Help! Calling all EPL fans...

A quick non-hockey post here-I've just been looking at where visitors come from to this site, and noticed there's a fair few from areas near EIHL teams, but also a sizeable number who, going by location alone, could equally be EPL and SNL fans. Now, given that this is supposed to be a British hockey blog rather than just an EIHL one, I'm very conscious that I need more than just Elite League news on here-but I'm not hugely au fait with the goings on in those leagues-and thus I reckon I may need help. If you'd be willing to volunteer to write maybe one or two posts a week giving a round-up of the EPL news, views and and other league action, or you've got any suggestions in general for the blog and features to include in it (or you just fancy a rant) then The Breakaway now has its own dedicated email address at:



breakawayblog@hotmail.co.uk



The name in the replies will be "The Breakaway Staff" but at the moment, that's just me, so you can guarantee it'll be me replying, for now at least. If it takes off, I might even do a weekly "Chirping" feature where I pick some of the emails and reply to them-that way this thing becomes more interactive, and hopefully, combined with the EPL reports, this blog can appeal to more than just a section of the British hockey fan-base...



In the meantime, I will try to get more EPL mentions in here...



Keep your eye on the puck...

Locker Room Chatter Extra: Bison release two?

Just goes to show how much I know. Trawling the forums today in search of news, I find out the following:

Shane Johnson signs for Belfast: Not really the most surprising move in the world, given that he wasn't in Cardiff long term (although, as I say below, that was looking more and more likely), but still seems like the equivalent of a sticking plaster on the hull of the Titanic for the problems it'll solve.
No doubt Todd Kelman will use his usual PR skills to spin this signing, which, if we extent the Titanic metaphor, will be the equivalent of the captain saying to his crew: "yes, the ship's damaged, yes, we're going down because we can't fix it, and yes, you'll all die a horrible freezing death. But look-at least you won't have to refill the ice-machines!"
Not to say that this puts the Tessier rumour to bed just yet, but it's looking a sight less likely...

Basingstoke in trouble: Depressing rumours from Hampshire say that they've released goalie Stevie Lyle and top goalscorer Peter Campbell, according to the Elite Forum. At the moment this is still very much "friend of a friend" stuff, which unlike the Johnson signing isn't confirmed by the club, but coming hard on the heels of more and more questions from Bison fans, this could be an uncertain time at the Silverdome. Campbell and Lyle are reportedly both on their way to Belfast, who have been linked with more new men than Lindsay Lohan recently. It makes slightly more sense now given that Shane Johnson could fill in on their blue-line, but still is confusing given that it would still leave Troy Neumeier as a big part of the defence, despite most fans in the league seeing him as an absolute cart-horse of a player. Although carthorses are probably quicker.

Cardiff to sign new centre shortly: Surely, surely it can't be Steve Thornton? If it is then that will be confirmation that there is indeed something seriously wrong down south, but bearing in mind that ECHL and European teams release players almost every day, the chances of it actually being Thornton are just as good as any other...the South Wales Echo says
"The Devils know the player they want on their first line and (Gerard) Adams is ready to step up negotiations.It has been a tough start to the new season for Cardiff, but those hard-earned back-to-back wins against Basingstoke Bison last weekend have lifted the team."

With Shane Johnson moving to Belfast and Sylvain Deschatelets now gone, there's room for two new faces at the Bay-interesting times ahead.

And one I missed from the post below:

Rod Hinks to return to Newcastle: Interesting one, this-once again it's nothing more than "friend of a friend" stuff-although the source quoted on the forums is the player himself, who said to a Vipers fan in conversation that he would be returning "sooner than you think" after leaving the Vipers to play in Switzerland. The Vipers fans are well pleased about this, with Sergei Rublivskiy reportedly the man on the hot seat should the speedy playmaker, who carried the Vipers offence on his back at times last season, comeback to the North East.

I shall be keeping an eye on how things develop, and of course, will post it straight on here when anything does...

Keep your eye on the puck...

Locker Room Chatter

It's time for the weekly dose of rumours, as I've trawled Britain's hockey forums so you don't have to, in order to find the mix of the plausible, the possible and the just plain wacky which make up your average week of rumours in the EIHL...we start with the big one...

Dan Tessier to Belfast: You can't deny that everyone who watches their hockey at the Odyssey will be licking their lips at this one-the speedy centre has already proved himself as one of the most prolific scorers of the Elite League era in his stints at Nottingham and Sheffield, and with his ex-Steeler linemate Shaun Sutter already in teal, white and red, the fans screaming for changes, and a less-than-stellar start in Duisburg for the DEL Foxes after his move there this season, "Tess" would certainly be a HUGE boost to the Giants. However. with EIHL teams only allowed to use 15 ITC cards (cards which must be filled in whenever a player moves club internationally) through the season, of which eleven are already used including that of Todd Kelman, and the fact that Giants are at their full quota of imports already (only ten are allowed to ice at any one time), it would mean one of the current imports has to go...and if you listen to the Giants fans, there are many candidates. Trouble is, this would leave the Giants with eight import forwards-at the moment Mark Dutiaume is playing as an offensive defenceman (and doing well, by all accounts), but would Ed Courtenay really gamble on playing him there for a whole season? This is definitely one to keep an eye on...

Speaking of rumours I will keep an eye on-this one for a slightly different reason:

Stevie Lyle to Belfast: I hope this doesn't happen. Not so much because I bear Belfast any particular ill-will, but because it would give substance to the rumours I dealt with last week about financial problems down in Basingstoke. On the surface this is plausible in itself-Phillippe deRouville hasn't made the greatest start to the season after his heroics in the playoffs last time out, and Lyle is the best British goalie out there by some distance now that Joe Watkins is languishing in the EPL and taking Guildford's shilling-not to mention that it would free up the import space needed for the Giants to sign Dan Tessier without Ed Courtenay having to cut one of the current Belfast forwards. However, with everything coming out of Basingstoke pointing to the fact that the Bison will not lose any players and will continue the way they're going, I can't genuinely see this one happening.

Steve Thornton to Cardiff: Another case of an ex-player being linked to the club where he had most success due to the Bison cash rumours, this seems to me more wishful thinking based on hearsay than anything concrete, particularly with the Bison adamant that there is nothing for their fans to worry about. This is not the only rumour involving an ex-Devil, however...

Sylvain Deschatelets to Belfast: Possibly the most plausible of the lot so far. The Quebec native hasn't set the league on fire, and the Devils have decided that they're not prepared to wait and given him his two-week notice, which ended on Sunday, making the big centre a free agent. However, Deschatelets has impressed recently for the Devils with both his attitude and his work-ethic, and has been seen in conversation with Belfast coach Courtenay when the two have met on opposing sides. Much will depend on how true the Dan Tessier rumour is as to whether this goes ahead, but it's not the most far-fetched rumour by any means...

Shane Johnson to Cardiff: Shane Johnson can't make his mind up. After leaving Belfast for Sheffield last season, retiring from the EIHL to return to Belfast as player-coach their newly-formed Irish League side, and then deciding that he missed the EIHL too much and acting as a rent-a-player for Sheffield while Jeff Legue was injured, the utility player is now filling in on the blue-line for the Devils. Originally signed as a temporary measure, Johnson has impressed in his time in South Wales, and with the Devils missing out on David Vychodil (signed here in Coventry, and fast becoming a fan favourite) and ex-Bison Kevin Bergin (signed in Nottingham), there are rumblings they may be asking the #74 to stay on for the rest of the season to bolster their blue-line. But given that Johnson has moved house more often than your average hermit crab, this is by no means a done deal just yet.

And so there we have the locker-room chatter for this week. Interestingly, it involves the two clubs who've been the most disappointing this season so far, and both of them picking the bones of one in supposed financial trouble. Personally, I'm not sure that any of them will come off (with the possible exception of Deschatelets or, at a long shot, Tessier) but hey, it's always nice to speculate...

Keep your eye on the puck until next time...