LONDON, UK – With only one defeat in their opening ten games, London side Streatham Redskins are a surprising name battling at the top of the English National League.
A summer recruitment drive by Head Coach Barry Spours brought in eight new faces to the Redskins squad and this has reaped dividends for the historic club. Perhaps the most pleasing recruits for Redskins fans were home grown trio Shane Kemp, Joe Johnston and Jack Tarczycki, who had been key components of fierce rivals Invicta Dynamos title winning squad of 2009/10.
Redskins on form
Switching from the league champions to a sixth placed team is not a move many players make without careful thought, but the Redskins had built a decent reputation in the previous campaign, despite adversity and this had not gone unnoticed.
“The Redskins finished well last season” explained defenseman Tarczycki, who spent two seasons with the Dynamos. “There is a good set up down at the High Road these days, and Spoursy and Terry England have made sure there is a professional feel from the training through to game preparation”
The Redskins admittedly did finish 2009/10 strongly following a poor start to the season, however the team were not fancied to even make the play-offs this season by some league observers.
“We had a good pre season which has been key” admitted Tarczycki. “Confidence levels were high, but I don’t think that anyone thought that we would have started as well as we have done and a lot of that is down to hard work and playing for each other with every line contributing, from the goalies to the skaters in the squad”
Koral and Tarczycki%2C Streatham%27s Starsky and Hutch
Goalie Shane Kemp has missed most of the season so far following a finger injury he picked up on the opening night of the season; however Johnston and Tarczycki have been logging plenty of ice time, as regulars on the first line as well as power play units. The smaller squad rotation adopted at Streatham is in contrast to the larger squad the pair were part of in Invicta, and that gives them a slightly more prominent role than they were used to last season.
“Apart from the ten minute drive to and from the High Road, there is not a lot of difference” said Tarczycki, comparing the two clubs. “The Dynamos are always the team to beat and they set the standard”
“The level of ice hockey in the English National League is improving year on year and it’s our responsibility to make sure that the Redskins are in the mix at the end of the season. I don’t think that there is any additional pressure on me, it’s a team game, you can only go out and give it your best every shift”
With four goals and eleven assists for the Dynamos in 35 games last season, Tarczycki had been hoping to trouble the scorer a little more this season on his High Road return. However it is his defensive partner and team Captain Ed Koral who has been firing in the goals from the point in recent games. A friendly rivalry has developed and Head Coach Barry Spours will not be complaining if this leads to some extra offense from his defensive corps.
“Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again” said Tarczycki, in reference to Koral’s recent scoring streak. “I don’t really mind who gets the points as long we score one more goal than the opposition and we take home the win”
Tarczycki in Dynamos colours (Warren Cook)
“We are going to have off days, Wightlink at home being one of them, it’s how you come back in the next game that determines what you are made of and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”
Ironically, Wightlink are the Redskins next opponents, with the Londoners making the trip across the Solent to face the Raiders this weekend. The island side currently sit in top spot in the league however the third placed Redskins have games in hand over Jeremy Cornish’s men.
One thing fans may have noticed is that Streatham have a team full of exotic sounding surnames this season with the likes of Rasmussen, Zilak, Valko and Yufit displayed on the name bars of their shirts. Tarczycki is not the most common name either and the blue liner admits it has provided a good talking point on a number of occasions.
“My Grandfather came to England after the Second World War” said the twenty one year old. “It isn’t always helpful though. For example at Haringey when I first played for the Redskins aged fifteen, I was on the ice with our then import Rob Blazowski and the whole Greyhounds bench was going apoplectic screaming ‘too many imports’ at the referee”
Following the game against Wightlink, the Redskins have two consecutive road games against the Romford Raiders before they return home at the end of November to face the Oxford City Stars.
Contact the author david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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