First New Arrival and some more rumour talk...

It's officially the new transfer season now that there's a foreigner new to the league around...and can't you just see how excited I am?

Brendan Cook (good god-Richard Hammond plays hockey?!) is the first new import to come to the UK this off season, joining the Panthers after a few underwhelming seasons in the ECHL and one good season with the Austin Ice Bats (CHL) in which he scored 35+29 in 63 games. The 5'9, 184lb Manitoban native looks like more of a Brandin Cote player than a Kevin Bergin, and while a decent standard is hardly setting the Panthers fans alight with anticipation. However, he does compare himself to Joe Tallari and Corey Neilson (who, by the way should not be the Panthers coach because Mike Ellis should still be there, but that's another post) likes him a fair bit. Plus, he's purely listed as "forward" under position, so might actually be a natural centre! Hold yourselves back, Panther fans....

Derek Campbell officially signs for Cardiff: A good start for the Devils-teams always need a player who'll get his nose dirty as well as do the fancy stuff, and Cardiff have always been a team who value those sorts of players, so this isn't a huge surprise. Although I'd personally have backed a stay in Basingstoke because he seemed a good fit there-as can be seen by the sorrowful goodbyes posted by Bison fans on the forums...

Meanwhile, back in Belfast: There appears to be rumblings that the much-hyped oracle known as the Snow Plough has until now missed (for the record, it's not a bad blog-just a bit Leigh Jamieson-people seem to think it's much better than it actually is)...and sniffing the wind here, it involves a fan favourite. Carlyle Lewis has been linked with several teams this off-season, but until now Coventry haven't even been mentioned and surely it's inconceivable that Lewis could go from Belfast to their most hated rivals anyway?
Don't be so sure. Reading between the lines of some texts sent to me today from someone who knows far more than they ever tell me (he managed to pull out the Reid Simonton signing a good month before it got announced in his biggest coup thus far, but there's been a myriad of others he's been right on), it seems the big Belfast bruiser could be on his way across to the Skydome this time round. And this would definitely not be a bad thing. What's more, it fits, thanks to the Blaze's current tough-guy in Rumun Ndur being very unlucky with injuries the past two seasons, and Blaze appearing to need a new forward or two now that Curtis Huppe has retired...

Leigh Jamieson to Coventry: I can sum up my thoughts on this rumour in three words..."Please", "God", and "No!". At the moment,if I may use a pop culture reference, this signing is at the "Annie Leibovitz telling Miley Cyrus that those pictures will be "artistic" and everyone'll see it" stage-with the Blaze fans as Miley-they're an ace from doing the hockey-fan equivalent of dirtying up the hair, wrapping themselves in the towel and getting excited for seeing Belfast's makeshift third-line forward in a Blaze shirt playing d as they talk themselves into something that just seems a bit...well...not right. And we all know how that turned out for Hannah Montana, don't we?

I know it's a fairly short post this evening...but that's the trouble with the summer...you don't really have any games to talk about. Maybe I should start paying more attention to the NHL. :)

Aye well...keep keeping your eye on the puck...