NIHL Interview - Alan Armour

NIHL Cardiff Devils welcome back one of the most experienced players in the league Alan Armour. Armour's career has panned across two decades throughout the British leagues covering the EPL, BNL and the ENL. This is Armour's second stint with the Devils after his runners up medal back in 2009-2010 with the teams impressive undefeated at home in the league. Arms has been with Bristol the last two seasons due to personal reasons and with him living in the area, it was the right move at the time.

Despite his age he still plays with that 'edge' and with the wealth of experience that he brings week in week out will help further the development of the future Cardiff Devils and this is one great signing the club can be proud of on and off the ice.

We catch up with Armour to talk about his career, his return to the Devils and what the future holds for him.

The Inferno - Welcome back to Cardiff, are you looking forward to your second stint with the Devils?

Alan Armour - If I'm totally honest I haven't looked forward to the start of a season this much since the last time I played for Cardiff.

The Inferno - After a lengthy career, what's been your proudest achievement to date? How much more have you got to give to hockey?

Alan Armour -That is such a tough question to answer, I have played for a long time now and although my trophy cabinet isn't overflowing with Silverware I do have some fantastic memories and have been fortunate enough to win the league with Swindon Phoenix, the Autumn Trophy with the Swindon Wildcats and represent GB at World and European Championships along with playing on some really good teams with some amazing players. But I reckon my proudest moment is probably earning a league runners up medal with the Devils in my last stint, we weren't that far off top either.

The Inferno - When did you first get involved with hockey? Growing up did you have a Hockey hero?

Alan Armour -I was 10 years old and they had just built the rink in Swindon, a mate of mine asked if I wanted to give hockey a try bearing in mind we had never even skated and that was it, I was hooked. I think I had some natural skating ability in my blood though as my granddad William McKelvie was the Scottish Speed skating Champion in 1951. My hero as a child was always Daryl Lipsey, he coached me in the early years and I was honoured to play with him in the Wildcats too.

The Inferno - How was your time in Bristol? How did it feel knowing that you may not have a rink to play out of when it was announced towards the end last season about the closure?

Alan Armour -I enjoyed my time in Bristol it was a sensible move for me to play there as the rink is on my doorstep. I have had a lot on personally over the last two years so being in Bristol helped me through that, but they probably didn't always get the best out of me. When I knew there was a possibility of the rink closing I was instantly thinking, where can I play? and my first immediate thought was back to Cardiff. I would say I have never felt as at home as I do playing in Cardiff and that is a testament to the fans, management and the players of such a great Club.

The Inferno - How did the move back to the Devils come about? Can we expect the same experienced Armour which we saw 3 years back or have you calmed down since then? Aims for this year?

Alan Armour -I never really wanted to leave the Devils last time but again with the Bristol rink 10 minutes from my house logistically it just made sense. I am just me, always been the same player, probably will never change, its getting a bit late for that now anyway haha. I play how I play everyone knows that, I am realistic about what my good points are and I work to cut down on my bad points, fortunately I respect Cudd as a person and a coach so he always seems to get the very best from me.

The Inferno - Who's the best forward you've played on a line with and best D man you've come up against?

Alan Armour -I have played with some great players and although some were outstanding and I could list names of well know imports and Brits I have played with, I would say the now retired Mike Smith from my time in Bristol and Swindon was the best for me to play with. We just seemed to know where each other was going to be, we made a point of ensuring our plus/minus was always good and our penalty killing is legendary. I don't remember individual defencemen really, not enough that one stands out anyway. There are certain players you relish playing because you know their weak points and others were you know you are going to have to grind it out or have a tough battle in the corner with. If I have to give a name I would think Dwayne Newman is up there or maybe Rob Stewart when he was at Romford.

The Inferno - Have you made plans for when you hang your skates up? Would you look to go into coaching or will you just stick with the day job?

Alan Armour - No is the simple answer, I don't think that is ever going to happen. Obviously there is a limit to the level I can play at but I don't think I will ever hang them up and with any luck I will always be involved with hockey in some capacity. Do I have the time or patience for coaching?.....not yet. I am really tempted, purely for comedy value, to go into refereeing when I can't play any more.

The Inferno - Can you give us an insight into the new look NIHL Devils due to a few step ups and departures? Which game are you looking forward to most?

Alan Armour -To be honest at this moment I can't really tell you much because I don't know myself exactly what the plans are or what kind of league it is going to be this year, I do know that it has been improving every single year and I don't expect there to be any easy games this season. I always really look forward to the Invicta games both home and away but I think the key matches for me this season will be Isle of Wight and Bracknell.

The Inferno - What do you consider the strongest part of your game and what 1 thing would you improve - and why?

Alan Armour - Hmmm, I suppose my hockey brain and awareness is the best part, although the body slows down as you get older the brain is still as quick and I am able to pick out smart passes and read the play very well. What would I improve? my non-hockey brain haha as I do have a tendency to do the craziest things at the dumbest times and that battle between my hockey brain and trick/comedy brain is always raging.

The Inferno -. Favourite rink you've played in and the worse? Which has the best atmosphere?

Alan Armour -I think my favourite rink for overall experience was the Nynex Arena in Manchester in front of 12,000 people or Sheffield in front of 8,000. The worst rinks are the Isle of Wight sized ones, although that is palacial compared to newly promoted Gosport, that place is awful. Think Isle of Wight size with no plexi and poor lighting, seating...everything is just awful.

The Inferno - Will you be helping out Cudds in training to help the junior players or will you be concentrating more on playing you're own game?

Alan Armour -Cudd is perfectly capable of running things himself, although I am not shy at chucking ideas out and I am quite vocal when I need to be, but yeah we do talk a lot. I would like to think I can help, and if I can I will.