Line Predictions 09/10

Here is how F Block Blog thinks the Excel Hull Stingrays will line for their first game of the 09/10 season in a pre-season matchup with the Tilburg Trappers (Saturday 29 August).

Forwards

Line 1
#93 Huppe-#83 Cloutier-#19 Kalmikov


Line 2
#11 Reynolds-#9 Glowa-#74 Koulikov


Line 3
#20 Mitchell-#73 Thompson- #17 Esders


Rotating/replacing
#Davies

Coach Sylvain Cloutier has already expressed a desire to ice alongside fellow former AHLer Konstantin Kalmikov and long term team mate Curtis Huppe, and the season will most likely kick off with those three standing at centre ice.

The Ukrainian's skill combined with Cloutier's playmaking ability and gritty determination and Huppe's pinpoint accuracy and quick release on the shot will leave Stingrays fans dreaming of that opening 09/10 weekend.

As with last summer, last season's first line has been replaced by a, near enough, brand new first line giving the team options offensively.

A successful line last season that showed plenty of chemistry, the second line contains the Stingrays two highest pointscorers from last season (Reynolds and Glowa) with Slava Koulikov, who, despite playing just 39 games last year, recorded 30 points. The key to this line will be getting Koulikov to work hard and help out the evergreen Glowa, although last season proved that these three can work together to good effect.

The all British line of Mitchell, Thompson and Esders has plenty of junior international caps to work from, as well as an impressive combined total of 94 points from last season and a good work ethic which should stand them in good stead.

Hometown forward Matty Davies may be forced to primarily ride the pine early in the season due to his lack of experience at the top level, however injuries, form and possibly suspensions will undoubtedly play their part in handing the youngster his chance.

This third line is the only line that creates doubt as to whether Cloutier will go for the predicted lines above.

It is possibly far more likely that he plumps for experience right throughout the squad, spreading imports with Brits from lines 1 through 3, however, he has already indicated that he wants to maximise firepower by playing on a line with Huppe and Kalmikov, and as such the above may just prove to be near correct.

He has also suggested he believes that the team has the strongest lineup of centres in the league, with himself, Glowa and Reynolds, suggesting that those three could be set for the centre spot on each line and that he may spread the team's strength throughout the lines.

Defencemen

Line 1
#52 Burns -#44 Jorde


Line 2
#40 Gomenyuk-#27 Hutchinson


Line 3
#47 Knight-#13Mitchell

Again, the main decision is whether Cloutier goes for strength on all three defensive lines by separating Gomenyuk, Burns, Hutchinson and/or Jorde on all three lines, or whether he puts those four on the first two lines and leaves the supposedly weaker Knight and Mitchell on their own on the third line.

A strong first and second defensive pairing, whom ice more frequently than the third pairing, especially if Knight is to be the team's primary enforcer, is debatably the more likely choice for Cloutier.

The defensive lineups are certainly more interchangeable considering each of the six defencemen are of a similar standard defensively, the only certain thing is that Gomenyuk will need to replicate his form going forward if the team is to hope for any substantial offensive presence from defence.

Netminders

Starter
#42 Sandahl


Backup
#33 Jaszcyzk

Easy enough, Sandahl will begin his first ever season outside of Sweden in his first ever full time starting job. There is a fair amount of pressure on the Scandinavian, however his pedigree in the Swedish second tier should be more than enough to succeed at Elite League level.

Andrew Jaszczyk will start his sophomore season as Rays backup and should continue to learn from both Sandahl and the experience of Sylvain Cloutier, whose brother Dan is a former NHL netminder.

Mission Accomplished

Having been installed as the Excel Hull Stingrays second ever head coach, Sylvain Cloutier's plan for the off-season was quite simple: sign an 18 man squad within a five month time frame.

Given that his previous employer in Corpus Christi, TX allowed him just three months in July 08 to acheive that same goal, this task was a cakewalk for the Mont-Laurier, Quebec native, as he accomplished the aim two months early.

The signing of Canadian forward Matt Reynolds completed the Rays squad at 18 players (three lines plus a backup and an extra forward) just over a month before the start of the Elite League season.

In the time since Cloutier's appointment in May, he has been forced to make many difficult choices in building his second squad as coach, the hardest of which will have surely been choosing who to retain from a squad which showed potential in 08/09, but ultimately finished outside of the playoffs for a third successive season.

He ended up signing what looks, at the moment, to be the Rays largest Elite League opening weekend squad, with the second highest amount of new faces and equal greatest number of returnees.

05/06->06/07: 9 new players, 8 re-signings

06/07-> 07/08: 9 new players, 8 re-signings
07/08-> 08/09: 11 new players, 6 re-signings
08/09-> 09/10: 10 new players, 8 re-signings

It is a fact that the team needed changes, but with a returning core of most of last season's best imports (Konstantin Kalmikov, Matt Reynolds, Jeff Glowa and Pavel Gomenyuk), he has opted for the tried and tested method of keeping the core of a squad together in the search for success.

The much maligned Slava Koulikov aside, not many of Cloutier's re-signings would fail to make a fans wish list of returnees from last year.

The only real loss from last season's squad may have been defenceman and fans player of the year, Steve Slonina, who is the kind of puck moving defenceman that the team look to be missing if we ignore Gomenyuk's passed season.

But it is up front, with the addition of Cloutier and new assistant coach Curtis Huppe in place of Jason Kostadine and Jamie Thompson, that the team really seems to have come on.

Assistant Coach Huppe scoring in the Elite League for Belfast against Newcastle (photo- flickr: interdev)

Huppe, a former 30 plus and three time 20 plus EIHL goalscorer, provides the proven sniper that the club have never acquired, even if he may have been disappointing in the CHL, whilst Cloutier adds so much to the team as both player and coach.

One of the Elite League's real leaders last time out, he has two point per game seasons in two Elite League years. How much of an effect will the year out have had on the 35 year old? Time will tell, but his commitment and dedication will never come under scrutiny.

Elsewhere, the teams British depth has thankfully been replenished after a season of neglect, following the departure of Luke Boothroyd, Dave Phillips, James Knight and Stevie Lee last summer.

The addition of James Hutchinson, last season a treble winner in the EPL, Shaun Thompson, who scored 40 Elite League points in 08/09, Craig Mitchell, who is coming off the back of an encouraging rookie season and Matty Davies, who returns to Hull after three promising season's in the EPL, should really help the team with the depth issues they suffered from last year.

They will join a set of Brits (Lee Mitchell, Andrew Jaszcyzk, Lee Esders and Slava Koulikov) who are established and integrated into the Hull setup, and most of whom are coming off positive seasons in Stingrays colours.

With the British and offensive areas of the team having undergone an upgrade of sorts on last season, the lingering question over the squad for the upcoming season remains in the teams defensive end.

Sandahl playing for Troja-Ljungby

Swedish netminder Tommy Sandahl may be coming in from a higher level after outperforming his more experienced counterpart towards the end of last season, and may be following on from Curtis Cruickshank, who, it's fair to say, did not have the best of times in the Stingrays net, but, even at 25 he is relatively inexperienced as a starting netminder and, although he has been given the seal of approval by Cloutier's brother, and former NHL goalie, it is cause for a little concern in Hull, at least until the puck drops against Tilburg.

Ukrainian Gomenyuk is back for his fifth season on the blueline and has been forgiven for a bad 07/08 season after a stunning 42 point season last term. Meanwhile his defensive counterparts from last season (Aaron Wilson, Stuart Kerr, Troy Neumeier and Antti Turunen) have been replaced by a trio of Canadians.

Ryan Jorde is expected to be a tough, uncompromising defenceman, who has dropped the gloves with some of the toughest in the game, whilst Adam Knight is a tough young utility player that will ice as a defenceman for the Rays after a season as forward in the CHL.

Burns (photo: Les Stockton)

Finally, Stephen Burns is a former CHLer that has Kerr and Wilson like stats, but is clearly highly rated within the Stingrays camp. Coach Cloutier handed the Ontario born defenceman a two year contract that will run alongside a degree at Doncaster School of Business and it will be hoped that he fulfills his expected potential in the Elite League.

A lot will be expected of Gomenyuk to reproduce the form and points of last season, and James Hutchinson, also coming off a good season points wise, will be expected to chip in offensively to help the five year defenceman.

Away from Gomenyuk, Cloutier has gone for solidity rather than eye opening ability going forward, but the theory is: with an improved offensive lineup and new ideas going forward, who needs several point scoring defencemen?

With a month until the first puck drops, there is not long to wait to see whether the Rays have improved offensively, whether Sandahl will become the find of the season, or if Slava Koulikov will finally have that outstanding year that he his potential has promised for so long.

Stingray news

Defencemen Move On

Three of the Stingrays defensive corps from last season have now officially moved on to pastures new.

Canadians Aaron Wilson and Stuart Kerr, who both joined the team from the Central Hockey League's Austin Ice Bats, have signed for Holland's Heerenveen Flyers and the CHL's Odessa Jackalopes respectively.

Meanwhile Brit Richie Thornton, who iced just five times for the club last year, has re-joined Elite League rivals the Newcastle Vipers.

Kerr, who recommended friend Wilson to the club following Jonathan Bernier's sudden decision to quit, played just 24 games after a knee injury effectively ended his season in November. The club honourably stuck by the Canadian in the hope that he would return prior to seasons end, however that return frustratingly failed to materialise.

Kerr has returned to the CHL where he amassed seven points and 208 penalty minutes in 62 games in 07/08.

Wilson (left), in a tussle with Newcastle's Andre Payette

Wilson, 27, ended the season with career best figures of two goals and 17 assists in 50 games and became one of the few defencemen able to avoid injury, an attribute which made him an important part of the team during the Rays lowest moments.

However, his solid form early on soon deteriorated and his own goal against Edinburgh in the team's final game of the season summed up a disappointing spell with the club. He has followed in the footsteps of fellow former Stingray and Trenton Titan Cole Byers by signing in Heerenveen.

Pre-season Preparations Announced

The Stingrays last week announced a three way pre-season tournament which will take place the Hull Arena featuring Elite League rivals Nottingham Panthers and Dutch side Tilburg Trappers.

The tournament, which will occur on August Bank Holiday weekend (29-31), a week before the 09/10 Elite League season kicks off, will see the Stingrays face foreign opposition for the first time in their history, before Tilburg and Nottingham matchup on Sunday, with the Rays ending the tournament by taking on the Panthers in a re-match of one of last season's most heated rivalry's.

The Panthers are likely to start the season as one of the favourites for the Elite League title after the signing of Cameron Mann, a former NHLer of over 80 games and DEL player of eight years, and last season reached the EIHL Playoff Final.

Whilst Tilburg, from the Southern provinces of the Netherlands, have signed Japanese former LA Kings netminder Yukata Fukufuji and are seen as a real force in Dutch ice hockey, having won the Eredivise title in two of the past three seasons.

Ticket prices and further details on the tournament will be unveiled at a later date.

Brotherly Love

Finally, former Stingrays defenceman Kevin Phillips has pulled out of a deal to re-sign in the EPL with Slough Jets, where he produced 40 points last season, in order to replace his brother on the Elite League's Belfast Giants.

Brother Dave Phillips last month made a U-turn on his contract with the Giants to join the American Hockey League's Rockford Ice Hogs on a two-way contract with their ECHL affiliate, and after his departure the Giants approached brother Kevin to replace him.

Kevin left the Stingrays in 06/07 after a difficult season in which he recorded two points in 50 games in the Rays first EIHL season, whilst Dave left the Rays a year ago, however in his two seasons in the EPL with the Jets Kevin has combined for 54 points in 94 games.

Photo's courtesy: Arthur Foster

Reynolds re-signs to round off Rays roster

Stingrays' coach Sylvain Cloutier has made his final signing of the off-season by bringing back 28 year old forward Matt Reynolds. The Ontario native had an impressive first season in the EIHL, finishing the year with points totals of 22+33=55 in 51 games.

The 200lbs forward made it known that he had received interest from other teams:

"I had a surprising amount of interest from Elite League, as well as interest from clubs further into Europe.

It's flattering to know teams are interested in you and I considered leaving, but in the end it wasn't that difficult a decision because I believe my best opportunity lies in Hull."

Reynolds was originally signed from the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL by former coach Rick Strachan in Summer 2008. He had this to say about his recruit:

"Matt is a good player. He has great offensive capabilities, can play in both ends, he is a leader and he is also not afraid to get involved. He will be one of the guys who will be expected to contribute offensively and play on the powerplay which he is comfortable with."

This proved to be true as Reynolds gave the Stingrays another scoring outlet, removing some pressure from the shoulders of the evergreen Jeff Glowa. His willingness to shoot from acute angles pleased long standing Stingrays fans, who had grown used to seeing hesitancy in attacking situations. This was rewarded by an excellent goal from a near impossible angle against the Nottingham Panthers, and shown on Sky Television.
New coach Cloutier was pleased that he was able to lure Reynolds back to East Yorkshire for another season:

“Matt is a really good signing. From talking to people who saw him play in the Central League he comes to work every night and can play physical. He is not shy to mix it up. In the IHL and Central League he has not been afraid to do that."

Though Reynolds regularly finished his checks, he was not involved in a single fight throughout the season, a first in his professional career. This seems unlikely to change, as he suffered a broken hand towards the end of the season. The injury also appeared to hinder his game when he returned, however Reynolds attributes this to a premature healing period.

"I was disappointed with my play down the stretch last year after returning, but I feel I may have rushed back because of the situation we were in and I was desperate to contribute."

The signing of Reynolds completes the 2009/10 starting roster for the Stingrays, as they embark on their third Elite League campaign.

Stingrays finalise defence with Burns

Player-coach Sylvain Cloutier has completed the Excel Hull Stingrays defensive corps for his maiden Elite League season as coach with the signing of former Rio Grande Killer Bees defenceman Stephen Burns on a two-year deal.

The 24 year old, 6ft defenceman spent his rookie season, last term, with the Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League, recording two goals and six assists in 55 games whilst adding 94 penalty minutes.

Burns (right) v Laredo

He is highly regarded by former coaches in the CHL and NCAA, and although his stats suggest he will be a rock on the blueline, rather than a forward rushing offensive defenceman, Cloutier is adamant that he has the all around skills to be a highly effective defenceman in the Elite League.

"He is one of those guys who I got to see play last season in our 16 games against Rio Grande...He caught my eye because he competes every night and battles for his team-mates."

"I wanted him simply because he is my kind of player and he was always shutting down our top guys each time we played against him. Not only is he good defensively, he is also a great skater and will definitely put points up in the Elite league."

"He is young and hungry and wants to be here. He will be a great addition to our hockey club."

The Newmarket, Ontario native, who spent the early years of his junior career playing in his hometown, spent four years at Rocester Institute of Technology (RIT), combining his studies with playing hockey, and that is something that he will continue in Hull thanks to the Stingrays new link up with Doncaster Business School.

British Elite League teams have been using University link ups as bargaining tools against European clubs, who can offer more attractive exchange rates with the dollar, for a number of years now, however this is the first of such linkups for the Stingrays

Stingrays director Mike Pack spoke of the new affiliation:

"We're looking forward to developing our relationship with the business school in the future. It's a very progressive organisation and we hope our link-up will be very valuable in the years to come."

Burns joins returnee Pavel Gomenyuk, Brits Craig Mitchell and James Hutchinson, and Canadians, Adam Knight and Ryan Jorde, on the Stingrays blueline for the 09/10 EIHL season. Cloutier pronounced his happiness with the teams defensive unit, saying that they will be tough side to score against:

"With the defensive unit that we have put together, players will have to always pay a price to get to our net."

He now has one final signing, an import forward, to announce before rounding off his first off-season with news about the Stingrays pre-season training camp and fixtures, of which Cloutier has stated he wants as many as possible, in readiness for his first season in charge.

Hull favourite Phillips signs in AHL

Former Excel Hull Stingrays defenceman Dave Phillips has signed for the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League, North America's second tier and one of the world's toughest leagues.

The 21 year old Beverly born blueliner, who spent last season in Belfast and had planned on returning there this season, was invited to the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks prospect camp by former Basingstoke Bison General Manager, and Blackhawks General Manager of Minor League Affiliations, Mark Bernard.

At tche amp, Phillips pit his talents against the Blackhawks top prospects, players such as Kyle Beach, the Blackhawks 2008 1st Draft Pick in 2008, as well as controversial character Akim Aliu, and in the end he impressed enough to earn a contract with the Ice Hogs, the Blackhawks AHL affiliate.

Phillips (far left) at the Blackhawks prospect training camp

Although Phillips did not earn himself a full NHL contract with Chicago, scoring a goal and adding an assist in the camps five scrimmages became enough to warrant a two-way contract offer from Rockford and their ECHL feeder club, Gwinnett Gladiators.

Phillips was delighted to accept the offer, in a huge move for his career, he told belfastgiants.com:

"I'm really excited about this and I think it is a great opportunity. I never even dreamed of ever getting to skate with prospects from an NHL team in front of their scouts and management and now I’ll have the chance to play week in, week out with them. ”

The Brit's contract with the Belfast Giants has now been mutually terminated by Phillips and GM Todd Kelman, and he will move on to Rockford training camp later in the year before a decision is made about where his North American career will begin.

Photo courtesy: http://www.photographybybrad.com/photographybybrad/Gallery/Galleries/09070901/

Koulikov rounds off British signings

Player-coach Sylvain Cloutier has signed forward Slava Koulikov for his seventh successive season in Excel Hull Stingrays colours and today vowed to help solve the Russian-born-Brits consistency issues which have plagued his time in Hull.

Koulikov, who is the only player to have played in every single Stingrays season since their inception in 03/04, has long been dogged by consistency problems, with questions marks over his work ethic and fitness often making the Russian one of the most debated topics amongst the teams fan base.

Last season was no different, as the 30 year old surprised critics with a string of impressive displays in the teams first couple of games, leaving many to question whether a corner had been turned in his career.

However, once again those injury demons returned and Koulikov sat out the best part of two months of the season with a shattered collarbone, eventually mustering up a respectable 30 points in cut-short 39 game season.

Koulikov (right) with fellow long-term Stingray Jeff Glowa

New coach Cloutier is adamant that he will not accept anything less than 100% from not only Koulikov, but also his squad:

"I will not tolerate laziness in a player who won't compete every night. I hope Slava shows all of us what he has to offer and proves the fans wrong because I see talent when I look at him."

With the average age of the teams British contingent just over 20, and with Koulikov the final of those British signings, his experience in hockey, with over 450 games under his belt, also made him a must sign in Cloutier's book.

"I have re-signed Slava because he has experience in the league and he is a British player that you could consider to be an import with his talent level, so I think it is a bonus really for our team to keep him in Hull," said Cloutier

His talent is not in doubt, with Koulikov nearing the top of the Stingrays all time charts in all categories during league play with 66 goals and 117 assists for 183 points in 219 games.

The 5'8, 170 lbs forward is happy to return to Hull, where he has spent ten years of his playing career and 17 years of his life after moving to East Yorkshire in 1993 when his father, Alexander, came to play for Humberside Seahawks.

"I am really pleased to be back. I had a few conversations with Clouts when he first took over and he told me about his intentions, the team he wanted to build and what he wanted to achieve.

"He is putting together a really good team with the calibre of players we have signed."

With Koulikov the final British signing, Cloutier is left looking for an import defenceman and forward to finalise his squad.

After rumoured defensive target Mike Beynon signed for Edinburgh, and with Matt Reynolds almost certain to re-join as the Rays as their final import forward, Cloutier is thought to be currently in the market for that final import defenceman, who the Hull Daily have confirmed will be new to the country.

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Jorde joins Cloutier revolution

Tough stay-at-home defenceman Ryan Jorde today joined the Excel Hull Stingrays for their 09/10 Elite League campaign after a career in North America, where he played three years in the second tier American Hockey League (AHL) and four in the International Hockey League (IHL).

The 28 year old Kelowna, British Columbia native split last season between the IHL's Flint General's and Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he recorded a combined 23 points in 66 games, and steps in to provide the Stingrays with a defensive backbone, whilst also adding some much needed brawn alongside fellow blueliner Adam Knight.

New player-coach Sylvain Cloutier, who is now just three signings away from completing his first Elite League squad as head coach, believes that Jorde will play a big role both defensively and physically next season.

"Jorde is an experienced defenceman and has been around for a long time. He is a physical, stay-at-home defenceman, who can also put up some numbers. He is very strong defensively and that is something the team needed, to be stronger in our own end. Jorde will do a great job."

After starting his career in the junior Western Hockey League, where he played over 200 games, he was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the ninth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, and in 2002 was signed to a two-way contract with the Sabres AHL affilate, the Rochester Americans.

He went on to spend three seasons in Rochester, icing in 124 games, recording just seven points whilst acting as the team's enforcer, fighting 22 times.

From there he iced briefly in the AHL, with Lowell and Grand Rapids, and ECHL, with Victoria Salmon Kings, before making the move to the IHL (formerly the UHL), where he made the decision to stay after being used as a key defenceman, rather than as an enforcer, where his minutes on the ice would often be limited

Jorde (right) playing for Fort Wayne in 2006

That decision saw him appear in the Turner Cup in 07/08, finishing second best to former Stingray forward, and rumoured returnee, Matt Reynolds in Fort Wayne, and also resulted in him last season posting career best figures in assists (21) and points (23), as he moved between Flint and Muskegon twice.

He is expected to provide the Stingrays with a solid defenceman in the mold of Stuart Kerr and Aaron Wilson, but with a better pedigree and more physicality.

Although perhaps a more revered fighter and enforcer than new utility man Adam Knight, it is expected that Jorde will be a lynch pin of the Rays defence with Knight marked as the teams primary enforcer. However, if required, Cloutier has suggested that he would not be afraid to use Jorde to intimidate and police.

The 6'3, 213lbs defenceman joins fellow imports Knight and Pavel Gomenyuk on the blueline, and with one more D man to come, the Stingrays look set to go with a four import, six strong defence.

Meanwhile Matt Reynolds looks set to be named the teams final import forward within the next two weeks.

Photos courtesy: ECHL.com and Stuart Bauer (Flint Journal)