Great Britain: Hockey in Britain part 3

[Beville]

It's alright

We've closed another rink, this time in the Isle of Wight where I "learnt my trade" as a Player then a Ref.

It's a shame.

and the more rink's that close, the less chance we get at developing the better Team GB.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

It's alright

We've closed another rink, this time in the Isle of Wight where I "learnt my trade" as a Player then a Ref.

It's a shame.

and the more rink's that close, the less chance we get at developing the better Team GB.

No offence but I don't think the Isle of Wight rink closing is going to damage the development of the GB program...

They're a D2/3 U15/U18 program and the couple years they spent in U16 D1 they were regularly destroyed by double digits every game.

It's unfortunate and I'm sure the Isle of Wight hockey community will be hurting but there's no point in overselling the impact of closing this rink.

 

[ukyote]

Because there apparently aren't enough quality British players available to meet the fans' unrealistic expectations because the bar was set so high by the now defunct BISL which had an unlimited number of imports.

Interesting comment. So do you think, on balance, the ISL damaged hockey in this country? I used to go to Knights games and go to the odd Streatham game now (live a 10 min bus journey away), but other than that I only really follow Team GB and nothing else. Maybe my expectations were set too high from years ago... I hadn't thought of it in those terms really.

 

[Beville]

No offence but I don't think the Isle of Wight rink closing is going to damage the development of the GB program...

They're a D2/3 U15/U18 program and the couple years they spent in U16 D1 they were regularly destroyed by double digits every game.

It's unfortunate and I'm sure the Isle of Wight hockey community will be hurting but there's no point in overselling the impact of closing this rink.

I like how you bold "and the more rink's that close, the less chance we get at developing the better Team GB." and go on about the Island being rubbish for players...

I'm not saying we developed Superstars, but we've certainly got a few playing overseas - Sophie Herbert comes to mind as playing for Team GB... Yes it's womens hockey, but I won't take that away from her.

The fact of the matter is, another rink is closing in the UK - Less rinks = Less talent.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

I like how you bold "and the more rink's that close, the less chance we get at developing the better Team GB." and go on about the Island being rubbish for players...

I'm not saying we developed Superstars, but we've certainly got a few playing overseas - Sophie Herbert comes to mind as playing for Team GB... Yes it's womens hockey, but I won't take that away from her.

The fact of the matter is, another rink is closing in the UK - Less rinks = Less talent.

The logic you're using is still flawed. Less rinks = less talent doesn't add up.

According to IIHF, Latvia has 19 rinks. They compete at the highest level at every men's event & have multiple NHLers that have represented their country.

It sucks when these little rinks close but it's far from a major problem in British hockey. The issues are far greater than the amount of rinks.

 

[Simpo]

With the recent announcement that NHL players will not be going to the Olympics, that leaves Premier Sports as the only place to see the highest standard of hockey.

No casual, or even semi-interested hockey fan is going to catch McDavid, Matthews, anyone on TV, or online, and become a fan and grow the sport over here.

Such a sad state of affairs, and so short-sighted by the NHL.

 

[amoboko]

I like watching and attending games in the UK, after a good brawl both players can come back and fight more if needed

 

[Danmark]

Is Scott Conway, Brett Perlini and Jackson Whistle eligible to play for the national team?

 

[FrHockeyFan]

Is Scott Conway, Brett Perlini and Jackson Whistle eligible to play for the national team?

The rule for dual-nats is two consecutives and uninterrupted seasons playing in the said country (min. 16 months period) after the age of 10. So, per Eliteprospects, Perlini is eligible, Whistle will be at the end of the current season and Conway is most likely but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[ukyote]

Was watching the Spengler cup final earlier on Freesports. They were saying they have signed a five year deal to show GB games on free to air... for the first time in history!

Not sure if that's accurate but it's great that they'll be showing live games for anyone with a Freeview box.

 

[BMann]

Should Liam Kirk decide to move abroad ? Challenge himself further and get more exposure at a higher standard of hockey & dare I say it better coaching.

 

[Vandalay Industries]

I wonder if Kieran Brown isn't a bigger talent than Liam Kirk, when it comes right down to it.

I like how more English players have moved to Canadian junior hockey for the past 3-4 years. Maybe something is stirring up in the UK?

 

[Kshahdoo]

First British in the KHL Ben O'Connor at eliteprospects.com

 

[Jumptheshark]

EIHL confirm league structure for 2018-19 season – British Ice Hockey

Edinburgh Capitals will be missed. Not allot of people are happy with Tony Hand's brother right now

 

[Vandalay Industries]

Shouldn't GB try to get Corey Locke to play for the National Team in next years World Championship?

 

[Siamese Dream]

Shouldn't GB try to get Corey Locke to play for the National Team in next years World Championship?

Not eligible. If he wanted to play for GB he'd have to come and play in the EIHL for 2 seasons, by which time he'd be 36.

 

[Jumptheshark]

just to let you guys know


me and a couple other guys are creating a website/blog about hockey in the UK and Europe

should be up and running by october

 

[ukyote]

Give us a link when it's up!

 

[Rigafan]

I've heard that Tillburg Trappers want to join the EIHL?

I can't seem to find any articles on it, however it was let slip by the Manchester Storm GM at a recent Q&A with the fans

 

[Siamese Dream]

I've heard that Tillburg Trappers want to join the EIHL?

I can't seem to find any articles on it, however it was let slip by the Manchester Storm GM at a recent Q&A with the fans

I think the only way this happens is if a rumoured London team eventually joins the league. The EIHL is running with 11 teams this year but I seem to recall Hull deferred their application and will rejoin next year.

London and Tilburg would bring it up to 14 teams but the only way it would happen is if they go with a new geographical conference system because I can't see the Scottish teams wanting to travel to Tilburg too much.

Conference 1: Tilburg/London/Guildford/Milton Keynes/Coventry
Conference 2: Cardiff/Belfast/Sheffield/Nottingham
Conference 3: Braehead/Dundee/Fife/Hull/Manchester

 

[GBHockey]

I've heard that Tillburg Trappers want to join the EIHL?

I can't seem to find any articles on it, however it was let slip by the Manchester Storm GM at a recent Q&A with the fans

It was alleged that Tilburg applied for the DEL2 as they are/were too good for the 3rd Division but the application was rejected. Upon rejection they continued to search for acceptance into a league of professional quality, applied to the EIHL but were rejected once again. Naturally I'd assume the rejection came due to the surprise/initial shock that Tilburg of the Netherlands wanted to join the EIHL, and the league thought it would be logistically very difficult to make happen in such a short space of time.

They'd have to adapt rules, ensure all clubs' finances are stable enough to cover the extra away travel, sorting fixtures out etc.

The interesting point for me is that they were rejected for the time being but the league supposedly kept the door open for the future.

 

[Rigafan]

It was alleged that Tilburg applied for the DEL2 as they are/were too good for the 3rd Division but the application was rejected. Upon rejection they continued to search for acceptance into a league of professional quality, applied to the EIHL but were rejected once again. Naturally I'd assume the rejection came due to the surprise/initial shock that Tilburg of the Netherlands wanted to join the EIHL, and the league thought it would be logistically very difficult to make happen in such a short space of time.

They'd have to adapt rules, ensure all clubs' finances are stable enough to cover the extra away travel, sorting fixtures out etc.

The interesting point for me is that they were rejected for the time being but the league supposedly kept the door open for the future.

Travelling to and from the Netherlands is probably cheaper and easier for all involved that the Belfast trip, so it wouldn't be impossible

 

[Beville]

It takes about 45 minutes to fly from Norwich to Holland, and that’s the most direct route. I can’t imagine London is much longer (be it Stansted or LHR for MK/London team).

Pretty easy to do, in my opinion.

 

[GBHockey]

It takes about 45 minutes to fly from Norwich to Holland, and that’s the most direct route. I can’t imagine London is much longer (be it Stansted or LHR for MK/London team).

Pretty easy to do, in my opinion.

Oh for sure, it's real easy but it could get costly for the smaller teams. It would be ideal if the league could get a carrier like easyjet or flybe as a sponsor.

Games would likely be double headers each time too so it wouldn't be mega expensive but it would need looking at in depth to ensure all teams could fund it.

 

[SoundAndFury]

How far would you say the current NIHL is from the EPIHL level? Is it getting close to semi-pro or still strictly amateur? Blackburn just signed Danielius Nomanovas (which is nothing special) but they said they did it because Roman Kovar decided not to come. Seems to me if they had hoped to sign a player like that they had to offer him a reasonable salary?