Thursday Thoughts...

"And I just can't see through the evidence
It's evident
It's right fucking there in black and white and red"
Alkaline Trio: "Bloodied Up"

"I don't blame you for walking away
I'd do the same if I saw me"
Alkaline Trio: "This Could Be Love"

Afternoon all...

The past few days have seen a few more signings, but very little good news on the British hockey front. The EIHL is fine (for now) and signings are proceeding apace for now (more on that later) but if you look at British hockey as a whole, there is once again cause for concern as the days warm up...

Down in the EPL, a league whose fans were trumpeting "their" blueprint as superior to that of the EIHL barely six weeks ago during the Six Team League Incident, all is most certainly not well. Wightlink have now confirmed their drop to the ENL after being unable to find sufficient backing to continue running an EPL team, and Romford are all but dead due to their rink management effectively pulling out having seemingly decided that hockey in this country is simply not profitable enough. Meanwhile, Bracknell are still unconfirmed as competing next season after wrangling between rink owner John Nike and the Bees owners reached a stalemate.

Meanwhile, Telford are looking for a new owner after their current ownership decided they could no longer run the team due to personal and professional factors. As for the situation in Scotland-that is one that would takes weeks to surmise.

Which begs the question-how on earth is British hockey going to survive?

Well, there's always the fans to rely on, isn't there? After all, we're such a loyal bunch we'll keep throwing money at our passion endlessly...or so the owners seem to think...

But hold on.

On my tour through British ice hockey sites, I noticed this press-release about playoff shirts on the official EIHL site from a few weeks ago. All very dramatic, isn't it? I'm sure that you're now rushing to the official auction site expecting to only see the last few and thanking God for the benevolence of the EIHL officials in allowing you to get your hands on such a rare piece of hockey memorabilia...

Well, hold on a minute...the EIHL may have been taking lessons from Alistair Campbell, because here's the Ebay shop. It's still open two weeks after it was supposed to have shut...

You know that "limited number" of shirts left? How about (of 50 shirts produced for each team)...

8 left from Basingstoke
8 left from Belfast
4 left from Cardiff
14 left from Coventry
4 left from Edinburgh
16 left from Hull
8 left from Manchester
9 left from Newcastle
8 left from Sheffield

So, of the ten teams, only Nottingham have sold all their shirts, few of the above left have bids on them (not even the minimum price of £65) and of them, there are several which are actually players shirts instead of random blood shirts...

It seems that the days of the EIHL, and indeed British hockey, having fans who will willingly fork out for anything to do with their team are well and truly gone.

This means, to my mind, that this coming season will need to see changes in the way the sport in the UK is sold to people...with the days of economic prosperity which have fed the EIHL up to this point well and truly over, clubs can no longer be run as businesses.

In my years of watching hockey, those running the British game have become noticeably more aware of the need to get people through the door...however, it seems they're becoming less and less aware of the value of keeping them there-the "otherness" of hockey has been lost as rinks around the country have tried to play as safe as possible and appeal to everybody from kids to those who've been watching the sport for many years.

However, in the process, hockey has become just like everything else-the passion has slowly been sucked out of arenas as an emphasis on "family" entertainment has effectively killed any semblance of home advantage-I can't remember walking into a rink in the past few years where, as an away fan, you actually think "wow, we're not at home anymore".

I'm not saying that every away fan should be given a complimentary tarring and feathering, nor am I advocating abuse of any kind...but it occurs to me that in trying to make their rinks as friendly and welcoming as possible, the powers that be in British hockey are actually turning people off the sport...

This is why the Giants signing Sean McMorrow seems to me to show some new thinking...he's made no secret of the fact that he's going to attempt to be a Belfast fan favourite by making the Giants building a nasty place to come and play...if he gets the Giants faithful behind him in doing so it could be a very savvy move indeed...

Anyway...enough of a random bit of ranting that didn't really seem to be going anywhere...on to the news and rumours:

Stevie Lyle to Cardiff: Hm. Interesting one, this...Lyle is a legend in South Wales after his exploits there as a teenager...but whether he's worth a three-year contract..

Russ Cowley to Coventry: Speaking of three-year contracts, last years Blaze coach's and players' player of the year returns to the Skydome for his seventh, eighth, and ninth seasons...to general rejoicing.

Stephen Murphy and Graeme Walton to Belfast: The Giants are into the second year of trying to prove that, contrary to accepted wisdom, you can win the EIHL with a British-trained goalie. Murphy is coming off a superb season in Manchester, but even so, the Northern Irish crowd are notoriously hard on their netminders, so it'll be interesting to see how this one works out. Graeme Walton, meanwhile, is slowly becoming Mr Belfast-the local boy returns for his seventh professional season, all of which have been spent at the Odyssey. Not a player who'll make waves offensively, but arguably one of the most under-rated dmen in the league, the GB international will once again be a key cog in the Giants blueline machine...

Brad Cruikshank back to Sheffield: One of the EIHL's most respected players, the gritty Canadian centre is a key re-signing for the Steelers.

Tommy Sandahl and Curtis Huppe to Hull: The Stingrays have a new starting netminder, as well as one of the most lethal snipers in the EIHL. The Cloutier revolution continues apace on Humberside...

And that's your Thursday Thoughts done...