Signings/Departures Thread - All Teams 2023/24

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moggy#9

Well-Known Member
#603
#603
jenks33 said:
Each to their own and all that but from a spectator point of view give me an in form Guildford over a team full of bullies any day of the week. Since returning to the EIHL they’ve been a breath of fresh air and they aren’t particularly tough. They just buzz around the ice, they all seem to buy in and they’re relentless at putting teams under pressure. In my opinion where Guildford still struggle (compared to Belfast) and the reason they still haven’t won anything is depth not a lack of toughness. They’ve usually got 4 very reliable D men and 9 very solid forwards but their lack of depth compared to Belfast has been the major difference.

And another thing when people say they don’t care about league positions/winning trophies they just want to see hits/physical hockey I don’t believe that for one minute. They would be the first people on here moaning that we are 4th and we don’t have enough skill.
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I don't think I've seen anyone suggest a team of bullies. It's all about balance. Everyone loves to what fast skilled players bring, but I firmly believe that protection is needed.
 
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jenks33

Well-Known Member
#604
#604
moggy#9 said:
I don't think I've seen anyone suggest a team of bullies. It's all about balance. Everyone loves to what fast skilled players bring, but I firmly believe that protection is needed.
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I think you get where I’m coming from though, whether you agree with it or not. I’m not actually suggesting anybody wants 15 Sean Mcmorrow’s but in my opinion some fans haven’t moved on from the BBT era. Of course I’m happy to have toughness, christ in an ideal world you want 18 players who are both tough and skilled but I suspect they wouldn’t be in the EIHL.
I think where I disagree with some others is tough players have to be able to tick various boxes these days. This debate started after the Mark Louis departure and in my opinion Mark is an example of a player that doesn’t tick enough boxes anymore. And I love him! He’s been a brilliant servant for the Devils but the game has moved on. I appreciate he would be our 5th Dman but for a team challenging for the title I want more flexibility from an import Dman. Obviously plenty will disagree but I don’t think we are going to need any tougher than River Rymsha from what I’ve read and seen of him. And I’m not saying that doesn’t sadden me at all, but it’s just the way the game has gone.
 
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Diablo3

Diablo3

Well-Known Member
#605
#605
I agree, I think the days of enforcers are pretty much over. imo the last two left in the EIHL were Louis and Gagnon who have both gone. We have plenty of players that will stick up for each other, so we should be ok. especially if as last year, as soon as an altercation started, the stripes were straight in there.
 
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moggy#9

Well-Known Member
#606
#606
jenks33 said:
I think you get where I’m coming from though, whether you agree with it or not. I’m not actually suggesting anybody wants 15 Sean Mcmorrow’s but in my opinion some fans haven’t moved on from the BBT era. Of course I’m happy to have toughness, christ in an ideal world you want 18 players who are both tough and skilled but I suspect they wouldn’t be in the EIHL.
I think where I disagree with some others is tough players have to be able to tick various boxes these days. This debate started after the Mark Louis departure and in my opinion Mark is an example of a player that doesn’t tick enough boxes anymore. And I love him! He’s been a brilliant servant for the Devils but the game has moved on. I appreciate he would be our 5th Dman but for a team challenging for the title I want more flexibility from an import Dman. Obviously plenty will disagree but I don’t think we are going to need any tougher than River Rymsha from what I’ve read and seen of him. And I’m not saying that doesn’t sadden me at all, but it’s just the way the game has gone.
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All that said, I would have loved to have seen Mike Macwilliam actually being able to play. For a big guy who was known as an enforcer, he could skate and shoot well. A breakaway he scored one time at the old Nottingham rink was a thing of beauty.
 
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jenks33

Well-Known Member
#607
#607
moggy#9 said:
All that said, I would have loved to have seen Mike Macwilliam actually being able to play. For a big guy who was known as an enforcer, he could skate and shoot well. A breakaway he scored one time at the old Nottingham rink was a thing of beauty.
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No right or wrong is there. I’m sure if you walked around the rink asking people about their opinions on team toughness/enforcers etc you would get 100s of different opinions. You won’t find a bigger Mike Macwilliam fan than me. Hard as nails but an underrated player as well.
 
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moggy#9

Well-Known Member
#609
#609
Finny said:
Which recent EIHL teams would you say had the right balance?
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That's an interesting question. Clearly the Andrew lord teams did, beyond that I really don't know. Obviously the recent Belfast teams have been terrific, but they've not needed to show much of a mean streak to do that, as the gap between them and others had been too great. Some of the other teams have shown toughness, but not the offensive capability.

I think it's when the league is tight, as I expect it to be this year, that having a broad spectrum of capabilities really comes into play.

Apologies if that's a bit too much of a hand wavy answer.
 
lloyd_jeff

lloyd_jeff

Well-Known Member
#613
#613
I don’t get the one dimensional opinion of a tough guy being a goon or an enforcer. No, what you sign is a guy who can play his defensive role with skill, but also has the physical & mental ability to role up into a physical response when necessary without a red mist loss of control. It’s still a physical contact sport & can be within the rules.
 
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Kevin roog

Well-Known Member
#616
#616
My daughter hates fighting and hopes she never sees a fight again, she’s 19. I made her watch a compilation of Mike ware and she thinks he’s a bully, I’m gonna have a word with her, there’s clearly something wrong with her ha ha
 
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