Eredivisie keeper to replace Raitums?

Year-on-year the Excel Hull Stingrays struggle to find any sort of continuity between the pipes, releasing keeper after keeper each summer. As they enter their fifth season in Britain's top flight, that trend looks set to continue with rumours circulating that they have replaced Latvian Martins Raitums with their sixth import netminder in five years.

Historically, the Stingrays have had success in re-signing just one starting import netminder, that being Miroslav Bielik as they made the conversion from EPL to EIHL hockey. Bielik, who suffered from home sickness and injuries, was the best of a below average bunch under former coach Rick Strachan, as became obvious when he was replaced, due to the aforementioned flaws, by fan favourite Ladislav Kudrna, good on his day but more often than not prone to costly mistakes. A well past his best Curtis Cruikshank was the last netminder of the Strachan era and summed up all the problems the Rays have had with keepers under Strachan in one agonising 08/09 season.

Even first year Stingrays boss Sylvain Cloutier, who made a concerted effort to find the answer by handing his brother, former NHLer Dan Cloutier, the job of scouring the globe for the ideal candidate, struggled to find the perfect solution, initially employing inexperienced Swede Tommy Sandahl between the pipes before releasing him for Latvian Matins Raitums. Four years, five netminders and five nationalities later and it seemed like Cloutier had struck gold with former IIHF World Championships netminder Raitums.

Think again, after following friend and fellow Latvian Aivars Gaisins to the Stingrays in early 2009, he is now well on his way to the Stingrays growing netminding scrap heap joining Curtis Huppe, Adam Knight and James Hutchinson on the departures list from Cloutier's first year in charge.

Who next? Well, the early rumour, and one that currently looks to be spot on, is that the new keeper is to come from the Dutch Eredivisie.

Two names immediately sprung to the fore, one familiar and one not so familiar. The unforgettable Japanese international Yukata Fukufuji, who last season visited the Hull Arena in pre-season with Tilburg Trappers, and French Canadian Christian Boucher, netminder for the 09/10 Dutch Eredivisie champion Nijmegen Devils.

Fukufuji joined Tilburg last season after a successful stint in North America, where he spent five years between the NHL, AHL and ECHL, during which time he became the first ever Japanese born player to ice in the NHL. He moved to Holland last season and went on to post a 3.43 goals against average (GAA) as Tilburg, who were tipped as potential champions, finished in 3rd place and he would undoubtedly be the experienced option out of the two.

Boucher, former team mate of Stingrays defenceman Stephen Burns, also entered his first season in Europe in the Eredivisie after a rookie year in the CHL, where he had posted  a 2.89 GAA and a 91.9 sv.% in 37 games with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. In his first season away from North America, after spending four years in the NCAA at Robert Morris University prior to his stint in the CHL, Boucher took the newly named Devils to the Eredivisie title with a 2.95 GAA in 45 games, before leading them past Fukufuji's Tilburg side in the playoff final series by three games to none.

Statistically the Canadian outperformed Fukufuji on a less favoured team and it is because of this, as well as the fact that he now has a league and playoff title to his name, that Boucher is thought to be red-hot favourite to succeed Raitums at the Hull Arena.

CONFIRMED: Hutchinson returns to Peterborough

As speculated just a couple of hours ago 26 year old British defenceman James Hutchinson has agreed to return to his former side the Peterborough Phantoms of the English Premier League under new coach and former Excel Hull Stingrays netminder Curtis Cruickshank after a difficult 09/10 season in Hull in which he recorded just four points.

Departures continue

 

Following the surprise departure of player-assistant coach Curtis Huppe last month comes the somewhat less surprising confirmation that tough guy Adam Knight and British defenceman James Hutchinson have both played their final games for the Excel Hull Stingrays.

The pair, both expected to leave the Hull Arena this summer after just a season with the club, have been confirmed by their respective agents as returning to the leagues they joined the Stingrays from last summer.

In his sophomore season in Hull Knight hit professional career best figures, scoring seven times, adding 13 assists and 131 penalty minutes while emerging as a true fans favourite, particularly following tussles with the likes of Sean McMorrow and Brad Voth.

However, the 29 year old, who is not thought to have been offered a deal to return to Hull, will rejoin the CHL where he joined the Stingrays from last summer and where he is likely to be relied on more for his on-ice presence than the offensive numbers which coach Sylvain Cloutier and the EIHL on the whole require from non-British players. He will return to the CHL with an, as yet, unnamed team, where last time out he recorded two goals and two assists in over 50 games with Colorado and New Mexico, following a season in Hull in which he likely doubled his time on the ice during each game and improved as a player as a result.

Meanwhile, Hutchinson will return to the English Premier League (EPL) after a wholly disappointing spell at the Hull Arena. Big things were expected of 'Hutch' after he played a massive part in Peterborough's EPL championship winning side of 08/09, in which he contributed a huge 58 points in 54 games from the blueline, however, for whatever reason, be it the higher standard of competition or the Stingrays struggles, he neither troubled the scorers nor provided Cloutier with the defensive solidity required and like Knight, he was an unlikely returnee.

The favoured destination for the 26 year old North East native seems to be a return to Peterborough in an attempt to reignite the success of 08/09 under former Stingrays netminder Curtis Cruickshank, who has recently been named head coach of the Cambridgeshire based side.

While the Stingrays off-season news has so far been confined to the assumed return of coach Cloutier and Stephen Burns for the second year of their two year contracts, unlike messr Huppe, the rumoured re-signing of the better part of last seasons squad including Lee Mitchell, Craig Mitchell and Konstantin Kalmikov will likely come within the next week or two as Cloutier looks to build a squad capable of challenging and, at least, making the playoffs come April 2011.

Rumour Mill 10/11 #1

• With two extra Scottish sides in the EIHL next season, as yet un-signed siblings Lee and Craig Mitchell may yet be tempted by a move back to their homeland. Although it would be very surprising to see Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier let the pair leave Hull Arena, Braehead, Dundee and Edinburgh are sure to come knocking if they remain unsigned, particularly given the dearth of British talent in the league following the addition of two extra Scottish sides. 
• Lee Mitchell, coming off a near career year which was scuppered by a knee injury, has also raised eyebrows at the top EIHL clubs.
• New blood is on its way to the Elite League in the form of Canadians Chris Korchinski and Stuart MacRae, who have both been confirmed as signing for, as yet, unnamed EIHL teams. Korchinski, 24, is the pick of the pair and looks set for one of the top five clubs, with 110 ECHL games and 43 ECHL goals under his belt as well as three AHL games. While 27 year old MacRae has spent the last two years with the Amarillo Gorillas of the CHL, where he has netted 43 goals and added 81 assists in 122 games.
• Following the capture of impressive young Brit Mark Garside from his former side Edinburgh, new Belfast coach Doug Christiansen is planning on bringing two more former players to Northern Ireland. Owen Fussey and Simon Lambert lit it up for the Caps last season scoring 72 goals as Edinburgh closed out the season in an EIHL best 6th place and Christiansen is now looking to raid the Caps for two more of the cogs of that performance.
•  As per older rumours, Curtis Huppe, who surprisingly quit the Stingrays halfway through a two year contract last month, may yet return the EIHL with Braehead, Dundee or Belfast, however, a counter rumour has also suggested he has signed with Guildford of the EPL.
• Another older and, as yet, unconfirmed rumour is that Adam Calder has left his post as Braehead Clan player/coach just weeks after his appointment. Speculation implies that promises have not been met by Braehead owners concerning budget restrictions, however, this is yet to be confirmed. In anticipation of the Elite Leagues all time top scorer becoming available, Sheffield and a whole host of other EIHL clubs have thrown their name into the ring for the Calder's signature.
• Sylvain Cloutier is closing in on the signing of Sheffield Scimitars British forward James Archer, who last season appeared in seven games on a two-way contract with the Stingrays, scoring three goals. Archer would fill the gap left by the rumoured departure of GB forward Lee Mitchell. If Mitchell returned, however, Cloutier would most likely be forced to release either Lee Esders or Matty Davies to make room for the talented Archer.