2017/2018 Rumours & Offseason nonsense

Foxy

Well-Known Member
See this is why i dont like this system........ Its all very well saying you have to have 3 U23 but what about the like of Jones Piggot Ferrera? Where are they supposed to go..... take on the u23 if we want developement but why put a restriction on the number of other Brits

Kind of duplicated what Ocko said
 

Ocko

Well-Known Member
But I think that's entirely the point; rightly or wrongly the league want to do away with roster fillers like CJ and Piggot and instead want to make teams take on prospects and develop them. It's cruel but sadly neither CJ or Piggot are ever going to be any better or challenge for a GB place.
 
For a topic titled 'Rumours & Nonsense' some of the posts border on cruel and insensitive.
5 minutes ago we were celebrating one of / the finest Devils squad ever assembled, import or otherwise. Soon forgotten, we now appear to hang some of them out to dry...very sad.
The new rules IMHO, in their shortsightedness lend themselves to the brutality seen at Sheffield and anticipated here.
For the sake of the development of the next GB generation, the new rules appear comfortable with abandoning the potential careers of the current. It could've been achieved better and in a phased way that protected careers and promoted development.

Todd has always spoken of the benefit of freshening squads, and he has always shown a sure, safe, and considerate pair of hands. So, if any of our champions move on, for whatever reason, I'm sure it will be managed with good grace and allowing them a warm welcome home at any time and to be celebrated as the Champions of 2017.


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pjj365

Well-Known Member
Corrct me if I am wrong (don't know why I said that - it's a given) but I thought the restriction was on the bench numbers (19+5+3) not the roster size.

We could, finances permitting, carry spares as we have done with imports in the recent past

Ice time then becomes the issue
 

pjj365

Well-Known Member
In the spirit of the thread a bit of nonsense

We could sign Jo Myers as a forward he scored a unique goal tonight at Lee Richardson's testimonial
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
Corrct me if I am wrong (don't know why I said that - it's a given) but I thought the restriction was on the bench numbers (19+5+3) not the roster size.

We could, finances permitting, carry spares as we have done with imports in the recent past

Ice time then becomes the issue
How would carrying British spares over the age of 23work? They would never get ice time. From what we understand, the priority now is teams needing to aquire 3 x U23 players who would get ice time opportunities ahead of any 'spare' over 23 yr olds. The only way to do it would be a two-way arrangement playing for a team like Swindon whereby they train with the Devils and cover senior British players if they are injured.
That is not without it's issues - with the disbanding of the EPL and the two new Elite League teams sifting out the few players they want to retain from last year, there will be a glut of British players at the level below elite battling for positions on teams.
Cruel way to disrupt young player careers - but the state of UK hockey at the next level down is in a mess.
 
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Devil_Abroad

Well-Known Member
I believe the rule for U23 is anyone born 94 or later so Bradley Day makes the U23. Sheffield are now fielding only 4 Brits born earlier than 94 and sound like they released Ferrara as they had enough players. 4 Brits 3 U23 14 Imports = 21 on the bench - 19 skaters - 4 lines is 6 D 12 F = 18 therefore to play 4 lines one of the 2 U23 skaters will be seeing plenty of ice time. Unless of course they've found a better Brit than Ferrara?


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How would carrying British spares over the age of 23work? They would never get ice time. From what we understand, the priority now is teams needing to aquire 3 x U23 players who would get ice time opportunities ahead of any 'spare' over 23 yr olds. The only way to do it would be a two-way arrangement playing for a team like Swindon whereby they train with the Devils and cover senior British players if they are injured.
That is not without it's issues - with the disbanding of the EPL and the two new Elite League teams sifting out the few players they want to retain from last year, there will be a glut of British players at the level below elite battling for positions on teams.
Cruel way to disrupt young player careers - but the state of UK hockey at the next level down is in a mess.
If in fact the UK hockey at the next level down is in a mess as you say and I believe you, having 3 u23 on an Elite league roster doesn't make it better and quite frankly it makes the overall product worse. And that is no disrespect to those players coming on next year, whoever they are. My question is why 3 ? Why not 1 ? or 2 ?
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
If in fact the UK hockey at the next level down is in a mess as you say and I believe you, having 3 u23 on an Elite league roster doesn't make it better and quite frankly it makes the overall product worse. And that is no disrespect to those players coming on next year, whoever they are. My question is why 3 ? Why not 1 ? or 2 ?
Completely agree with you.Could have been phased in maybe one U23 player a year for the next three years instead of having to develop 3 at a time, and remain competitive. That phasing in would have possibly avoided several players being cut from squads simply because they don't qualify under the new rules.....and also eased pressure/given time for the lower leagues to stabilise themselves. Or for teams to give careful consideration to which level is sustainable for them.
Now the glut of excess British players looking for contracts in leagues beloow elite will become an additional pressure this off season.
There is a real need for development of young players as future stars in this league but the method all seems a bit rushed.
 
In theory, the roster limit of players 24+ being dropped to 19 and the 3 u23's being the only way to play 4 lines, it somewhat levels the playing field ever so slightly.

Teams like Dundee, Fife and Edinburgh have always used young guys to fill open spots due to their cheap prices and them playing in the same rink. Teams like Panthers, Devils, Belfast and Sheffield, historically, run 4 lines but with perhaps only ever 1 player under 20, if that. Now, the bottom lines of the supposed big 4 will be u23's, mostly unproven players who teams will look to develop to ensure there is replacements for our top, aging Brits.

It's a fair rule from where I'm sat, even though some Brits will be sacrificed to meet these additional requirements. Currently, when you think for a minute, before this season there haven't been any standout replacements to-be, for guys like David Clarke, Mark Richardson, Matthew Myers, Jonathan Philips, Colin Shields, Stephen Murphy, Russ Cowley.. to name a few. Obviously some of those still have a few years left in them, but some don't. Little has been done before this season to find and develop talent to fill those positions when they inevitably become available. Development takes time, and whilst some of our best Brits are still around, we need to get the youngsters up and playing alongside them sooner rather than later, they can be mentored and taught the ins and outs of the league, how to handle pressures, money, social media and personal life alongside hockey.

If this new rule hadn't been introduced, you could bet that teams would only look for replacements for the premier Brits once they've decided to hang the skates up. Which would be bad business. Teams need to be prepared.

In addition the rule, it means teams will have to work with their Junior teams and/or NIHL teams to enhance development. I can't comment for other teams as I don't follow them closely enough to know their development systems but Panthers have took a good step forward with their new kids and agreement set up with Okanagan and Swindon. It's much more like the Junior Systems within Europe now like that. Whilst I'm excited we've teamed up with Okanagan, it does feel like a bit of a blow to the Nottingham Juniors. Okanagan is a hockey academy/school, costs a lot of money and realistically, few will have the money to send their kids there and instead opt for the local team, as it should be. With Panthers choosing Okanagan over the Nottingham junior teams, I just hope it won't have a negative effect on the Nottingham junior system as I'm sure most other EIHL teams will use the junior teams that they share their building with.

It's going to work out well, something like this just needs to be given time to see results.
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
David simms tweeted a little bird tell me faryna in bound cardiff
I feel sick. Not only is that idiot Simms back on Twitter again but he shows his ignorance by originally spelling the player's name incorrectly! How has he been allowed to 're-emerge' after his embarrassing behaviour a few weeks ago baffles me.
 

Wagstaff

Well-Known Member
In theory, the roster limit of players 24+ being dropped to 19 and the 3 u23's being the only way to play 4 lines, it somewhat levels the playing field ever so slightly.

Teams like Dundee, Fife and Edinburgh have always used young guys to fill open spots due to their cheap prices and them playing in the same rink. Teams like Panthers, Devils, Belfast and Sheffield, historically, run 4 lines but with perhaps only ever 1 player under 20, if that. Now, the bottom lines of the supposed big 4 will be u23's, mostly unproven players who teams will look to develop to ensure there is replacements for our top, aging Brits.

It's a fair rule from where I'm sat, even though some Brits will be sacrificed to meet these additional requirements. Currently, when you think for a minute, before this season there haven't been any standout replacements to-be, for guys like David Clarke, Mark Richardson, Matthew Myers, Jonathan Philips, Colin Shields, Stephen Murphy, Russ Cowley.. to name a few. Obviously some of those still have a few years left in them, but some don't. Little has been done before this season to find and develop talent to fill those positions when they inevitably become available. Development takes time, and whilst some of our best Brits are still around, we need to get the youngsters up and playing alongside them sooner rather than later, they can be mentored and taught the ins and outs of the league, how to handle pressures, money, social media and personal life alongside hockey.

If this new rule hadn't been introduced, you could bet that teams would only look for replacements for the premier Brits once they've decided to hang the skates up. Which would be bad business. Teams need to be prepared.

In addition the rule, it means teams will have to work with their Junior teams and/or NIHL teams to enhance development. I can't comment for other teams as I don't follow them closely enough to know their development systems but Panthers have took a good step forward with their new kids and agreement set up with Okanagan and Swindon. It's much more like the Junior Systems within Europe now like that. Whilst I'm excited we've teamed up with Okanagan, it does feel like a bit of a blow to the Nottingham Juniors. Okanagan is a hockey academy/school, costs a lot of money and realistically, few will have the money to send their kids there and instead opt for the local team, as it should be. With Panthers choosing Okanagan over the Nottingham junior teams, I just hope it won't have a negative effect on the Nottingham junior system as I'm sure most other EIHL teams will use the junior teams that they share their building with.

It's going to work out well, something like this just needs to be given time to see results.
I watch my grandsons playing and Nottingham's junior squads are well organised, well trained, well skilled and well coached, but what happens to them when they come out of the junior system as they don't seem to progress to EIHL, this may change with the new rules of course?
 
Corrct me if I am wrong (don't know why I said that - it's a given) but I thought the restriction was on the bench numbers (19+5+3) not the roster size.

We could, finances permitting, carry spares as we have done with imports in the recent past

Ice time then becomes the issue
Or two way contracts?
 
My bad


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Faryna plays both Defence and Wing.

Cardiff always seem to ice a very tough but more than capable roster, Faryna would likely fit in perfectly and be incredibly effective. Someone you can guarantee would be quickly hated by us opposition fans!

I watch my grandsons playing and Nottingham's junior squads are well organised, well trained, well skilled and well coached, but what happens to them when they come out of the junior system as they don't seem to progress to EIHL, this may change with the new rules of course?
That's the thing, Panthers don't seem to want anything to do with the Nottingham juniors. Corey spent time with some of the teams in the year just gone due to his youngest playing with them, but now he's being shipped off to Canada to a Private Hockey School, I'd expect Corey to pull out of doing anything with Nottingham juniors.

It's a shame. All those kids dreaming of playing for Panthers and yet Panthers tend not to bother helping develop them unless they're a standout player.

I hope teams like Devils, Steelers, Blaze etc.. continue using their own juniors, developing players born and bred in each respective location. I don't like to see poaching of juniors.
 
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