 21st September, with the remaining eight teams playing their opening games.
Leeds Chiefs’ first home game is scheduled for Sunday, 3rd November, indicating the expected opening date for the new Elland Road facility.
The Division will be split between two conferences, with each team playing the teams within their own conferences four times each home and away (eight games total) and the other conference twice each home and away (four games) for a total of 52 games a season, with a six game round robin series as qualifiers before the top four sides make their way to Coventry for the National Division play-off weekend on April 18/19th, 2020.
With these final confirmations, fans and teams can begin planning, and the National Division feels that little bit more real.
You must be logged in to post a comment.