Two imports due to be announced this week
- Thread starter Rempel16
- Start date
I would think that there will be little news concerning remaining brits, as any offers being made would be very limited with there being an additional import this season. Have heard that symonds and davies have options in another elite team and epl teams and will therefore have a tough decision between wanting to stay in cardiff, but just not being able to afford to on what theyv'e been offered. Shame really that the import level raised and the younger brits loose out, on both ice time and their offers.
I'm not suprised at the possibility that any of our remaining unannounced Brits may be considering offers with other clubs. And why not? The way things are going availability of good Brits at EIHL and EPL level will be at a premium. Hope the Devils' organisation has got something sorted in this respect - at least one more, if not 2 Brits required for the squad. :?
Symmonds is a must for me.
With him signed it would give us a genuine 3 pairings on D, which will help us massively in games with fatigue etc.
AS for the forwards i'm a little bit worried to be honest, we need a towe standard (or Towe himself) brit on that third line. Our depth helped us a lot at times last season, and it would be a massive shame to lose it this coming season.
With him signed it would give us a genuine 3 pairings on D, which will help us massively in games with fatigue etc.
AS for the forwards i'm a little bit worried to be honest, we need a towe standard (or Towe himself) brit on that third line. Our depth helped us a lot at times last season, and it would be a massive shame to lose it this coming season.
Gazza - spot on. Some of the other clubs have already secured a 2nd Brit on defence e.g. Norton at Panthers and in some cases, sorted the Brit forwards (Steelers, Giants, Panthers and Blaze already got 2 or 3) Doubt it will be long before Steelers announce either/or/all of Thomas, Morgan and Hewitt, Giants will possibly re-sign Kevin Philips so its crucial for Alex to sign. As for the forwards, same situation.That 3rd line slot needs securing quickly with a good player - or they may all be snapped up by other teams! 
ASHIPP said:
Gazza - spot on. Some of the other clubs have already secured a 2nd Brit on defence e.g. Norton at Panthers and in some cases, sorted the Brit forwards (Steelers, Giants, Panthers and Blaze already got 2 or 3) Doubt it will be long before Steelers announce either/or/all of Thomas, Morgan and Hewitt, Giants will possibly re-sign Kevin Philips so its crucial for Alex to sign. As for the forwards, same situation.That 3rd line slot needs securing quickly with a good player - or they may all be snapped up by other teams!
farmer played really well last season, and didn't look any less strong than squeelers imports at times. As i said, it's a shame, that the brits who are just above that age range 21 up, who need to earn a reasonable wage, not big money, but similar to what they would get in the general working environment, can only find this in the EPL league. To loose home grown talent seems a waste of all the years a club puts into their junior development, just because we need to keep a large chunk of our wage budget for higher wage demands for imports. The likes of towe, symonds, farmer etc. put in the same training, same games and off ice work as any of the imports, so think they should be taken seriously and not left until all imports are signed up as shannon stated on the radio. It makes sense for the younger guys coming through unto age 19-20 who also may still be in education, but not once they are above 21, they are not youngsters, but men and will have the same needs and living expenses as any 25 year old import.
Spot on. And the bigger worry is if they do migrate to EPL for guaranteed ice-time and realistic salary, who's to say that they the original EIHL team would even be able to tempt them back - unless it's for more money. So the clubs willing to pay will be the ones who can afford decent standard Brits. This then impacts on the chances of future prospects being able to make that step to the top level of British ice hockey. It's a vicious circle - and frustratingly a similar situation to a few years ago. :x
I know our imports were cack last year but Farmer was no where near the likes of Legue, Talbot, Sheppard, Hubbauer, Sgroi in any department. :shock: Yes, there's plenty of potential and he's a big lad, but there's so much of his game that needs working on!
Farmer will earn a hell of a lot more playing for Manchester than he will as a 10th/11th forward for the Steelers and good on him for earning a decent wage. He still has a long way to go before he makes it as a comfortable 3rd line EIHL Brit, and although he has undoubted potential he needs to work on his defensive game as his offensive game ain't up there with the likes of Dowd, Peacock and Garside yet.
Come back in 2 or 3 years when you've learnt off Toeknee. He was rushed into the EIHL because of a poorly functioning team, rather than slowly incorporated into the EIHL like Dowd. I'd be far more annoyed if Thomas or Hewitt was to leave, of which one seems sure!
Good luck to the lad.
Farmer will earn a hell of a lot more playing for Manchester than he will as a 10th/11th forward for the Steelers and good on him for earning a decent wage. He still has a long way to go before he makes it as a comfortable 3rd line EIHL Brit, and although he has undoubted potential he needs to work on his defensive game as his offensive game ain't up there with the likes of Dowd, Peacock and Garside yet.
Come back in 2 or 3 years when you've learnt off Toeknee. He was rushed into the EIHL because of a poorly functioning team, rather than slowly incorporated into the EIHL like Dowd. I'd be far more annoyed if Thomas or Hewitt was to leave, of which one seems sure!
Good luck to the lad.
To me, the EPL seems to be making a statement about the quality of the Brits they are signing - and a strong EPL can only be a good thing for British hockey. It needs to be where we allow British talent to develop, allowing them to step up to EIHL.
American players don't just drop into the ECHL, AHL or NHL. We need to have a decent quality development league. Overall, it would be positive for British players. The EIHL will have to compete on prices for the British players, but also can't be held to ransom by a limited pool. So, decent wages from a decent pool. This is what we need to happen if we want the EIHL to keep the standard of hockey with a lower import limit.
I just hope that in the medium term the EIHL don't mess it all up. They need to lower these new higher import limits year on year to force the transition.
We may loose players we develop to other teams, but we will gain players developed by other teams - and the sport will benefit in the end.
Fingers crossed that the leagues and team owners see it that way.
American players don't just drop into the ECHL, AHL or NHL. We need to have a decent quality development league. Overall, it would be positive for British players. The EIHL will have to compete on prices for the British players, but also can't be held to ransom by a limited pool. So, decent wages from a decent pool. This is what we need to happen if we want the EIHL to keep the standard of hockey with a lower import limit.
I just hope that in the medium term the EIHL don't mess it all up. They need to lower these new higher import limits year on year to force the transition.
We may loose players we develop to other teams, but we will gain players developed by other teams - and the sport will benefit in the end.
Fingers crossed that the leagues and team owners see it that way.