Cardiff Devils Confirmed Signings & Departures 2019/20

Devil94

Well-Known Member
Last off season I thought we would lose him, this off season I thought it was guaranteed. Unbelievable we have managed to keep someone of that quality for so long.

When he first joined you could see how skilled and talented he was, but he was a bit raw. Now he's the complete package.
 

Wannabe2

Well-Known Member
Our club is a pretty neat package now, best in the league and the players know it. What a Lush position to be in, so incredibly professional.
 

Finny

Well-Known Member
A great re-signing for a player who has got better each year with us and was simply outstanding last season.

With his skating ability he could play in several higher leagues so it really is remarkable he is back with us again for the new season.
 
Excellent news - There are lots of players I like and would have back, but Martin, Bowns, Linglet and Fournier are the crucial spine of the team I think. You can add around them and you'll have a team capable of challenging for the title again. While we all get excited about new signings, the real measure of this club is their ability to retain top class players who could go on to better leagues, it's worth more than bug name signings who only come for a season. People should remember that the next time they moan that Lord hasn't gassed someone by October - treating players respectfully is a long term strategy that pays off.
 

jimmy snels

Well-Known Member
fournier im amazed has stayed, he looked ready for a crack at the big leagues! great stuff!

my only concern at the minute is we are going to be sentimental and sign the same roster. we have so far resigned some of our best players. haddad i have a question mark over his fitness. i still think we need to upgrade our third line scoring with pope and morrisette obviously coming off the back of poor seasons. ulmer is a year older, is he a year too far now? do we need a re-jig on defence, we seemed to lack size and composure at times. im waiting on the real bones of the off season at the minute, who we have let go, what big decisions have been made and where we are looking to improve.
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
fournier im amazed has stayed, he looked ready for a crack at the big leagues! great stuff!

my only concern at the minute is we are going to be sentimental and sign the same roster. we have so far resigned some of our best players. haddad i have a question mark over his fitness. i still think we need to upgrade our third line scoring with pope and morrisette obviously coming off the back of poor seasons. ulmer is a year older, is he a year too far now? do we need a re-jig on defence, we seemed to lack size and composure at times. im waiting on the real bones of the off season at the minute, who we have let go, what big decisions have been made and where we are looking to improve.
Yes sentiment is a slight concern for me. it’s a no brainer that Pope and Morissette should be replaced for next season in my opinion. Both have been good servants (especially Morissette) but we can definitely upgrade on both.
What I struggle with sometimes is the “we only lost the league on regulation wins” comments. That’s obviously true but we 100% through the league title away. It’s rubbish to say we “bottled it” but we weren’t good enough when it really mattered. So you have to make strong decisions for next years roster. For the people saying “well we won the play offs” I’m not buying that argument. Nobody was more pleased than me that we won that final but we never would have won that without Bowns. Ben had to have his best game of the season for us to win that. If you rewatch that game we could have/should have been 2 or 3 goals down in the first 10 minutes and then it’s a totally different game. I’m not saying major changes are needed for next season. I’d even be happy if up to 15 of last seasons roster were re-signed. But for the people saying that no changes are needed, they’re a bit delusional for me.
 
Our club is a pretty neat package now, best in the league and the players know it. What a Lush position to be in, so incredibly professional.
Surely League, Conference and Challenge Cup make Giants the best in the league at the moment ?......or have I missed something? Does winning P/O final a couple of years running supersede that?
 

Wannabe2

Well-Known Member
explain to me how? This is a genuine question and not a wind up
Because it’s my opinion, just like you have yours. We also don’t have players leaving at the rate Giants do, and there’s a reason for that. As for trophies they are only on loan to you, again that’s my opinion. At the moment I would put you guys as maybe the second, maybe.
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
fournier im amazed has stayed, he looked ready for a crack at the big leagues! great stuff!

my only concern at the minute is we are going to be sentimental and sign the same roster. we have so far resigned some of our best players. haddad i have a question mark over his fitness. i still think we need to upgrade our third line scoring with pope and morrisette obviously coming off the back of poor seasons. ulmer is a year older, is he a year too far now? do we need a re-jig on defence, we seemed to lack size and composure at times. im waiting on the real bones of the off season at the minute, who we have let go, what big decisions have been made and where we are looking to improve.
It will be interesting to see how the Devils have dealt with any weaknesses in the team from last season. To be competitive, to achieve success, teams have to improve and adapt. Often that means making changes and tough decisions. Even the best teams in different sports are constantly doing this.....to try and stay ahead of competitors.

Every signing announced so far has more than earned his right to be on the roster. We are very fortunate to be in position where somehow the Club has managed to retain certain players who we would have banked on leaving for other opportunities. All these guys played consistently well last season (in some cases outstandingly well), and came off a previous season having played consistently well. The same cannot be said about Pope or Morissette, who as players, were disappointing last season and the previous one. Granted, their roles had changed last season, but we did not see the same level of impact or adjustment as , for instance, Mosey and Livingston, who joined mid-season and made an impact very quickly, took on multiple roles, playing with different line mates in different games.

Being brutally honest, it would be disappointing to see Morissette and Pope on the roster next year - both playing positions are obvious for upgrades. We will find out in the next few announcements what is happening. If they stay, it will be interesting to see how this is 'sold' to the fans, many of whom will be hoping to welcome new players in to those positions.
 

James

Administrator
Surely League, Conference and Challenge Cup make Giants the best in the league at the moment ?......or have I missed something? Does winning P/O final a couple of years running supersede that?
No it makes you the most successful team of last season. It wasn't that long ago Cardiff was about the worst club in the league to play for with a succession of dodgy owners, players not getting paid and uncertainty even if we'd have ice to play on. Fortunately for us at the moment that's all changed.
 

Gazza272

Well-Known Member
Pope will be a fine Re signing.

He finished 7th in Scoring despite being taken off of the powerplay that he was on constantly the year before, yes there was a time where it looked like he lost some confidence in front of goal, but he was arguably our most influential forward in the last 4 weeks of the season. And he seemed to have found some Chemistry with Dixon and Linglet.

He's obviously someone who wants to be here, and has the potential to be his own replacement, he has the ability to gain an extra 15 - 20 points. Let's get behind him to do so.
 
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