Stingrays Fans Forum Pt.3: Korchinski and Mizerek finally kick off import signings

After an agonisingly long wait, Sylvain Cloutier finally revealed the names of seven of his squad for the 10/11 Elite League season and, while five British players returned to the side, the capture of North American imports Josh Mizerek and Chris Korchinski particularly caught the eye as Cloutier looks to replace the departed George Halkidis and Curtis Huppe.

24 year old centreman Korchinski joins the club from ECHL side Elmira Jackals, where last season, in his second year with the club, he netted 18 times and hit 12 assists in 46 games before adding a goal and two helpers in five playoff games with the New York based side.

He began his junior career with four very productive junior years in Yorkton of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and that success continued in his first pro season in Laredo of the Central Hockey League (CHL) with a call up to the American Hockey League (AHL) for a two game stint with the San Antonio Rampage.

He spent both his rookie and sophomore season with the Laredo Bucks and thanks to a combination of both ability and work ethic he returned a total of 47  goals and 106 points in 122 games. From there, the 6ft forward went on to Las Vegas of the ECHL and, while he couldn't find success in nine games in Sin City, he could in Elmira, NY, where scored 23 goals and 48 points in 55 games, being called up to nearby Binghampton of the American Hockey League in the process. He returned to Elmira last season and Cloutier admitted that it had been a long battle for his signature:

"I have been trying to get him for the last three years. I wanted him when I was in Corpus Christi and also last summer, that's how highly I think of him. He is a really big signing for us. If I was to compare him with someone I would say he is Dan Carlson with an edge. He puts up numbers and is not afraid to mix it up."

Korchinski will likely be the Rays first line centre and will be forced to both produce offensively and lead by example in all aspects of play.

Joining him as a new face on the Stingrays roster is veteran blueliner Mizerek. The 6'0 tall recruit, who can play both D and forward, has joined former team mate Cloutier in Hull and was immediately named captain by the Rays boss following three successive seasons as captain of Eredivisie side HYS Den Haag.

The Miami University alumni joins the Stingrays after spending five years in the ECHL, two years in the CHL, a year in the UHL and three seasons in Europe with the Den Haag Wolves. During his time in the 'E', which he split between Dayton, Florida, Baton Rouge, Lexington and Louisianna, he played a solid, dependable role on the blueline, however, he did gradually accumulate over 80 points in over 250 appearances in the third tier of North American hockey before moving down to the CHL and IHL.

It was there, in the UHL with Adirondack, that Mizerek played with Rays coach Cloutier and, after being part of the captaincy team both in college and with Louisanna, his influence and leadership abilities immediately made an impact on 'Clouts'.

The 32 year old spent his second year in the CHL with Amarillo, hitting a goal and 18 assists, before making the decision to move to Europe and, more specifically, Den Haag. In three years in the Dutch capital Mizerek has not only become a fan favourite while resuming his role as a leader and dependable defenceman, but he has also played a part offensively, scoring 30 goals and adding 61 assists for 91 points in 116 games.

Although those three years were productive individually, as Mizerek last year hit career best totals in assists (28) and points (36), he also won the first championship of his career in 08/09, with the Minnesota native hitting three goals and four assists in ten playoff games.

According to a scouting report on his agency's website, the words which best describe the American defenceman are "hardworking, reliable, experienced, dedicated and committed" and this was echoed by his new coach Cloutier upon signing.

"He knows how to win and he doesn't accept losing. He is a winner. I have played with him before and he is a competitor, he never gives up and they are the positive vibes I want in the team."

Both Korchinski and Mizerek have previously won titles in their respective careers and Cloutier went on to admit that this was an important aspect of next seasons squad:

"Both of these guys have won championships before and know how to win and that's the kind of guy I want on my team, they are winners and that is what we want to be next season."

Silver back for second season

Sylvain Cloutier has succeeded in re-signing one of the Stingrays most consistent players from last season with the return of 30 year old forward Jason Silverthorn for 10/11 EIHL campaign.

Silverthorn, who can play both wing or centre, joined the Stingrays part way through last season as a replacement for the under performing Matt Reynolds, after averaging a point per game in two seasons with Cardiff and one with Edinburgh.

The Ontario native continued that form last year in Hull as he and Konstantin Kalmikov instantly clicked under Sylvain Cloutier on the Rays first line, despite breaking his jaw on debut, putting him out for a number of weeks.

"When he came back it took him a while to get back on track but he and Konstantin Kalmikov started to click and we then got a good line going," said Cloutier

He eventually accumulated an impressive 21 goals and 26 assists in 43 games in another disappointing 8th placed finish for the Rays. Nevertheless, the Stingrays will be hoping for a similar return next season from a player that, according to Cloutier, 'shows up every night'.

"Silver brings speed and experience to the team. We know Silver can put up the numbers but he also brings leadership to the team. We will be counting on him to put some numbers up again next season."

He becomes the Rays fifth import to sign out of the ten that the Rays will sign  and his signature follows hot on the heels of the return of coach Cloutier and defenceman Stephen Burns and the signing of impact forward Chris Korchinski and experienced defenceman Joshua Mizerek.

Rumours suggest that the teams roster for next season is already complete with young forward Andrew Coburn, tough defenceman Matt Suderman, offensive blueliner Trevor Read and netminder Christian Boucher already signed up, however, the club are likely to maximise publicity by drip feeding any further signings.

Stingrays to face Giants and Devils on opening weekend

The EIHL today released their full fixture list uncharacteristically early and the responce has been largely positive from all ten clubs.

For the second year in a row the Hull Stingrays home opener will be against perennial title challengers, and last seasons playoff champions, the Belfast Giants, in a weekend in which they also face playoff runners-up Cardiff on the opening day of the new season.

The Rays open their fifth season in the EIHL on Saturday 4 September (7pm) with a trip to Wales to face the Cardiff Devils, whom the Rays infamously clashed with on the second weekend of the season last year, before they return home to take on the Giants, who they faced in their opening home fixture last term, on Sunday (5.30pm).

A double header against the Sheffield Steelers, starting with a Challenge Cup game at the Sheffield Arena, follows the next weekend in the first of four home and away double headers over the season. In a changed format, due to the addition of Braehead and Dundee, the three clubs joining the Steelers in the Stingrays very tough Challenge Cup group are Cardiff, Coventry and Nottingham, with each side due to face the other once, home or away.

A festive calendar consisting of a double header against Newcastle closes with a home game to EIHL newcomers Dundee, before they open the new year with an away fixture in Northern Ireland against the Giants.

Finally, the Stingrays end the season with a home double header for the third year in a row as Edinburgh and Nottingham visit the Hull Arena for the final time of the 10/11 season.

A full list of fixtures can be found on the Stingrays official website.

Stingrays Fans Forum Pt.2: Stingrays reveal financial details

Hull Stingrays owners Mike and Sue Pack were greeted by a packed Hull Arena bar tonight at the Stingrays first fans forum of the year ahead of the 10/11 Elite League campaign and were open and frank about the clubs past, present and future. 

The pair tackled a large number of issues ranging from seating arrangements at the Hull Arena to finances and, while the initial tone of the forum was concerning to the 150+ crowd, there were shoots of positivity that eventually sprouted from the meeting.

Mike Pack opened the meeting by revealing the basics of the Stingrays business plan. In short, last season the club projected costs of £380k, made up of £170k in ticket sales and £180k in other income with a shortfall of £30k which the two owners would cover themselves. 

Unfortunately, the reality was that the clubs costs rose to £430k, partially due to replacing injured players, and, while its ticket sales rose to £180k, the income from other things such as 50/50 tickets, merchandise sales and sponsorship reached just £100k, leaving the Packs to foot the enormous £150k bill.

A huge credit should go to the couple for sticking by the team in such circumstances, especially given that previous owners have simply bailed at that point, leaving the club in the lurch. Of course, that means that next season they have to get it right because as the Packs spelled out, there is little or nothing left for them to give the Stingrays financially. 

Going forward into next season the business model has changed somewhat. Once again they project that the clubs costs will be around the £380k mark, however, instead of accepting that they would be required to put in £30k at the end of the year they have increased expected ticket sales to £190k, a £10k increase, and put up other income to £190k, also a £10k interest. The important thing about these figures is that the Packs no longer want to put in any more significant money, that means they must work hard to sell £10k worth more of tickets and increase their income from other sources by £90k on last year and £10k on the projected figure from last year. 

While the silver lining was that the Packs have been working so hard in the two months since the season finished that they are beginning to work towards the figure for extra income, which is the main reason they had no time to reveal the ten plus signings Sylvain Cloutier has made.

Something which has made the £190k target little harder to achieve, or at least has made the couple work that bit harder, is that Excel Laminating, the company which has put thousands of pounds into the club for seven years now, will not be the teams main title sponsor this coming season. Although they may be involved in sponsorship elsewhere within the club, their seven year association as title sponsor, the second longest ever behind Wella and Basingstoke according the Sue Pack, will come to an end. 

The search for a replacement company has begun and although the owners refused to name names, it is thought that they are close to agreeing a deal with an unnamed company that will significantly boost their chances of reaching the £190k figure.

Reaching the all important £190k on both sides will not be easy, however, the Packs stressed that with a lot of hard work and innovative ideas from everybody it is realistic and achievable.

Stingrays Fans Forum Pt.1: British core are back

After an agonisingly long wait Sylvain Cloutier finally officially revealed seven of his signings for the Stingrays 10/11 Elite League season tonight at the Stingrays Fans Forum, amongst which were British five re-signings and two new arrivals, Chris Korchinski and Joshua Mizerek.

The British players re-joining player-coach Cloutier, who was present alongside bench coach Bobby Haig and defenceman Stephen Burns, next season is backup netminder Andrew Jaszczyk, siblings Lee and Craig Mitchell, and local forwards Lee Esders and Matty Davies.

It was also revealed that the Rays will be going with just ten imports of an allowed 12 next year, meaning the five returning British players will have added impoteus and importance in the upcoming season.

Jeff 'Mr Hull Stingrays' Glowa departs after six years

Jeff Glowa, the Excel Hull Stingrays club captain, fan favourite and all time leading goal and pointscorer, has officially left the club and joined English Premier League club Peterborough Phantoms, where former Stingrays netminder Curtis Cruickshank was recently appointed head coach.


The 34 year old, who is three years older than his new coach, leaves the Stingrays on good terms after racking up a club record 294 league appearances in which he registered 136 goals, 169 assists and 305 points.

He joined the club in 04/05, in what would be the final year of the British National League, after seasons in the Central Hockey League, World Hockey Association 2 and German Oberliga, and he immediately clicked with both fans and former team mate Dru Burgess as well as impressive new line mate Scott Wray helping the Stingrays to their best ever start to a season. 


Unfortunately, like many players before and since, Wray controversially quit the team for debatable reasons and the wheels came off the wagon as the Rays title hopes fell off towards the end of the season, however, Glowa remained loyal to the team, as he did for the next five years, eventually hitting 35 points in 33 games.


The Rays and new captain Glowa were forced into the EPL, the league he will be joining next season, for just a year in 05/06 and the Calgary born forward excelled, as it is expected he will do next year, scoring 40 goals and adding 35 assists in 46 games as the Rays fell short in both the league and playoffs.


While the team fell short of expectations in both of his opening seasons, Glowa's commitment, never say die attitude and point scoring ability remained, making him particularly popular with the Hull Arena faithful.


Despite his obvious ability, Glowa seemed to systematically re-sign in Hull year-on-year in spite of offers elsewhere and in the hope that better things were around the corner.


Four seasons, 215 games and 195 points in the EIHL later and all Glowa would have to show for his time in Hull would be a Yorkshire Cup victory over the Sheffield Steelers and a memorable pre-season P&O Cup victory over Tilburg and Nottingham. He would register a multi point night on the penultimate night of the season, hitting two goals and two assists in the comprehensive win over Newcastle, and he would follow that up by scoring his final goal for the Rays in the final game of the regular season, a 3-2 loss to Cardiff.


The most impressive thing about Glowa's time in the Elite League with the Rays is not his 31 goals in 54 games in 08/09, although that in itself is an incredible feat considering he was consistently in a bottom two side, but the fact that he missed just one single league game in four years. That, taking into account the Stingrays chronic injury problems since their move from the EPL and Glowa's natural style of play, which works on the motto "leave it all out on the ice", is a miracle and a testament to the man himself. A captain for five of his six years, he is Mr Hull Stingrays.


For whatever reason, be it the supposed lighter workload of the semi-professional English Premier League for an aging player, a lack of contract offer from the Rays and Sylvain Cloutier, the chance to win in the EPL or a great offer from former teammate Cruickshank, the clubs greatest player, in all senses of the word, will now depart for pastures new.


It is somewhat comforting that he departed at the same high level of play that he spent all his years with the Rays playing at, and that in no way did his play noticeably deteriorate to the point that fans did not appreciate the considerable time, effort and ability that he put into the club.

He will now link up with both Cruickshank and James Hutchinson, who returned to Peterborough from Hull after a tough time in the EIHL last year, and it is hoped, by many fans, that a pre-season game between the clubs can be set up so they can give Glowa the send off he deserves.


Of course, for that to happen the Stingrays have to make it to the start line in the first place. Rumours have quickly spread that the teams main sponsor Excel Laminating, who have been the club since their year of inception, have withdrawn their sponsorship of the club, thought to be around £50,000 a year. 


That is the suggested reason for the lack of news or player announcements from the club with any potential new title or main sponsor, if there are any in the offing, likely to want to their investment to be maximised via publicity of the club and signings. All will be revealed with Mike Pack promising to the Hull Daily Mail that "things will become clearer tonight" at the Stingrays fans forum (7.30pm), stay tuned.

Mizerek to ignite Rays off-season?

Veteran defenceman Joshua Mizerek looks set to become the Excel Hull Stingrays first signing of the 2010 post-season after his former side, HYS Den Haag in the Dutch Eredivisie, announced he had rejected a contract offer from the Dutch capital in order to sign in England with the Stingrays.

The 32 year old American, who captained his side last term and also stepped in as coach for a number of weeks, is a good bet to replace club legend Jeff Glowa as captain at the Stingrays with the evergreen Canadian expected to leave the club this summer, possibly for another EIHL rival, after six years in Hull.

Mizerek's signing will likely be made official in the coming weeks alongside a number of other recent signings, whose announcement has been delayed by Stingrays owners Mike and Sue Pack for an, as yet, unspecified reason.

Gomenyuk joins Scims

Experienced Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk has become the latest player to leave Sylvain Cloutier's Excel Hull Stingrays side, joining English Premier League side the Sheffield Scimitars after a combined five seasons with the club.

The 32 year old is the latest in what has begun to resemble a long line of players departing the Hull Arena after a second bottom placed finish in four Elite League years with Curtis Huppe, Adam Knight and James Hutchinson having already found new clubs with others more than likely to leave in the near future.

Kiev native Gomenyuk continued his inconsistent year-on-year performance in Hull during an indifferent fifth year in Hull and, while his general defensive play and occasional mistake cost the side goals against, his offensive output of five goals and 22 assists was yet again a rarity on the Rays blueline, even if he didn't quite match his incredible career year in 08/09 where he netted 13 goals and 29 helpers.

He joins a Scimitars set up who have struggled to keep hold of their best young British players in recent seasons including the likes of future GB stars Robert Dowd, Robert Farmer and Ben Morgan, mainly due to lack of financial backing.

After a concerning start to the summer, in which the Scimitars have lost yet more young players including the Haywood brothers, the signing of Gomenyuk will give Scimitars fans hope that all is not lost for their 10/11 campaign. The experienced blueliner will join the side in September for the beginning of the 10/11 season and should both produce offensively and become a rock solid number one defenceman for the South Yorkshire side. 

Around the EIHL: May

Belfast Giants

The Northern Irish side claimed the EIHL playoff title just last month, however, they were almost immediately rocked by the news that the stalwart of that truimph, player-coach Steve Thornton, was quitting to return to Canada. The Giants frantically began searching for a coaching replacement, and by the time Doug Christiansen had crossed the Irish Sea to join the side as player-coach from fellow EIHL side Edinburgh the organisation had already re-signed the base of last seasons playoff winning squad in British netminder Stephen Murphy, defencemen Graeme Walton and Tim Cook, and forwards Evan Cheverie, Robert Peacock and Colin Shields. Having lost Thornton, George Awada, Shane Johnson and Mark Morrison joined the Canadian in retirement, and Nathan Craze and Kevin Phillips departed for France and Braehead respectively, leaving the Giants with big holes right across the board. Nevertheless, the perennial title contenders began to fill the gaps with the standout signings of AHL defenceman Jon Gleed from Bridgeport Sound Tigers and GB international Mark Garside, who followed Christiansen from Edinburgh. Should the Christiansen continue signing in the vein that he has in April and May, the Giants will be early favourites for the title.

Braehead Clan

The Clan were struck with an unexpected dilemma in late April as new player coach Adam Calder, the all time EIHL leader in goals, quit the club as rumoured, however, the Glasgow based side moved quickly to replaced him with Nottingham's determined former captain Bruce Richardson. The 32 year old immediately set about recruiting a solid set of Brits as D men Kevin Phillips and John Connolly joined from fellow EIHL sides Belfast and Edinburgh, and young, hopeful EPL forwards Sam Bullas (Swindon) , Matt Haywood (Sheffield), former Stingray Shaun Thompson (Basingstoke) and Adam Walker (Manchester) signed from the English Premier League (EPL) after eye catching seasons. He completed a busy first month in the job with the signing of Derek Patrosso, his first import, from Port Huron Ice Hawks where the American registered 70 points in 71 games, and former teammate and defensive defenceman MathieuWathier, from French top flight side Tours.

Cardiff Devils

The Devils, who finished runners-up to the Giants in the season ending EIHL playoffs, have been the second busiest side in the early off-season with the signing of no less than 14 players. Coach Gerard Adams has returned to full-time defenceman for the Welsh side, following the loss of Mike Hartwick (retirement), Scott Romfo and British veteran Jason Stone (EPL), however, joining the player-coach on the blueline is returnee GB international Mark Richardson and Canadian Mark Smith, who has signed after a wholly successful season in Edinburgh. In the hope of developing some homegrown netminding talent, Adams has already signed four British goalies, Michael Crisp, Joe Myers and prospect Martin Clarkson, all of whom will back up hometown hero and starting keeper Stevie Lyle. Upfront they have managed to retain a core of forwards, including Brad Voth, Max Birbraer, Ryan Finnerty, Phil Hill and Tylor Michel, adding point-scoring CHLers Stuart McRae and Jon Pelle to the mix, while losing just Mark Smith and Matt Towe to retirement and Guildford respectively.

Coventry Blaze

Following their fourth EIHL title the Blaze have had a steady but progressive summer so far. Although they have lost a couple of players to former player Tom Watkins and his new EPL side Telford Tigers, including Joe Henry and Jack Watkins, as well as Danny Stewart, who is the new player-coach of Newcastle, GB and Blaze coach Paul Thompson has, like many of the top sides, re-signed a majority of his best players from last term in Jonathan Weaver, Brian Lee, Greg Owen, Russ Cowley, Greg Chambers and Luke Fulghum, four of which are GB internationals. He has built on those key squad members with defensive defenceman and big hitter Brad Zanon and standout Edinburgh forward and NHLer of three games Owen Fussey, who have presumably been signed to replace the voids left by Jason Robinson and Adam Calder respectively. Danish international and championship winning netminder Peter Hirsch has confirmed he is leaving the side however and, while Thompson has confirmed there is a 'head turning' signing on its way, signing a quality netminder will now be seen as a must.

Dundee Stars

Understandably the EIHL's newest side have made just three signings since their admission to the league at the end of April. The first signing of their EIHL era, prior to the announcement of their new coach, became Dundee born forward John Dolan, who has served the club so well since it dropped out of the BNL. The signing all Stars fans were waiting for, however, was the appointment of player-coach and on 25 May, 36 year old former Nottingham, Sheffield and Bracknell forward Dan Ceman was announced as their second signing. Since leaving the Elite League in 05/06, he has spent four seasons in Denmark with Sonderjyske recording 168 points in 160 games and he is now charged with the task of making Dundee competitive in their first season of EIHL play, a challenge many start-up teams have struggled with. Since the announcement of Ceman as coach, another former BNL Star has rejoined the club with forward Gary Wishart re-signing to the club ahead of its first season in the EIHL.

Edinburgh Capitals

The loss of Doug Christiansen was a massive one for the Caps and since his appointment as Belfast player-coach it has been almost exclusively out-goings from the Scottish side as Mike Beynon (France), Mark Smith (Cardiff), John Connolly (Braehead), Ben O'Connor (France), Owen Fussey (Coventry) and Mark Garside (Belfast) have all exited Murrayfield. It's not quite been all bad news for the coachless Caps as general manager and acting head coach Scott Neil has managed to keep hold of import forward Jeff Hutchins and GB defenceman Kyle Horne, adding just Solway Sharks forward Bari McKenzie to the side. Nevertheless, he is left with the massive task of bringing the Caps up to speed by both signing a coach and getting said coach into a position to sign a competitive squad before September.

Hull Stingrays

Even quieter than the Caps this off-season have been the Stingrays, who have yet to make a signing this summer. While admittedly both player-coach Sylvain Cloutier and Stephen Burns were signed on two-year contracts and will return in 10/11, the noises coming from the Hull Arena have been reduced to silence since the departure of player-assistant coach Curtis Huppe. Indeed, since his release both James Hutchinson (EPL) and Adam Knight (CHL) have signed elsewhere, although admittedly, it is only a matter of time before the Rays summer kicks into gear.

Newcastle Vipers

Upon arriving on Tyneside Vipers new player-coach Danny Stewart was hit with the news that the core of Newcastle's British contingent was departing for pastures new. David Longstaff (EPL), Ben Campbell, Dean Holland (EPL) and Richie Lawson left the club, however, Stewart reacted speedily to their loss with the signing of backup netminder Liam McAllister, and  forwards Jamie Tinsley and Nathan Salem before adding experienced North East native Paul Sample to the mix after a year away from the sport. Joining himself on the import front so far is big utility defeceman Blair Stayzer, from IHL side Fort Wayne, and forward Jamie Carroll, who has 205 points to his name in a three year, 221 game stint in the IHL. During the month it was also confirmed that American defencemen Jerrmaine Domish (Sheffield) and Ryan Mahrle, and forward Matic Krajl (France) would not be returning to the Vipers.

Nottingham Panthers

Having re-signed Corey Neilson as player-coach, the Nottingham Panthers, as usual, shot out of the gates re-signing nine of last seasons semi-successful squad while adding a further six players to replace the departing Nick Toneys, Geoff Woolhouse, Mark Hatley, Bruce Richardson (Braehead), Kevin Bergin (France), Marty Gascon (France), Sean McAslan (retirement) and Cameron Mann (retirement). Defensively, Kevin St-Pierre retained his place between the pipes and in front of him British defencemen Tom Norton, Stevie Lee and Danny Meyers all returned to be joined by backup netminder Dan Green and offensive defenceman Jonathan Zion from fierce rivals the Sheffield Steelers. Upfront GB internationals David Clarke and Marc Levers re-signed as did experienced imports Jade Galbraith and Jay Henderson. Joining those familiar faces is tough guy Alex Penner from Colorado in the CHL, goalscorer David-Alexandre Beauregard, last seen in the UK with Manchester but signed after a brief spell in Italy and the CHL, Robert Lachowicz, who rejoins the club after a season of development in Manchester, and Billy Ryan, a former New York Rangers draft pick with experience of the ECHL and AHL.

Sheffield Steelers

Finally, the Sheffield Steelers, who, despite finishing in an all-time low 5th position last season, have re-signed seven of their squad as well as adding two former players who just left over a year ago. Forward Ashley Tait (Italy) and defenceman Steve Munn (Japan) have rejoined the side they won the double with in 08/09 and they join re-signees Mark Thomas, Kevin Bolibruck and Rod Sarich on D, and forwards Joey Talbot, Robert Dowd, Jason Hewitt and Jonathan Phillips in the squad for next term. The Steelers have also added Latvian national team stopper Ervins Mustukovs and Newcastle defenceman Jerrmaine Domish to the fold after releasing Andrew Verner, Dan Green (Nottingham), Ben Morgan (EPL), Scott Basiuk, Randy Dagenais, Mike Sgroi, Doug Sheppard (EPL) and Robert Farmer (EPL) from last seasons side.