I think pool of viable non import home grown players is pretty small. The few in the NIHL wrecking shop like Kieran Brown seem happy to be a big fish in a small pond. There has also been a trend in recent years for players who can perform in EIHL to drop to NIHL for lifestyle/second job purposes like Venus or Ferrera. Chance to have less intense schedule, second income, score multiple points per game vs 4th line hockey and fairly low income. Team GB will be OK as can usually scrape together some imports who’ve been in the league a while. Richie and Davies when they go will leave big holes for the Devils. Almost have to aggressively recruit league proven players like Lewis Hook with this in mind.
I fear for GB. I think we’ll be ok for the next year or so then sooooo many players will retire who have served us well I worry where the next group will come from.
The majority of the current GB team cut their teeth in the EIHL when the import quota was far lower. These days with it being 15 and teams like Fife and Manchester reducing their Brit exposure it’s worrying (Take a look at the Fife team sheet, they dress a Brit or two but they never play, they are solely an import team).
IMHO, to keep GB strong it would need 2 things to happen:-
1. EIHL import reduction from 15 to 12 or 13 with squads having to name 7 Brits on a match night. These Brits would come from the top players in NIHL which would obviously mean an increased wage.
2. To lift the standard in the NIHL with it losing some of its best Brits, raise the import level up-to 5 or 6 (thus replacing the Brits lost to the EIHL) so the standard remains high but also exposes our remaining Brits to a higher level of hockey.
I guess this all depends on your viewpoint. If you love the EIHL and couldn’t care about GB then why change what we have.
If you care equally or have a bias to seeing GB do well then something will have to change before we see a few relegations.