NEWCASTLE, UK – It has been confirmed that Newcastle Vipers will not be re-signing Ben Campbell and Richie Lawson for the 2010/11 season, as reported on here yesterday. New Vipers coach Danny Stewart has moved to quickly to secure the signature of Liam McAlister and the former Whitley Warrior will act as back up netminder for Newcastle next term.
The move to the Vipers is a great opportunity for McAllister and he will no doubt be eager to prove that he is a capable back up goaltender at Elite League level. McAlllister spent the majority of the last campaign acting as the Warriors 2nd netminder so the young stopper will be well aware that he will have to wait for his opportunity in the Newcastle first team.
Vipers new goaltender does have a fair bit of experience in senior hockey as he was often selected for Whitley’s Northern League games last term and the youngster even managed to post a shut out during his 2009/10 season with the Warriors. It is hoped that regular training with an import goalie will improve the young netminder’s overall game as Newcastle look to establish a solid British base to their roster.
Newcastle have also secured the signatures of Jamie Tinsley and Nathan Salem for the 2010/11 campaign. Salem showed great promise during his first year with Vipers as he was able to acquire 10 points (2+8) from his limited ice time over the course of the season. The son of the former Durham Wasp goaltender Chris Salem will be hoping that that he can firmly establish himself on the Vipers roster as he now knows what to expect from the Elite League next term.
Jamie Tinsley will be aiming to leave a disappointing 2009/10 campaign behind him when he gets back onto the ice in September as the young forward was only able to pick up a total of 3 points last season which is very disappointing given the promise he had shown in previous campaigns. Many fans had though that Tinsley would have been released this summer however the youngster has been given one more season to demonstrate that he is up to the challenge of playing in the top tier of the British game.
The departure of Richie Lawson will not have any significant impact on the club as even though Lawson is at present a more able goalie than McAllister the majority of Elite League back ups never see much ice time at all. This was demonstrated last term when Kevin Reiter was brought into the Newcastle squad when Robinson was out injured even though Vipers had Lawson waiting in reserve.
The loss of the lightning quick Ben Campbell is much more of a blow to the Tyneside based club as the local lad was the Vipers stand out British player last campaign. It has been reported that Campbell is set to move to an EPL side over the summer months which is quite a strange decision given that Campbell proved he could compete at Elite League level last term by contributing 30 (10+20) points to Newcastle’s season. Campbell’s emergence over the last few campaigns has seen him progress to the fringes of the British national squad and by dropping down a level to the EPL the players future international prospects have been dealt a significant blow.
Contact the writer – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
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