Locker Room Chatter: Rumours and Ramblings

Changes continue apace in British hockey, with David Taylor under pressure from both of his clubs, some signings for Manchester, and more names to throw into the pot for Nottingham...

Manchester sign their new sharpshooter: And here he is. Or at least who the strong rumour is according to a poster on the Steeltalk forum-some say PC Drouin will make his way up the M1 after being released by the Panthers, but Luke Stauffacher is the hot tip. With 42 goals in the UHL last season and the fact that he was on the same team with Phoenix's current resident spark-plug, Sean Starke, there is certainly a very good chance this could be the man the Phoenix are looking for as they try to complement their strong defence with lethally-accurate shooting...

Panthers linked with more names: Dan Tessier is still the front-runner as the NIC side look to replace PC Drouin with a scoring centre-more so now that his team Duisburg have signed a Norwegian centre apparently out of the blue. However, with Mike Ellis mentioning in the Nottingham Evening Post that the centre is likely to be new to this country, ex-NHLer Donald Maclean is another name that's been thrown into the pot after being released from his club in Switzerland. A very long shot (yet still possible if the Panthers are looking to save themselves some money in order to fund a top d-man, but only then) is Taras Foremsky, who tore the EPL up last year with Peterborough but was released earlier this week after coaching differences. Finally, the new centre could come from the DEL, but not from Duisburg as expected-with the big Canadian Cam Severson, recently released by Straubing, an option mooted if the Panthers decide to go for power to complement the skill of Sean McAslan and Johan Molin.

Bees in "no pay, no pay" threat: This season just gets worse in the home counties. With David Taylor already up to his neck in fan anger with the problems in Basingstoke, now it comes out that the team he's been running for several years in Bracknell is also under threat, with players going public in the local press about not being paid. Taylor has insisted that the problems are not as large as reported, but given that he said the same thing about Basingstoke (in a long statement which I analyzed here), just how many people will believe him?

Belfast and Cardiff to be fined: Both teams played cup-tied players in several Challenge Cup group games this season (Belfast with Peter Campbell and Stevie Lyle (ex-Basingstoke), and Shane Johnson for Cardiff (ex-Sheffield). The league appears to be stopping at just paying fines, but the complaints are loud from Blaze fans in particular, some of whom claim that their team should go through with the Giants being excluded, as the two cup-tied players had a direct influence on the 1-1 draw which prevented the Midlands side from qualifying (Peter Campbell scoring the Giants goal). As a Blaze fan myself, it seems to be somewhat clutching at straws-the Blaze were simply not good enough in the vast majority of CC games this season, and to qualify by default seems a bit of a let-off, particularly if they then go on to win it...

Hull injury worries eased: The Stingrays were worried after second-top points scorer Rob Rankin was forced out of Sunday's game against Manchester with a dislocated shoulder. However, the American winger has said he intends to be back this weekend in order to try and help the Humbersiders out of their current slump, which will be a much-needed boost to the north-east club.

Simms all but concedes title: Dave Simms is ruffling feathers again, but this time at his own club, as he has appeared in the Sheffield press stating that, despite his side currently being just four points behind the table-topping Coventry Blaze in third place, the title race is already all but over for the teal-and-orange men...an opinion which is curious even for him. To my mind it's just a bit of reverse-psychology. We shall see what effect, if any, it has over the next week or two...

And that's your daily update of all things EIHL...keep keeping your eye on the puck...

More Swings and Roundabouts...

Quiet week because of no midweek games? It would appear not...

Panthers release P.C Drouin: This one comes right out of left-field...we knew that there was a chance the Cats would make changes, but releasing a returning Panthers legend, one of their top earners and an assistant coach to boot is a drastic change, which has split the Panthers fanbase right down the middle. My thoughts are the same as a lot of others in that it's more a case of needing the money than Drouin himself not performing-there are several players on the Panthers roster that were rumoured to be for the chop ahead of the Quebec native. Of course, this does make the return of Dan Tessier, as mentioned here , a little more likely-although with the Panthers' main woes this season in conceding goals rather than really scoring them, a big d-man is also another possible option. Knowing the Panthers crowd, though, the calls for a natural centre such as Tessier (or indeed Trevor Gallant, who performed so well for them in the playoffs last season) in order to kick-start Sean McAslan and Johan Molin will be growing louder and louder...Drouin himself, meanwhile, is apparently being courted by Manchester, who just happen to be in the market for a speedy goalscorer...

Colin Hemingway to Vipers?: Things continue to look a little less than rosy for the Capitals, with their best player this season linked this week with a move just south of the border to Newcastle. Sergiy Rublivskiy has been taking some heat for not scoring as often as expected, and Hemingway would be an ideal replacement for the Russian. With Caps' prolific centre himself supposedly saying he's prepared to stay and ride out the storm in Scotland, however, this one may be on the back burner.

Bison saved by Swede?: The Bison saga takes another twist, with a fans' forum being called unexpectedly for this Thursday. Rumours are yet flying around of a takeover bid by an owner new to this country-one who is rumouredly also interested in the Cardiff Devils. The weary Bison fanbase are finally allowing themselves to hope for some good news-we shall see on Friday morning whether there will be celebrations or wailing and gnashing of teeth in Hampshire...

That's all for now-keep keeping your eye on the puck...