Back to Hockey,...

At the request of Kid and no dount many others-we now return to the hockey...

With rosters finalised (or nearly so-Sheffield are now already looking askance at their roster given their definition of "team toughness" appears to be "let Ryan Finnerty get pounded into the ice every time he tries to stand up for ANOTHER team-mate smeared all over the plexi. Or feed Steve Munn raw meat and growth hormone until the season starts"...I never thought I'd say this but it appears the only time you're guaranteed NOT to see a fight at a game this season will be when the Steelers play the Panthers. The thing with that rivalry is that this could be the first season both sets of fans start whining that the referees don't protect them at the same time, and don't slag off the other) it's time to look at the one signing for each team thus far that has made me think "hmm...he could be worth watching on his own", or, to put it another way...if you HAD to go to a game based solely on wanting to see one player on the ice, this is who it would be in my case.

Basingstoke: Austin Sutter (F): You thought I'd pick Cornish, didn't you? He's just the comedy sideshow, though. Sutter is the one-a diamond in the rough from the CHL. And if you're sat there scoffing because he's an unknown from the Central Hockey League-well, a certain EIHL favourite called Adam Calder came from the same league, and he's not done too badly...

Belfast: Mike Burgoyne (D): Oh, pants. This guy is good. Neal Martin with three more inches and ten more lbs. 38 goals from the blue line in the last two seasons, and 116 points? In a tesm full of signings that make you go "hmmm...." (Cheverie, Howells, Deniset, Robins) the ex-OC Blazer still stands out. For comparison, in a similar-standard EIHL in the last two seasons, Neal Martin got himself 18 goals and 66 assists. Bolts from the Belfast blue-line ahoy...

Cardiff: Rod Hinks (C): Fast-skating, skilful, wily (at age 35) and proven quality in the EIHL after his stint with Newcastle. If they gel, Hinks and Silverthorn could be Carlson and Calder, with a Welsh accent. And don't forget the mountains of flesh on the Devils blue-line (Doug McIver especially) either...

Coventry: Sylvain Deschatelets (C/LW): I have a soft-spot for Deschatelets anyway, so I admit to a little bias. But this guy was the best player no-one noticed in the EIHL last year, by a long, long way. I haven't been this happy about a Blaze signing since...well, ever. He even just about trumps my joy on signing Curtis Huppe last season. And, considering I was widely considered to have a man-crush on the sharpshooting Manitoban while he was at Belfast, this is some feat.

Edinburgh: TBA: Let's be nice and say that, as yet, no-one they've signed has been "wow" good. Or close to it. About the nicest I can say is that if Taylor Christie doesn't make it in hockey, then he can always dress up in drag and become a troubled teen queen on the OC with a name like that...it even sounds like a character from Dawson's Creek or similar...

Hull: Rick Kozak: Unlike most of the club-wielding cavem...sorry, "physical" players who Strachan has signed this season, it appears Kozak has brains to go with his brawn. Goals appear when this guy's around, it seems. So does controversy, too. At least Hull, should they lose, will now go down fighting. Literally.

Manchester: David Beauregard (W): All you need to know about this gentleman is that in his last four pro-hockey seasons, he has scored 49, 41, 39 and 35 goals in the UHL. That's 164 goals, or 41 average a season. And 151 assists. That's average stats of 41+37. Pretty impressive, don't you think?

Then, bear this staggering fact in mind...he only has one eye! I defy you not to get excited by him now...

Newcastle: Tyler Willis (W): Chris McAllister has the brawn, Derek Campbell and Andre Payette have the mouth, but Willis, despite being the smallest of them all, has all three. And an AHL pedigree. If Danny Stewart (Blaze version) winds you up now, prepare to have a new target for pure hatred. Unless you're a Vipers fan, that is.

Nottingham: Bruce Richardson (C): Panthers fans-prepare to forget you ever thought Dan Tessier was the best centre you'd seen in a Panthers shirt in the EIHL era...

Sheffield: Nathan Gillies (C): Hm. Mike Peron, mark two. This is really, really not a bad thing. Especially if he has an equally ridiculous way of bouncing up and down when settling into face-offs. Or an irritating habit of scoring just when it would be most useful...

I accept this is relatively short, but with rosters finalised and less than a month to go to the start of the season, the countdown officially begins now...

Spinning Around

This is the last word on the PR debate so far this week-and for a while...the next post will go back to considering the hockey, including a quick breakdown of "best new signing" in the EIHL (one player allowed per team). But before that-and very quickly....

There has been much debate raised this week after my columns referring to all the PR suggestions etc and particularly "Right To Reply". You can definitely say that it was probably the most open attack on certain sections of the EIHL I've ever written, and occasioned a reaction from several clubs in the EIHL-most notably my own Coventry team in the person of Sally, with whom I've had extensive conversation via email and forum recently. Most of it is out there in public but some, for various reasons, isn't and won't be.

As as result of these and the comments she has left regarding my posts, I feel the need to state publicly that the Blaze have been nothing less than fully open in replying to my concerns/attacks aired both here and elsewhere. I am fully aware that them being my team hasn't meant they've got off lightly-in fact it's probably only Hull who've been more of a target-in their case due to the fact they were utterly dire on-ice and (in many Stingray fans' opinion) on the bench last season...

Anyway-simply put (and this may cause some of those from Coventry who read to fall over in astonishment)-I'm just putting on record that the highest praise is due to Sally and the Blaze in general for the way they've responded-I've gone after them with a will in the past but have to give full public credit here...if all clubs were willing to do the same with their fans (I'm talking to you, Nottingham in particular) then the hockey community would be far better.

(This doesn't mean they have a free pass now-but it's only fair to acknowledge when someone does something well, in the interests of a balanced blog)

Right. Serious bit over. Now back to taking the mickey out of Brad Voth's haircut, and ordering my Deschatelets replica...:)

Keep keeping your eye on the puck, people. Now we get back to the hockey!