We're back in the UK, finally...and it's been a week or two. Given that there's been a fair bit happen in the world of the EIHL, we'll simply have a look team-by-team rather than signing-by-signing...
The Giants roster has seen only one new addition in the past week or two after a spate of early-season signings, but in
they not only have only the second double-barrelled first name to appear in the EIHL (Jean-Francois Perras being the other) but a very, very, VERY quick forward indeed, who can also
, it seems...The Giants fans are already getting very excited about him having a better pedigree than Paul Deniset (who was fairly useful last season himself)...however, Dan Carlson has better ECHL stats then both of them, so the claims of "top forward in the league" may be a little premature...
Cardiff: The Devils have been a little quiet recently, after having most of their roster already re-signed as returnees early in the summer. However, despite losing
Mike Prpich after the speedy centre and one of Devils' stars last year got himself into a bit of bother off-ice that saw him released they've covered the spectrum with their last three signings, with
Ben Davies taking the "young Brit and potential star" mantle as a reward for his coming on in leaps and bounds last season and
Phil Hill returning as a power forward. However, their third signing, announced today, is the one that really raises eyebrows-as
Mark Smith returns from Italy for his second stint as a Devil. The immensely talented centre and one of my favourite opposition players of the EIHL scored 80 points in 06/07 as a Devil, and will be one of, if not the top centre in the league-the Devils have suddenly leapt from "maybe a trophy" to "one of the title hopefuls" in one fell swoop-that's how good the 5'10 native of Kelowna, BC is...
Coventry: The revolution continues apace at the Skydome.
Leigh Jamieson is gone to MK Lightning (in the eyes of some, not a moment too soon), as well as another player who we'll consider below, but arrivals have been busier than departures thus far in the West Midlands. As well as the returning
Matty Soderstrom, the Blaze have two new faces in the big American
Brian Lee, a team-mate of fellow new signing
Greg Owen at Briancon in France last year, and one of the unsung heroes of the EIHL in
Luke Fulghum from Manchester. Lee is a big lad, who appears to have been brought in as a d-man who can go both ways with equal ability on the ice, although if you believe the rumours he's intended as more of a defensive d-man then a points-scorer...something of a Steve Munn, if you will. The Breakaway will be trying to get an interview with his team-mate Greg Owen next week, after the Peter Hirsch interview was well received, and so perhaps we'll be able to gain a few more ideas then.
Fulghum, meanwhile, is one of the signings of the summer. The plaudits went to Tony Hand and David Beauregard for Manchester's heroics last season, but the American winger who shared the ice with them (earning himself 34 goals in the process) was the one that made that line tick and could well be the perfect foil for Adam Calder and Dan Carlson on the Blaze's top line with his combination of speed and physical play. Certainly, those in Manchester have been fulsome in their praise of him...
Edinburgh, as usual, are hard to read because, as is traditional north of the border, signings are once again slower in coming than a tantric-sex-loving eunuch.
However, they have snapped up
Ben O'Connor from Coventry, in a move which saw a
very catty press-release from the Blaze about his manner of going...obviously I have very little idea of how frenzied the negotiations were or the exact circumstances, and I fully appreciate the need to stay within a budget and not throw money at those who aren't worth it...however, releasing a press release trashing him by basically saying "this player's a greedy young sod who held us to ransom, so we let him go" is a little over the top. After all, isn't what happens in the coach's office supposed to stay in the coach's office-would not something along the lines of "Ben and I couldn't agree terms, so we wish him the best of luck wherever he goes", like that released for Russ Cowley before he U-turned last season, have sufficed to give reasons?
Aside from that, any Blaze fan (or indeed any Caps fan) who thinks that the Scots are paying him more money may need a quick dose of reality juice...O'Connor will certainly take a more prominent role in Edinburgh than that he would have had in Coventry, but surely he can't be on what the EIHL would call "big money"...if he is, then clearly the credit crunch hasn't yet reached Scotland.
On the plus side, any players they do sign will be able to take on two AHL teams in the Toronto Marlies and Hamilton Bulldogs, who along with Belfast will be taking part in the special Ice Hockey Homecoming tournament in Edinburgh and Belfast for the Gardiner Cup in September-more info
here...
Hull are making a wave or two of their own on Humberside, building themselves a solid-looking roster, although it's fair to say that recent signings have addressed the "work and grind" aspect of the team rather than the "score as many goals as possible" area, as you'd expect from a Sylvain Cloutier-coached side.
Adam Knight, joining from New Mexico in the CHL provides the physical presence on D (his stats of 2 goals, 3 assists and 153 PiM's last season should give you a clue as to where his role lies), while
Shaun Thompson and
Lee Esders give some hard-working British presence up front.
Newcastle have once again signalled their "new direction" by signing the skilful
Ryan Mahrle from the ECHL, as they look for a more mobile defence. Along with Mike Berry, the returning Todd Griffith, Jason Tejchma and a new import to be announced tomorrow, the North-East could be seeing a very different team to that they're used to on the ice next season...
Nottingham have been quiet recently, although that's to be expected when most of your squad has already joined.
Mark Hartley makes the step up from Coventry ENL to be the Panthers back-up, which is an interesting move for both him and the Panthers...doubtless many will be praying Kevin St Pierre stays very healthy indeed...however,
Jade Galbraith will once again be easing a Panthers shirt over his (not-inconsiderable) torso this season...
Sheffield, meanwhile, have contented themselves with simply re-signing some of the top players in the league, with top-scorer
Joey Talbot the latest to return...great for Sheffield, not so much for opposition goalies.
And there you go-now, we're up to date on the EIHL...
Keep keeping your eye on the puck...
