My expectations.

hip check · Mar 25, 2025

I love my hockey, the speed, physicality, skill and the general comradeship between players, fans and management/owners.
I've been attending since season one (not game one though) and have seen so many talented and probably some not so talented players wear our beloved strip in it's various guises.
Recently I have to say that I have left the rink after some games and felt like I have been short changed

. Throughout the years following this great club I've seen us win, lose, pick up trophies and just lose out on winning them, but always bar very few occasions have felt I've been entertained and had my money's worth.
Since the Dupont season it seems the Devils have gone in a slightly different direction playing style wise, call it European style or whatever but certainly a more passive and skill based approach with players of a smaller stature being favoured by the recruitment team. I have no problem with that although being 'old school' I do miss the more crash bang approach. I have noticed more so this season that in a number of games the what I would call passion has been missing from our team, the never say die attitude that I personally associate with Devils hockey seems disappointingly absent where the team appears to have no fight and get turned over without what appears little resistance and lack of effort to get the results and we end up on the end of a mini walloping.
As a hockey fan and Devils fan all I expect from my team is entertainment, if we don't win anything even though it can be a little disappointing as long as I see effort and my team busting a gut I am happy as I've seen my team put the hard yards in regardless of the result. The fact that I have actually been bored and watched my team seemingly roll over without much of a fight on quite a few occasions this season especially in the last few months I question certain players commitment to the cause, I also find myself asking myself if I want to watch a team that seems maybe not to care as much as I do about Devil's hockey.
There is no denying we've rolled over a few times this season with very little fight being shown by our players, I do understand that we've been particularly hard hit by injuries this season and that could quite possibly account for tiredness but I'm witnessing a definite lack of fight and pride recently and that disappoints me.
It actually bothers me that I don't care whether I attend games or not now because that's not me, I haven't attended a game since Jan 26th and I can't say I've missed it. I doubt I'll attend any games now till the end of the season and will see how recruitment goes pre-season. Attendances are excellent and sell outs so the club are obviously doing something right but I personally feel the entertainment has taken a dip, why that is who knows.

The_Puck · Mar 25, 2025

The style of game has changed I’m afraid. My first game was in 2014 and that was such a fun team to watch. But the small rink and the type of players we recruit, that was always going to be the case.

Go back to today and it’s completely different, that’s not me complaining as I enjoy and appreciate the game more today than I did 10 years ago. I couldn’t name a single team that plays the same as they did 10 years ago. I would always fear going to Sheffield as that team had the gritty players like (Hewitt, Mosienko, Fitzgerald, Roy etc). They don’t have anyone really now apart from Dowd (which says it all).

A lot of people on here talk about missing the physical plays and sticking up for eachother and I’d say we still have that in our team. Just because we’re not fighting every night doesn’t mean we’re not physical.

It’s a topic a lot of people will agree and disagree on but it’s still an interesting one.

I expect us to compete for trophies every year which we do:
Conti cup winners
CC finalists
4th in league but I don’t think that tells the full story
who knows what happens in playoffs…

hip check · Mar 25, 2025

The_Puck said:

Yes the game has certainly changed over recent years and the skill level is absolutely there, what I'm noticing is sometimes a lack of shall we say effort and pride in putting in a shift, I can't really remember a time when opposition teams sometimes have an 'easy ride' when playing the Devils. When the team 9th in the table wallops us 6-0 it tells me something is not right.
Have no problem with the change in playing style (even though a power forward or two would be nice) it's a lack of fight that seems to be creeping in that worries me, by fight I don't mean punching someone's teeth out. We've seen Wales get well beaten this season in the rugby but I saw effort and fight I sometimes don't see it from the Devils.

Rempel16 · Mar 25, 2025

hip check said:

I love my hockey, the speed, physicality, skill and the general comradeship between players, fans and management/owners.
I've been attending since season one (not game one though) and have seen so many talented and probably some not so talented players wear our beloved strip in it's various guises.
Recently I have to say that I have left the rink after some games and felt like I have been short changed

. Throughout the years following this great club I've seen us win, lose, pick up trophies and just lose out on winning them, but always bar very few occasions have felt I've been entertained and had my money's worth.
Since the Dupont season it seems the Devils have gone in a slightly different direction playing style wise, call it European style or whatever but certainly a more passive and skill based approach with players of a smaller stature being favoured by the recruitment team. I have no problem with that although being 'old school' I do miss the more crash bang approach. I have noticed more so this season that in a number of games the what I would call passion has been missing from our team, the never say die attitude that I personally associate with Devils hockey seems disappointingly absent where the team appears to have no fight and get turned over without what appears little resistance and lack of effort to get the results and we end up on the end of a mini walloping.
As a hockey fan and Devils fan all I expect from my team is entertainment, if we don't win anything even though it can be a little disappointing as long as I see effort and my team busting a gut I am happy as I've seen my team put the hard yards in regardless of the result. The fact that I have actually been bored and watched my team seemingly roll over without much of a fight on quite a few occasions this season especially in the last few months I question certain players commitment to the cause, I also find myself asking myself if I want to watch a team that seems maybe not to care as much as I do about Devil's hockey.
There is no denying we've rolled over a few times this season with very little fight being shown by our players, I do understand that we've been particularly hard hit by injuries this season and that could quite possibly account for tiredness but I'm witnessing a definite lack of fight and pride recently and that disappoints me.
It actually bothers me that I don't care whether I attend games or not now because that's not me, I haven't attended a game since Jan 26th and I can't say I've missed it. I doubt I'll attend any games now till the end of the season and will see how recruitment goes pre-season. Attendances are excellent and sell outs so the club are obviously doing something right but I personally feel the entertainment has taken a dip, why that is who knows.

Absolutely great post and I completely agree.

Are we having sell-outs though? There are plenty of empty seats around the rink every game.

ASHIPP · Mar 25, 2025

Irrespective of the style of hockey or the skill of the Team, the minimum expectation of fans is that the on ice product entertains , that the Team is hardworking and plays with pride. Anything less is not offering value for money or cultivating fan loyalty.

Of course the Club is in a very fortunate position currently with virtually continuous sell outs. Irrespective of the on ice product. As a business, that income stream is vital for survival. Although very recently I have seen a drift away from the close camaraderie between Club and fans that used to be the envy of the league

Fans on this chat thread are not alone. I, too, have followed this Club since 1986. For many years a season ticket holder but now, personal and work commitments have affected that. I now rely on walkup tickets but this season, for the first time, have felt I have not been getting value for money. I attend to watch the hockey, as I always have. It's becoming more difficult to enjoy the experience when our team lacks so much consistency and heart. Injuries aside, we have a full roster again but we faithfully attend games not knowing which version of the Team is going to turn up. In addition, sitting next to drunk casuals and screaming brownie packs who are not there to follow the game has killed my enjoyment of the sport I love.

Over the decades, win or lose, whatever the budget, or skill level, Cardiff Devils teams were reknowned for passion and entertainment. Paul Heavey (and later on Gerad Adams) would never have accepted anything less from their teams. Whatever the situation we followed our Team because they worked hard every game, played with pride, and entertained.

Luckily for fans, all that was re-instated in the early days of the New Ownership with Todd, Franny and Lordo leading that revolution...but it is being eroded. We were all on a crusade together as one back then...Club, Team, fans. It would be fantastic to reset and return to those values and times. But it's a different world now in so many ways post COVID.

Wannabe2 · Mar 25, 2025

hip check said:

Those words actually explain what a lot of fans feel, and explain them very well, as you rightly say we don’t have to win trophies but we should expect to be entertained, and that’s been missing for quite awhile unfortunately. The club ownership and management lead by example, the fans lead by example by turning up in their droves, but unfortunately and strangely the lead by examples seem to finish there, with the exception of Mr Martin. Hip Check is feeling the same frustrations as many others, and when you really care about a club and care enormously like him it’s like ripping your heart out to stop supporting the club you love, Cardiff fans really are a loyal crowd, Todd and our other owners realised and saw exactly that, and it must have gone a long way in their awesome decision to take us on, we have a great venue, in a great city, with great fans, and without a doubt the best owners ever, if we can somehow repair and return the entertainment value that would certainly be something to behold. This club to many people is to a certain extent a extension of their family that’s why they stick by them year in and year out, people like Hip Check don’t come around every day and we can’t afford to lose loyal fans like him. We certainly have a problem at the moment and this post by him has highlighted what a lot of people feel, fortunately we have owners more educated in this great sport than us, and being fans like us, can’t be overjoyed about our entertainment experiences this season, these guys are winners so hopefully things can be turned around, in the meantime thank you Hip Check for sharing your views and feelings about the club we all love, hang in there buddy we live in hope mate.

Martynwo · Mar 25, 2025

For me One big difference between the so called change in "Devils way of hockey" is the change of venue type. The WNIR and the BBT were different pads to current, the fans were "on top" and much nearer to the pad and as a consequence we felt every hit and more part of the game as fans. Its exactly the same with the changes in football stadiums, they are more "sterile" than the older original stadiuns and have lost some identity. I loved ninian patk compared to CCS and likewise loved WNIR and BBT compared to the vindico.

Wannabe2 · Mar 25, 2025

ASHIPP said:

Another great post that fuels the views that unfortunately entertainment wise things ain’t what they used to be, and certainly a topic I reckon will be high of our hierarchy meetings in the close season, myself I would like to see a meeting between club and fans to give our views on how we can all move forward together as one, at the end of the day we all want the same target. There’s a hell of a difference between moaning and caring, and the later can be the most hurtful, but can also be the very best, we work very hard for our income, it’s not much to ask that others do exactly the same.

Earnie · Mar 25, 2025

Hey Martyn
Consider yourself lucky you are not in Row Z in Nottingham!

Wannabe2 · Mar 25, 2025

Martynwo said:

Sorry mate understand your point, but venues don’t have anything to do with passion, caring, pride in wearing the shirt, and entertainment coming from the ice, pitch, or anywhere else. Yes smaller ice pads have less places to hide, and maybe more physical, but we have been in this gaff now for about 10 yrs or so, it’s less about the size of the ice, and more about the size of the heart.

Earnie · Mar 25, 2025

Like a Jack Russel

Ejercito Rojas · Mar 25, 2025

I agree with much of what has been written here but particularly agree with Hip Check and Ashipp.
The entertainment value has been on a downward trend since Covid, culminating in the mostly sterile, non contact boring hockey on offer nowadays.
However, it’s not always been like that, there have been hugely entertaining games with exciting edge of the seat hockey (Continental Cup final group) but these games have become extremely rare.

I do not believe that physical fast exciting hockey needs to be a thing of the past either. If the EIHL instructs the officials to officiate the game differently (less fussy) and letting the game flow a little more (face off violations) and let the players decide the outcome rather than the refs then some of the sporting integrity may return.

I have followed DEL hockey for many years, as a fan of die Köln Haie (Cologne Sharks) I have been to the Lanxess a few times this season to witness Köln play a hardnosed fast North American style in games against Berlin and Mannheim amongst others and they play in front of 18000 screaming flag waving fans!
German hockey is a bit of an anomaly in my mind as it is more of a hybrid style of fast skillful play and the physiclal edge that the fans evidently love so much.
And this approach hasn’t detrimentally effected the German National Team’s standing or performances in international tournaments as they are having a renaissance and doing extremely well.

Other leagues like the SHL, Extraliga, NLA and to a lesser extent Liiga (Finland is a little more defensive and physical than these others) are a little sterile in comparison to the DEL.
PR is fully aware of the DEL style of hockey but I believe he has been compromised somewhat by the Devils front office slavish devotion to following less physical trends of the NHL (so called eurohockey) and handcuffed by the sometimes pitiful officiating.

We can have a more North American style again but the EIHL have to facilitate this!

Speaking of sporting integrity, when 20% of the home fixtures are the shambles that is the Belfast Cup, sorry CC, where the team only need to turn up to a couple of them to guarantee progress to the next stage towards the midweek almost impossible to attend as an away fan, final in Belfast this does absolutely nothing to increase the feeling of being entertained and value for money!

The EIHL is on the brink, Fife are so poor they would struggle to win at NIHL level and the Arena teams have loosened the purse strings to the extent that a few teams are hopelessly out of touch of even dreaming of winning a trophy.

These things can be fixed, when the SuperLeague imploded the Findus BNL was a very decent watch and so was the early EIHL, teams had an identity.

I expect to be entertained, I expect us to be offered value for money, I expect to be able to park my car but most of all I don’t expect to be taken for a mug!

pjj365 · Mar 25, 2025

Many take sell outs as indicative of the clubs health
BUT
That does not equate to bums on seats. There will be gaps in the crowd if the season ticket holders don't turn up - yet it's a sell out
I'm sure Todd & co will be conflicted. On the one hand revenues are secured but the empty seats must surely send a message

Kevin roog · Mar 25, 2025

I used to look forward every week to the q and a’s with franny and Todd , a few more of those wouldn’t go amiss, the one the other week was pretty good, Todd doesn’t do a column in the programme anymore , we get what the club are trying to implement and achieve straight from the horses mouth as opposed to rumours online

Devil94 · Mar 25, 2025

hip check said:

A fair post, and it's a shame that it sounds like you are losing the love for hockey.

But it's a post that you could swap 'Devils' for any team in world hockey, and I'm sure a fan would feel these emotions. The phrase 'the game's changed' has been mentioned enough already, but I'm afraid it's a big factor for the lack of entertainment that some will be feeling. And it's understandable that if fighting and rough stuff is someone's idea of entertainment, that they're going to feel short changed going to hockey games now. But that's now hockey, not just the Devils, and I'm sure it's a tough pill to swallow to realise those days are not coming back, doesn't matter how successful your team is.

Fans who have been following for a long time will have nostalgia bias, remembering the past more positively than it may have been. Remembering your seat in WNIR, fights you saw at the BBT, friends you made on away trips etc, and this often leads us to remember older eras as better than the present. We remember the most iconic moments, wins, fights, old Devils legends, while overlooking the more mundane or frustrating aspects of those times.

While the results aren't always great, and the hockey different to what it used to be, the era we are in now is the most stable the club has been. We also go in to every season with some hope and a chance of winning trophies. Not every club has that, far from it. Think of those poor fans in Fife who have been following the club for decades not knowing what next season looks like for them. We were there ourselves a decade ago, and where we are now would feel like a dream to us back then.

kingmo19.1 · Mar 25, 2025

I don’t think ticket sales will drop off just yet, but another year or two of 4th place finishes and I think it’ll kick in.

There will likely be 1 team less next year (Fife) and that’ll add a bit to the repetitive boredom.

Earnie · Mar 25, 2025

My expectations:
Carter King - defensive forward of the year. ( if NHL don’t nab him first

Ocko · Mar 25, 2025

A thread that sums up how I’m feeling.
I’ve followed the team consistently since I was 4 years old, 33 years later this is the first season I’ve kind of given up. I’ve always reserved 1900 on a Saturday and 1800 on a Sunday for watching the Devils, I even watched game DVDs in FOBs in Afghanistan that they sent out to me! But now it’s boring and the identity of the club and league isn’t what it was. I couldn’t tell you who we played this weekend, who we have next week or where we are in the league for the first time in my adult life. I’ve been deployed most of the season but I haven’t even bought a webcast for months, now I’m home it hasn’t crossed my mind to go. I enjoy catching the odd NHL game on TV more.

People used to joke about the league having journeyman imports who don’t care and this is the first time I would agree. The league have taken the play in a completely different direction, it’s over officiated and become sterile. Hardly any hitting or fighting when the skill level isn’t good enough to carry it on its own, it’s lost its USP. It’s also changed the fans attitude too where every game people go on about bad hits and bans when in the NHL, AHL etc they wouldn’t even be a minor. I find the atmopshere a bit weird now, a little over sensitive and cringey. I’ve caught highlights of a few NIHL games and they look so much more entertaining (check the highlights of Bristol v Hull). I noticed a few weeks ago the Devils got pumped 6 nil (or at least around that), the fan in me from a different era thought for a split second ‘I bet that kicked off’ and considered watching the highlights. Good job I checked; not so much as a roughing penalty.

I don’t even care about the winning trophies bit, once we got the monkeys off our back and delivered the CC, play offs and league titles again I was content for us to just compete. I can accept other teams are in more favourable financial positions and will invariably finish higher than us.

ASHIPP · Mar 25, 2025

Earnie said:

There are rumours he might be signed to an ELC by Calgary Flames. Steve and the King Family must be extremely proud.

Earnie · Mar 25, 2025

It is obvious some people are disillusioned. It’s a League headache of which Devils are a part.
The League also have the problem of Fife.
It will all find a level in the end.

My expectations.

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