Arrivals and Departures

"tick, tick, tick, tick, on the watch, and life's too short for it to stop
Oh baby, your time is running out..."
La Roux: "Bulletproof"

I know...it's been a bit of a while...but then again, just rounding up the signings is a bit mundane, so I thought I'd wait until we actually had a decent amount of news. And after ten days since the last round up, we do...

Bracknell survive, Telford die...: Well, technically the Tigers are still alive, with the new owners taking a year out to consolidate, but the EPL still loses its westernmost team while one of the marquee names hangs on by the skin of its teeth. No one said a summer in British hockey was easy...

On to the signings, now...we've said far too much about the negative aspects of British hockey this summer...

Mike Berry and Todd Griffith to Newcastle: The Vipers signings so far this off-season have been a statement of intent-they're moving away from the big bruisers to those who can stick up for themselves but also use speed and brains as well as muscle to put the puck in the net. Todd Griffith is known to the EIHL after his stint in Newcastle last season as a useful (and skilful) forward, equal parts sniper and pest, and Berry looks much the same judging by his size (5'11, 180lbs) and scoring record (15+24 in the ECHL last season for 39 points). With Andre Payette returning to handle the glove-dropping duties also, the Vipers are clearly building a team of human sandpaper aimed at grinding teams down through constant pressure and no mean amount of skill-which, if blended properly, is a very strong brew for this league indeed...


Jeff Legue and Jason Hewitt to Sheffield: Meanwhile, the Steelers continue their philosophy of evolution over revolution-indeed no player who didn't play for the Steelers last season is confirmed as signing for them yet, although the goalie at least may well be new to these shores after Jody Lehman's departure for Denmark. Hewitt is a very good defensive forward (and British to boot) while Legue is one of the quickest and most dangerous forwards in the league-he and Joey Talbot head the Steelers attack once again, although there could still be a new star import forward to come...

Pavel Gomenyuk back to Hull: These re-signings, while not the most exciting, have all been very good ones up until now, and the Stingrays' returning d-man is no exception. He's not the most skilful in the league, but deceptively good in this league...rarely noticed by the fans but a key part of his team nevertheless, as he has been throughout his time at Hull and Newcastle...

Mathias Soderstrom to Coventry:...and continuing on such a theme, the Swedish d-man and one of the Blaze's best-loved players ever returns to the Skydome for another season. Like Gomenyuk, his impact on the team is rarely noticed, with many in the Blaze fan-base picking him out as the weak spot of the Blaze defence thus far. Unfairly. He'll never light up the scoring charts but "Matty" will once again be a welcome presence on the blue-line in the West Midlands.

Mark Garside returns to Edinburgh:...and with it, earns himself some serious pluses in the "loyalty" column...the young Glaswegian has developed into one of the top British forwards in the league over the past season or two, and can be expected to continue his meteoric rise next season...

Dominic D'Amour to Nottingham: A new-to-the-UK signing, finally! Linked with the Blaze last season, the 6'2, 221lb Quebecer is the player the Panthers hope will be their Steve Munn-an intimidating physical force who can chip in at the offensive end where needed, but will always take care of his own end. And make it an extremely unfriendly place for opposition forwards to visit...Well, that's the theory...

There you go...that's the EIHL news...check above if you haven't already for a declaration of war (of words)...and keep keeping your eye on the puck...