Return of ‘gritty hockey’

CARDIFF, UK – Traditionally EIHL Cardiff Devils have marketed themselves as a gritty team. With small ice and the proximity of the vocal fans to the ice pad, it can be a pretty intimidating place to play. Whilst Cardiff has always been known for its heavyweight enforcers in Mike Ware, Mike MacWilliam and more recently in Brad Voth, it has often prided itself as being “team tough”. In a recent PHN article, writer Aled Lloyd discussed the expected changes to the EIHL brought about by 8 of the UK’s heavyweight ‘enforcers’ not returning to the league. Whilst early season fights have continued to occur between the remaining heavyweights, there has been a general awareness that losing a talented player to a penalty or suspension and playing shorthanded will cost the team in power play goals. How then can you show your toughness whilst remaining on the ice? Step forward gritty hockey. Gritty hockey isn’t going to leave you short-benched, or worried about suspensions. Gritty hockey is going to see every check finished, every shot blocked and every person on the ice giving it their all. It isn’t necessarily about the prettiest win, but hey, even the ugly wins still give you league points. Gritty hockey is about playing for the name on the front of the shirt, not the name on the back. The grittiest hockey players won’t necessarily be the superstars of their teams, but they’ll be out there on the ice shift-in and shift-out without moaning about niggling injuries or double-shifts. “We need to be putting ourselves in the position of other teams really not wanting to play in our rink” says Devils Coach Gerad Adams. 

“It can be pretty intimidating with the atmosphere we have here along with our style of play and we need to capitalise on that. Having a small ice surface means we have to stop skilled forwards having too long on the puck. We need to be finishing our checks and making them worried about playing their game in our barn. Last season we were a little too concentrated on the fighting. This season we need to be a tough unit as a whole, not just a team with one or two tough players.” It is not surprising that both Player-Coach Gerad Adams and Bench-Coach Neil Francis made a name for themselves as gritty blue-collar players.  Adams once played for a couple of months on a broken foot in a modified skate when the team were short benched due to injury. Francis had recurrent injury problems that often saw him retreat to the locker room between shifts to pop his own shoulder back into place after a dislocation on the ice, returning to the ice next shift and continuing to play hard.   “It’s not about being a martyr” says Adams “With the number of imports you play with in this league sometimes you have to play when you’re hurting. I think it is one of those things that you have to lead from the top. If I go out there as a coach and play hard that requires the team to do the same and it is something that I respect when my players show their toughness and carry on for the team.”   The tenacity of a coaching partnership such as that is bound to extend on to the ice and it is a style of hockey appreciated by the Devils fans. Bench Coach Francis talks about recruiting a tough team “We have five or six guys who will step up if it’s needed and our strength is the depth of our team. We stick together as a team safe in the knowledge that someone has your back. Things like that pull the team together and provide cohesion. Tough hockey isn’t just about fighting it’s about being committed to win every challenge and to put your body on the line for the team.” The Devils potential for success lies not only in the offensive skill of top scorers or the strength of the blue-liners, it lies in the depth of the squad too. With players such as Tylor Michel, Phil Hill, Gerad Adams, Brad Voth, Mike Hartwick and Wes Jarvis, each line or defensive pairing has a player who can finish their hits and make the “Blue Tent” an uncomfortable rink to play in. The opening video played at the rink before the game uses the words ‘This is our rink, our puck, we control the game with our determination’. There is no doubt that toughness, tenacity and dedication is what is required of each member of the team. Whilst gritty hockey is a team target, it is also the role that certain players choose to take on board, styling themselves as agitators, doing all they can to put their opponents off the game.  Players such as Tylor Michel take this role seriously: “It’s all about getting in front of the net, finishing a check, giving a little push, if time presents itself I will say a couple of things here and there. I enjoy trying to get under players skin, putting them off their game. My main goal is to continue to be determined and finish every hit. I don’t want to hurt someone but when I try and drive into them I’ll drive into them as hard as I can and if I have to chirp some guys sometimes I’ll do that. That’s my job and I’ll do what it takes to do it properly.” Team toughness is something appreciated by well-known heavyweight and team captain Brad Voth.  “Being gritty is about making space and opening up the game, we have some gritty guys on the team like Miller, Hill and Michel. It creates space for our skill players to go in there and score goals. We’re not about hurting people but we’re about letting them know that in our rink we’ll dictate how they can play.” It seems that an absence of heavyweights in the league has not affected the entertainment factor of the sport. Recently, Cardiff Devils owner Matt Burge announced a 27% increase in gate revenue compared to the same period last year. This increase hasn’t been brought about by additional fights, it has been brought about by hard team work and good old fashioned gritty hockey. Pride, passion and energy executed properly on the ice will no doubt continue to make the sport more interesting for everyone.
Contct victoria.silverwood@prohockeynews.com
Photos by Jessica Robertsjess.roberts11@googlemail.com