SWINDON, UK – After a successful season in the new look National Ice Hockey League last campaign, Swindon Wildcats Player Coach Aaron Nell reveals his thoughts on recruitment, ambition and his own personal motivation.
It’s fair to say that when the English Premier League dissolved in the summer of 2017, forcing the Wildcats to enter the NIHL to stay in competition, there was a nervousness across the hockey community that the solution would be painful for all concerned.
Competing in a league with a mix of teams with wildly differing budgets and resources, was always going to throw up challenges to operations at both ends of the spectrum. Swindon were expected to be one of the clubs challenging for silverware from the start, thanks largely to impressive four figure crowds that are double, if not triple what many of their competitors attract to games. With such fan numbers comes undoubted pressure to perform and Nell takes a pragmatic view when looking back on a campaign that yielded two trophies in the Autumn Cup and NIHL Cup.
“No one really knew what to expect but I thought it was an overall success” admits the 28 year old.
“There was some one sided games but that happens in every league in the world. We had success in the cup competition and we were gutted with how the play-offs ended, but to finish the season like that was great and hopefully we can take it into next season.”
The uncertainty of last summer is in stark contrast to this season where Nell and his competing coaches around the league have a well-defined player pool from which to recruit.
The local boy made good has already brought in new faces in Tyler Plews and Sam Jones from Edinburgh Capitals and Summerland Steam respectively, plus many of last year’s top line players. Recruitment is a competitive business but an area of the role that many coaches enjoy.
“I enjoy it when you sign the players you want” laughed Nell, who scored 23 goals and 25 assists in the league alone last season.
“At times it can be frustrating as there isn’t a lot of players out there. We look for players that first and foremost are good people and players that will fit in to the style of play that we like to play and that they buy in to what we want to do”
“Players are at a premium but you still have to make sure that you bring in the right players and people, we treat our players really well and have a really professional approach, we hope that is a good reason for players to come to Swindon.”
Part of the attraction for players is also the crowds the team draw in. The big numbers have prompted a number of observers to speculate whether the Wildcats might consider making the leap to the Elite league, despite the obvious restrictions of their rink capacity.
“Our fans are great and our fan base has grown over the years” explains Nell.
Bullas is back
“It hasn’t just happened over night and an awful lot of work happens behind the scenes to bring new fans to the Link Centre. We also try and make the match night experience as good as possible. It’s got to be more than just hockey and it’s got to be a great night for the whole family”
“We have been asked that (about the Elite League) before and with the rink the size of ours it would never be financially viable.”
On a personal level, Nell has represented his country in the World Championships at both junior and senior level. He’s played in the Elite League with Coventry Blaze and been named on numerous all-star teams in the old EPL and of course last season in the NIHL. At 28 he is relatively young, especially to be a Player Coach, but has a lot of hockey behind him and played a whopping 64 games last year in all competitions. Not only does he need to motivate a squad of players, but also himself.
“I love playing and want to play as long as I can still contribute” he explains, when asked about motivation and balancing the role of player and coach.
“I think everyone at our level loves to play, the commitment our players showed last season was great to see and I know they enjoyed last season and to be able to have success at the end of the season was just what they deserved.”
“It’s challenging (the role of Player Coach) when we are losing and I’m not playing well! It’s something I’m used to and something I do enjoy”
“My assistant coach Robbie Pamphilion is a big help and during the week I watch a lot of video footage. With being a Player Coach, the preparation during the week and before the game is most important. Its works for us and I hope it will work again this season!”
This September it will be ten years since Nell first stepped onto the ice for the Wildcats after returning to the UK following a spell as a teenager with the Kenai River Brown Bears of the North American Hockey League. Swindon were in the EPL and things were a little different to now. Canadian John Wheaton led the scoring that year along with Jozef Kohut and Joel Petkoff but the team finished 8th in the league and failed to make the Play-Off weekend in Coventry.
“I do remember that season and we had a lot of good young players” admits Nell, who had the likes of current Elite League players Ciaran Long and Ben Davies on the roster alongside him.
“But the difference in the club from then to now is huge, I believe in that season we averaged around 500 fans per game and now that number has more than doubled 10 years on”
Just a few weeks remain before the start of the season, and with fifteen of his squad already announced, Nell technically still has time for a summer holiday before the first puck drop – a pre-season double header challenge against Streatham IHC on the 8th and 9th of September. Not that his phone would be switched off even if he did head abroad, and not just because of the handy EU standard tariff for data roaming.
“I’ve got no holidays planned yet, but it’s good to spend time with family in the summer” he concedes.
“My phone is never switched off but it does go quiet at times, for us it’s a 12 month a year business and there’s lots to do in the summer to prepare for the upcoming season.”
Contact the author: carrsy2@gmail.com
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