Welcome to another Midweek Musings! With yesterday being Remembrance Day, I did consider having a theme of remembering past glories, now-disappeared teams and epic moments of putting the team before yourself in the Elite League era (and trust me, anyone who was at the Skydome in 2004/04, the night that Jeff Burgoyne took a slapshot full in the unmentionables at point-blank range in order to prevent his Cardiff team conceding a goal, is now looking back with due respect, or, if they’re male, with their legs crossed). Then, I remembered two things:
This is the Elite League, where the vast majority of owners will stretch morals to breaking point, can’t even keep to a wage-cap they themselves have agreed and generally bitch and whine at each other in the press whenever they get the chance (see: Sheffield Steelers at Cardiff Devils).
Furthermore, British ice hockey has a long history of losing teams (to the point where this post would probably reach into several thousand words), dropping teams and two leagues where certain teams are run more with an eye on the “big-fish, small-pond” model of success rather than the “let’s give the fans the best level we can” model that professional teams should ideally be run on (see: Guildford, Slough, and historically Fife)
Hardly a shining beacon of togetherness, camaraderie and “doing the right thing”, now, is it? Plus, it just seems a little tacky.
And so, instead, and now that every team has played every team as far as I'm aware...it's time for the players that aren't stars and should be. Yes, it's the All-Under-rated All-Stars part 1....
GOALIE:
Stephen Murphy (Manchester): I know I wrote a whole post about just why Stephen Murphy wasn't an Elite League goalie back when he signed for Manchester, but I'll say this for the guy-he does have a knack for making the puck hit him, and the Phoenix's fine form is in no small part down to him...
DEFENCE
Josh Garbutt (Manchester): I picked Omar Ennafatti in this spot last year, but this time round, I'm confident that the Phoenix fans will actually agree with their d-man's inclusion. Quite frankly, if I could I'd stick the whole bunch of the Phoenix in here, since there's nothing to choose between Kenton Smith, Garbutt and Alex Dunn, but Garbutt just seemed to stand out a little more for me-whenever there was a forward loose in front of the net, it seemed to be Garbutt who'd get his stick in or deliver a perfectly-timed shove to move him...
Jason Stone (Cardiff): A British hockey legend, and a perennial UAS, even the Devils fans don't always notice their long-serving number ten mopping up on the blue-line. But he does, and he does it oh so well, too. What's more, he's so calm, you wonder sometimes if his heart is still beating...
FORWARDS
Sylvain Deschatelets (Coventry): Another return for my favourite Blaze player. Cardiff fans in particular may find it surprising that there have been calls to release him this season amongst the Blaze faithful, with vociferous debates going on over whether he's worth the position he's got. Interestingly, those same people are the ones praising Barrie Moore's recent return to form to the skies. Is it a coincidence that this has come since he's been paired with the quiet, unassuming, yet hawk-eyed French-Canadian with the hands of silk to feed Moore in the space to release his deadly wristshot? Somehow, I think not.
Matt Reynolds (Hull): If this guy were playing with a Dan Carlson or a Dan Tessier, then we'd probably be mentioning him in the same breath as David Beauregard and Adam Calder. He's outshone Rick Kozak by far with a tenth of the hype, and will definitely be a player I keep an eye on when the Stingrays come to town....
Danny Stewart (Basingstoke): This guy, along with Greg Chambers, has been carrying the Bison on his young shoulders for the greater part of this season. He appears to have formed something of an understanding with his linemates which has allowed him to lever himself into second in scoring on the team and one of only two players in double-figures for goals (although Matt Miller is scoring a goal a game since his arrival and could be worth keeping an eye on, especially since he and Trevor Read are combining after playing last season together in Amarillo)
Two Games in Two Minutes:
Let's get both One-Minute Previews out of the way in one go, shall we? There are two midweek games this week, as Coventry face Hull and Nottingham take on Cardiff
Blaze v Stingrays: The GB Bunch are back for the Blaze, and will be looking to prove that they are still vital to the team after they weren't hugely missed against Newcastle over the weekend, mainly thanks to an Adam Calder double on Saturday, and a pair of solid games from JF Perras. The Stingrays, meanwhile, are hoping to bounce back after a nightmare of a game on Saturday against the Capitals. If I'm honest, though, tomorrow night is not the night it's going to happen, at least not in my eyes-the Blaze may be run close by Rick Strachan's suffocating brand of trap hockey but will ultimately have too much class for the Humbersiders...
Nottingham v Cardiff: Thursday at the NIC should see a far more open game between the Panthers and the Devils, as one team looks to get going again off a break, and the Devils try and build up a head of steam for a push up the league. Winning in the NIC would be an ideal way to do this, and provide the Sky cameras with something of a story...however, anyone tuning in on Friday can be assured they'll get a decent show...
And that's your lot for this Wednesday...keep keeping your eye on the puck...
This is the Elite League, where the vast majority of owners will stretch morals to breaking point, can’t even keep to a wage-cap they themselves have agreed and generally bitch and whine at each other in the press whenever they get the chance (see: Sheffield Steelers at Cardiff Devils).
Furthermore, British ice hockey has a long history of losing teams (to the point where this post would probably reach into several thousand words), dropping teams and two leagues where certain teams are run more with an eye on the “big-fish, small-pond” model of success rather than the “let’s give the fans the best level we can” model that professional teams should ideally be run on (see: Guildford, Slough, and historically Fife)
Hardly a shining beacon of togetherness, camaraderie and “doing the right thing”, now, is it? Plus, it just seems a little tacky.
And so, instead, and now that every team has played every team as far as I'm aware...it's time for the players that aren't stars and should be. Yes, it's the All-Under-rated All-Stars part 1....
GOALIE:
Stephen Murphy (Manchester): I know I wrote a whole post about just why Stephen Murphy wasn't an Elite League goalie back when he signed for Manchester, but I'll say this for the guy-he does have a knack for making the puck hit him, and the Phoenix's fine form is in no small part down to him...
DEFENCE
Josh Garbutt (Manchester): I picked Omar Ennafatti in this spot last year, but this time round, I'm confident that the Phoenix fans will actually agree with their d-man's inclusion. Quite frankly, if I could I'd stick the whole bunch of the Phoenix in here, since there's nothing to choose between Kenton Smith, Garbutt and Alex Dunn, but Garbutt just seemed to stand out a little more for me-whenever there was a forward loose in front of the net, it seemed to be Garbutt who'd get his stick in or deliver a perfectly-timed shove to move him...
Jason Stone (Cardiff): A British hockey legend, and a perennial UAS, even the Devils fans don't always notice their long-serving number ten mopping up on the blue-line. But he does, and he does it oh so well, too. What's more, he's so calm, you wonder sometimes if his heart is still beating...
FORWARDS
Sylvain Deschatelets (Coventry): Another return for my favourite Blaze player. Cardiff fans in particular may find it surprising that there have been calls to release him this season amongst the Blaze faithful, with vociferous debates going on over whether he's worth the position he's got. Interestingly, those same people are the ones praising Barrie Moore's recent return to form to the skies. Is it a coincidence that this has come since he's been paired with the quiet, unassuming, yet hawk-eyed French-Canadian with the hands of silk to feed Moore in the space to release his deadly wristshot? Somehow, I think not.
Matt Reynolds (Hull): If this guy were playing with a Dan Carlson or a Dan Tessier, then we'd probably be mentioning him in the same breath as David Beauregard and Adam Calder. He's outshone Rick Kozak by far with a tenth of the hype, and will definitely be a player I keep an eye on when the Stingrays come to town....
Danny Stewart (Basingstoke): This guy, along with Greg Chambers, has been carrying the Bison on his young shoulders for the greater part of this season. He appears to have formed something of an understanding with his linemates which has allowed him to lever himself into second in scoring on the team and one of only two players in double-figures for goals (although Matt Miller is scoring a goal a game since his arrival and could be worth keeping an eye on, especially since he and Trevor Read are combining after playing last season together in Amarillo)
Two Games in Two Minutes:
Let's get both One-Minute Previews out of the way in one go, shall we? There are two midweek games this week, as Coventry face Hull and Nottingham take on Cardiff
Blaze v Stingrays: The GB Bunch are back for the Blaze, and will be looking to prove that they are still vital to the team after they weren't hugely missed against Newcastle over the weekend, mainly thanks to an Adam Calder double on Saturday, and a pair of solid games from JF Perras. The Stingrays, meanwhile, are hoping to bounce back after a nightmare of a game on Saturday against the Capitals. If I'm honest, though, tomorrow night is not the night it's going to happen, at least not in my eyes-the Blaze may be run close by Rick Strachan's suffocating brand of trap hockey but will ultimately have too much class for the Humbersiders...
Nottingham v Cardiff: Thursday at the NIC should see a far more open game between the Panthers and the Devils, as one team looks to get going again off a break, and the Devils try and build up a head of steam for a push up the league. Winning in the NIC would be an ideal way to do this, and provide the Sky cameras with something of a story...however, anyone tuning in on Friday can be assured they'll get a decent show...
And that's your lot for this Wednesday...keep keeping your eye on the puck...
