CAMBRIDGE, UK – Where the last two weeks have been incredibly hectic for signings, this week has been incredibly quiet.
It took until Wednesday for the Swindon Wildcats to be the oasis in the desert of signings when they unveiled Tyler VanKleef as their second non-British player.
VanKleef made his presence felt as soon as he arrived at the Bracknell Bees after being released by the EIHL Nottingham Panthers.
He ran up an impressive 21 goals in 30 NIHL1 games for a total of 31 points with 51 PIMS taking the Bees to the NIHL1 Britton Conference play off finals and the semi-finals of the Final Four national play-offs in Coventry.
Speaking to the Swindon Wildcats official team website, the 26-year-old Ontario native said: “I’m delighted to be joining Swindon. From my conversations with Aaron (Nell) about how he wants the team to play, the winning culture, the organisation and the fans I just can’t wait to get started.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things about the club and the community and I cannot wait to meet everyone in September.
“I think the three greatest strengths in my game are my skating, scoring and physicality. Every time we played Swindon last year it was a battle, and knowing first-hand how difficult they are to play against I’m excited to be a part of it now.
“I just want to tell the fans that I can’t wait to join Swindon and become a Wildcat. I will do all I can to continue the winning culture within the community and help drive team performance to winning some more silverware for the club.”
Wildcats head coach, Aaron Nell, added: “Tyler skates really well, has a great shot and plays hard. He is the type of player that I know our fans will love and at his age of 26 he really wants to prove himself.
“I’ve had multiple great reviews of Tyler as a person so I’m confident he’s going be a positive person in the dressing room.
“Tyler was very difficult to play against last season and with Max (Birbraer) retiring I thought it was important to sign someone who plays with a edge.
“I’m very happy with the to imports we have signed I think they will fit in well and they make us bigger and faster than last year.”
Later in the week and it was more imports as the next signings.
Raiders IHC announced not one, but two new signings with the recruitment of Marek Malinsky and Lukas Sladkovsky.
Malinsky and Sladkovsky previously played together in the Federal Hockey League in the 2017/18 season and became firm friends in the process.
While Sadkovsky returned to the Czech Republic, Malinsky went on to play in the Swedish 1st Division for Kalix HC.
Speaking to the Romford Recorder, 22-year-old Malinsky said: “I have seen a couple of Raiders games on YouTube and I’ve heard about the hockey from a few friends.
“I saw Cardiff Devils when they played against Mountfield HK as well, I think each team will play aggressive hockey.
“I’ve heard about UK hockey and that every year it’s getting better, so that’s why I started being interested.
“I wanted to play for Raiders because I think it’s a great organisation, they have a nice new complex and when I was texting with coach (Sean) Easton about the new season it sounded pretty good.
“Raiders have ambitions to be better and a successful team so that’s what I liked about it.”
Sladkovsky, also speaking to the Recorder said: “It was the first thing coach Easton told me – that there is just two overseas players allowed on the team.
“I’m very happy the other player is Marek because he is one of my best friends and a very good hockey player so we can build good chemistry on the ice and off the ice.
“We met two seasons ago and we became really good friends right away.
“I’m ready for an important role and help the team as much as I can. The reason I made the decision to play for the Raiders was Marek, he told me about the league and that the team was looking for another import.”
On Saturday, the Bees announced the return of last year’s captain, veteran defenceman Joe Baird. Baird, 39, will play along side his 23-year-old brother who has been previously announced.
Head coach Doug Sheppard was pleased with the returning ‘D’ man saying: “I’m delighted we’ve kept hold of Joe. Players with his knowledge, experience and leadership are rare so I’m excited he’s committed to another season at the Hive.
“We’ll be using Joe in a different role this season and he’ll be game managed to get the most out of him. He’s still a vital piece of our team so there is no point in exhausting him.
“We’ve spent a lot of time talking this summer and both agree that Joe should be a part of the team but that we should carefully monitor his workload through the season to ensure he can contribute to the maximum.”
“Joe is an undisputed leader within our group. He’s had either the “C” or “A” at numerous clubs throughout his career and internationally too.
“The players look up to his experience so with his leadership qualities unquestioned he’s decided to pass the “C” on for the upcoming season to the next generation.”
The final signing in this quiet week was picked up by Sam Zajac as he secured the services of Chris Sykes for Leeds Chiefs.
The former Sheffield junior, who has previously iced for Sheffield Steeldogs and the EIHL Hull Stingrays, has spent the past five seasons playing for the Billingham Stars.
Speaking in the Yorkshire Evening Post, Player-Coach Zajac was very happy with the signing saying: “Chris is going to be a real coup for us this season, his record speaks for itself – he’s put up big points for several years now and carried an offense in Billingham where at times he didn’t have much of a supporting cast.
“Playing in Whitley Bay the last two years, I’ve personally seen a lot of Sykesy and he’s the kind of player that you hate to play against. He makes his presence felt and has an impact every time he’s on the ice.”
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