Opening Face-Off

Morning all.

Given that I spend the vast majority of my leisure time either watching or playing hockey here in the sunny UK (well, in sunny Coventry to be precise, home of the current British Elite League Champions), I've decided I may as well write about it, because while there are plenty of hockey blogs, there aren't that many about the UK scene. So now there will be at least one...I will try to update this blog most days with news from around the UK and my views on it, and you might even get some NHL and DEL in amongst the postings as well, for all you transatlanticans...:)

But anyway-this post is just to get some of the boring introductory stuff out of the way...

My name is Paul Wheeler, I am 23, and I've been watching hockey for about eight years, and playing it at amateur (recreational or beer league level) for seven, ever since the Blaze moved to Coventry from Solihull. I've also spent my year living in Germany two years ago watching the DEL. You can usually find me down by the plexi at the Zamboni end of the Skydome on a game night (hence the web address), although I sometimes move into block 15 depending on the mood-and I travel to every away game I can (although given that I can't drive, this is sometimes tricky).
My teams are Coventry Blaze (EIHL), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL), Cologne Sharks (DEL), and Germany and GB (international).
I play left wing (badly) and my number is ten.
My favourite NHLers are Evgeni Malkin (legend already), Marco Sturm (favourite German), and I quite like the look of this Patrick Kane kid that Chicago have drafted. So do they, by all accounts...:)
My favourite players outside the NHL are Stéphane Julien (Cologne), Curtis Huppe (Coventry) and Ryan Finnerty (Sheffield).
Best hockey memory is seeing the Blaze win the Challenge Cup against Cardiff Devils, their biggest rivals. In their barn. That was a fun evening. Luckily I was in Germany the following year when they took revenge...
Least favourite players are Theo Fleury (for his chippy game on the ice, not the off-ice stuff) and a whole list of those who've played in Britain, which is probably a whole seperate other post.

There you go-a little info about me. Now, given that there's a lot happening in British hockey at the moment-straight on to the meaty stuff...:)