Giants @ Devils Game Preview

26th Sep 2012 | Posted by Geriant Walters

The Devils welcome the Giants to town for the first meeting between the teams this season. The Giants will be looking to continue some early form and defend their title as well as continue with their impressive form from last season in the Big Blue Tent. With numerous changes for the Giants from Brits to Import's, it's a new look team but once again they have the depth throughout to challenge once again for the title.

Ahead of the game we take a look at the new look Giants :

Coach Dough Christiansen welcomes back Steven Murphy, Gareth Roberts, Graham Walton, Craig Peacock, Darryl Lloyd, Mark Garside, Andrew Dickson and new team captain Adam Keefe.

David Phillips - “Davey has all the tools. He is big, skates well, has good hands and wants to get better. I am not looking for him to be our top offensive d-man but he will play significant minutes for the Giants next season. I expect him to play a smart simple game and be a big part of our defensive core.

“Last season he was under a lot of pressure to be the top d-man in Coventry. He will not have that same pressure in Belfast. I expect him to be big part of why we win, not the sole reason why we win. My goal is for him to be a better player next March than he is in September. I am excited to work with him and help develop him.”

Sam Roberts - “I have done as much research on Sam as I have any player in recent years. There is no doubt that Sam has been able to have some great offensive years. I wanted to touch base with his coaches to find out more about his defensive ability and his injury plagued 2010-11 season. I spoke with his coaches from junior, from Gwinnett and last season. Each of them raved about him on and off the ice and all of them would have loved to have him back. Their reviews combined with the video I have watched have made me very confident that Sam will be excellent for us.

“My expectation of Sam is to be a player who can jump into the rush and be effective on the power play. He has played with Will Colbert for a number of years and they have a lot of chemistry on the penalty kill and 5 on 5. Sam is hungry to play in Belfast and be a go to player. I am looking forward to working with him to achieve our goals.”

Noah Clarke - “Noah will be an impact player in our league, no question, and I have very high expectations for him next season. He is a very talented player who can play center or wing for us, he skates extremely well and has a great touch around the net. I expect him to be a n offensive force all season and particularly effective on the power play for us.”

“Noah is also a player that will help the development of our younger players. Craig Peacock, Matt Towe and Mark Garside will all benefit from his experience and his professionalism.”

Daymen Rycroft -“Daymen is a player that I tried to sign last January. We came very close to adding him before the transfer deadline but the deal did not happen.

“I think our fans are going to love him. He is a gritty player who can score and he has been a leader his entire professional career. I spoke with a number of his former teammates and they raved about his competitiveness and work ethic. His versatility will really help us.

“If we are to achieve our goals this season, we will need to maintain our team ethos and competitiveness. Daymen is a player that I expect we can rely on night in and night out. Daymen has a lot to prove after a tough season with injuries and he is hungry to make his mark in Europe.”

Matt Towe - “Matt and I spoke the last two summers. He skates extremely well, which is something I look for. I want to play aggressively in all 3 zones and his speed helps us do that. He has developed his offensive game the last 2 seasons and I expect him to play a significant amount for us. He can play both center and wing but he will most likely start as a winger.

“I enjoy working with young players who are determined to develop. Towe has taken less money than he was offered elsewhere to have the opportunity to play for the Giants and prove himself on a championship contender. He wanted to get back into the Elite League and that sacrifice is a sign that he is hungry to be a great player and work hard everyday to help the team.”

Scott Champagne - “Scott is a gifted passer and he is one of those guys that makes the players around him better. We have a number of players who are goal scorers and we needed someone who can get them the puck in the right areas. Scott is the right man for the job.

“He knows the league well from his time in Nottingham and has proven himself to be an elite player. We needed a player like him to set up the likes of Noah Clarke, Daymen Rycroft and Craig Peacock. He immediately makes us more dangerous offensively and better on the power play.

“When I heard that Scott was interested in Belfast, I immediately reached out to him. Of course, I had concerns about the fact that he left Nottingham mid-season last year but we have discussed this and I do not expect it to be an issue in Belfast, in fact, we have resolved it contractually.

“I believe our team just got better offensively and became more creative. We have an excellent core now and I am extremely excited to get back to Belfast to start working with this year’s team. Our plan since we lifted the League Title in March was to build a team that can chase down another title. Champagne is the type of player that gets teams to that next level.

Will Colbert - “Will is a defensive defender similar to Tim Cook or Nick Kuiper. The reports I had on Will were fantastic. One of his coaches described him as ‘a true professional.’ Another stated that he was one of the ‘finest people he had ever met.’ All of the people I spoke with stated that he was great defensively and was a leader.”

“I expect Will to play against the other teams top lines and be a shut down defender. Will also has the skill to play on the power play and will be able to help us with the man advantage.

Greg Stewart - “Adding a player who is in the prime of his career and played in the NHL two years ago is a massive coup for our organisation. Stewart is a hard-nosed player who plays the game the right way – he can skate fast, hit hard, fight and score.

“He will create space for players around him and his overall skill set should allow him to make an impact every game. You just don’t make it to the NHL as a 8th round draft pick if you do not play the game with passion. I expect him to be a big part of our team and I expect our fans to love him.

“Last season, he had an injury-shortened season but was dominant in the first round of the play-offs. His coach stated that he ‘single handedly won us our first round play-off series.’ His former coaches and competitors raved about what he can bring to a team. He should be a fan favorite at the Odyssey.”

Rob Sandrock - “Rob is exactly what I was looking for. He is right handed offensive defenceman and he is a veteran player who will be counted on in all situations. Having watching a lot of video on him, what struck me the most was his ability to shoot the puck from the point. I think he will have a lot of success on our power play. I expect Rob to be a leader in both in our dressing room and on the ice.

Andrew Fournier - “Andrew is an extremely talented offensive player. He is extremely skilled with a great pair of hands and good playmaking vision.

“Andrew has a knack for scoring big goals, he has been on a number of very good teams and knows what it takes to win.

“I expect him to be an impact player for us from day one. I really believe we unearthed a gem here late in the off-season.”

Brock Matheson -“We have excellent forwards who are going to be aggressive and attack our opponent and what I wanted was a defenseman that would relish the challenge of shutting down the other top forwards in the league, guys like David Ling, Jeff Legue, Shea Guthrie etc.

“Brock loves one on one battles. He blocks shots, hits and competes every night. His defensive style of play would be similar to former Giants Nick Kuiper and Tim Cook who were both valuable pieces on very successful teams here in Belfast. I expect Matheson to play a very similar game to Kuiper.”

Christiansen continued -

“One variable that I find extremely important in our league is self-motivation. I think it is crucial for a player to be able to play a home game at 7pm, leave the Odyssey at 10:30pm then wake up at 6am, fly to our opponents city and compete just the same that night.

“In Belfast, the travel is tough on players. As a coach, you need players who take pride in how they compete and Brock Matheson is one of those players.

“This is evidenced by the fact his college coach stated, ‘Brock Matheson is the best leader I have ever been around in my coaching career. Frankly, I cannot wait to work with him in Belfast.”

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