Monday 25 April 2011

Stingrays capture second Star

The Excel Hull Stingrays have today bolstered their likely five strong blueline for the 11/12 Elite League season with the signing of up-and-coming British defenceman Sam McCluskey from Elite League rivals the Dundee Stars.

20 year old McCluskey joins the Rays as a like-for-like replacement for Craig Mitchell, who was today unveiled as a signing for Dan Ceman's Stars, with Mitchell joining brother and former Stingrays forward Lee Mitchell as a summer signing in Dundee.

Their switch along with last week's Stingrays addition of Tristan Cameron-Harper completes a much rumoured four player Tayside-Humberside trade-off of British talent.

McCluskey will come to Hull next season after spending the first six years of his career with hometown side Dundee having made his debut at the age of just 15 in a single appearance in the 05/06 Scottish National League campaign.

With Dundee languishing in the SNL and Northern Hockey League McCluskey had to wait for his chance in the top flight, recording 41 points in 77 games in the process.

He was handed his chance last season at the age of 19 as Dundee stepped up to the Elite League for the first time, and he largely impressed for his tenacious style of play. The Stars clinched the final playoff spot, one place behind the Stingrays, despite starting the year without a win in 15 games and the defenceman recorded two goals and five assists in the process.

His performances over the course of his 52 games season then earned him a selection to the Paul Thompson's preliminary 30 man Great Britain squad for the World Championships, in which GB narrowly missed out on promotion to Pool A for the first time since 1994, and Cloutier was similarly impressed by the Scot's talents:
"Sam had a really good season with Dundee. He is a smart defenceman who skates well and has a good first pass. Sam will be getting plenty of ice time next season and hopefully he can continue to progress. I liked what I saw when we played against Dundee last season. He is a good defenceman with a lot of potential. He was called into the 30-man GB squad for the games against Holland so it shows he is also in Thommo's [GB coach Paul Thompson] thoughts."
He is seen as the ideal replacement for the defenceman Mitchell and comes to Hull in a remarkably similar mould to that of the Rays former D-man, who joined the club with just one top flight year in Edinburgh under his belt, albeit the new addition is on the verge of the GB squad already.

If the Rays edge the Craig Mitchell-McCluskey trade-off, due to the pair's age and proximity to the national team, then the Stars edge the forward trade-off with older brother Lee Mitchell on the fringe of the national side. Although Mitchell has been injury prone in recent years and is also two years old than Cameron-Harper, who also has experience abroad, he is similarly on the fringe of the GB squad and has a number of solid years in the Elite League under his belt.

Dundee native McCluskey becomes the Rays third new British signing of the summer after friend and former teammate Cameron-Harper and former Telford Tigers D-man Daniel Scott signed up to the Rays for next season with both likely to receive substantiated ice-time.

Upon this signing Cloutier confirmed to the Hull Daily Mail that the Scot and Chatham born Scott are likely to make up two of a five strong defence once again next year for the Rays alongside three mostly new import blueliners.

While speculation rightly looks to have written off the chances of Latvian Aivars Gaisins and Canadian Trevor Read returning to the club after less than spectacular seasons, the future of standout D-men Drew Bannister and Kurtis Dulle looks less certain with both contemplating retirement.

Either way it looks likely that next years defensive corps will be guarding the net behind Christian Boucher with all signs pointing to a return for the unremarkable but solid tender.

Monday 18 April 2011

Trade-off complete as Rays switch Mitchell for Cameron-Harper

Sylvain Cloutier has today completed the signing of former Dundee Stars forward Tristan Cameron-Harper for the Excel Hull Stingrays 11/12 Elite League campaign with the Scot effectively replacing the recently departed Lee Mitchell in a like-for-like trade-off that last week saw Lee Mitchell return to Scotland with Dundee.

22 year old Cameron-Harper becomes the Stingrays fourth summer signing, joining Sylvain Cloutier, Jereme Tendler and Daniel Scott on the Hull roster following the conclusion of his first full season in the British top flight, in which he registered eight goals and nine assists in 39 regular season games with Dan Ceman's first year Stars.

Prior to joining his hometown side for the first time in 09/10 the 6'2 winger opened his professional career in the Netherlands at the age of 17, icing for Nijmegen in both the senior and under-20 league. While he dominated the Dutch junior league, netting 13 goals and 7 assists in 7 games, his professional career began with a bang as he lifted the Dutch championship alongside former Stingrays defenceman Kevin Young, picking up four goals and six assists along the way.

Following his lone season in Holland, the rangy power forward made the switch to North America in 06/07 and spent time in both the junior North American Hockey League, with St. Louis Bandits and Alpena Ice Diggers, and the Maritime Junior A Hockey League in Eastern Canada with the Yarmouth Mariners.

Upon returning to the UK in 2009, Cameron-Harper made his debut in the Elite League against Cardiff while on a trial with the Nottingham Panthers before heading home to record four goals and two assists in eight games in the Northern League with the Stars.

He made the step up to the Elite League alongside Dundee last summer and largely impressed thanks to his size, physical presence, fearless play and effective forechecking as the Stars ended memories of an awful start to the season by qualifying for the playoffs.

Although the only particularly memorable event that occurred to Cameron-Harper in Hull was his high-stick on captain Kurtis Dulle, he certainly caught the eye of Rays player-coach Cloutier, who believes both his size and style of play will make a difference to the Rays next season:
"Tristan is another up-and-coming kid who plays the game with an edge, which I like. He has size and plays physical, he scored eight goals in 41 games last season but I think he can get around 15 for us next year. Tristan players hard every night and pays the price. He brings a physical element which we lacked last year, we were a small team."
It is believed Cloutier was keen on snagging the Scot as soon as it became evident Mitchell was leaving and, while the two are statistically incomparable based on last season, Cameron-Harper appears to have more to his game than putting up points.

Having dropped the gloves with Nottingham Panthers tough guys Alex Penner and Guillaume Lepine in the last year, Cameron-Harper clearly plays the game with a fearless attitude and his added size may be the first in a line of big signings in a change of tactic by Cloutier

With the rush on British players now in full flow following Colin Shields departure from Belfast, it was important the Stingrays player-coach quickly moved to sign a replacement for Mitchell, particularly given demand for quality Brits is at an all-time high following the Elite League's drop in import limit from 12 to 10 for next season.

His signature as well as Daniel Scott's signing from Telford nullifies the departure of both Mitchell brothers, leaving Cloutier searching for at two new Brits to make up for the decrease in non-British players.

One player rumoured to be joining the Stingrays also from Dundee is 20 year old defenceman Sam McCluskey. A fellow Dundee native and a friend of Cameron-Harper, McCluskey is on the verge of the GB squad and is thought to have a bright future in the game, however, demand for him is high with a number of other Elite League sides rumoured to be chasing his signature.

Elsewhere, Cloutier also confirmed that, contrary to popular belief, British forward James Archer, who joined the club last summer only to leave amid the club's collapse, would not be joining the club on a full-time basis next year, instead suggesting he would return on a two-way contract with another English Premier League side.

Sunday 17 April 2011

Excel Hull Stingrays 10/11 Season Review: At The Back

All photos copyright Arthur Foster
Netminders

Christian Boucher (61GP 3.68GAA 89.5sv.% 3 assists 0PIM)
Grade: C+
Return: Yes
Brought to the club on the back of a double winning season in Holland with a reputation for winning games on his own, the likeable Canadian had a somewhat average, fairly unnoticeable first year in the UK this season. While the he may not have won many games singlehandedly, the netminder also rarely if ever cost his side points or a win and that was certainly a positive in his second year in Europe. Behind a defence that was, prior to the arrival of Drew Bannister, frail, Boucher remained relatively solid and that continued when the former NHLer arrived. An obvious low point for the Ontario native was the 12-0 thrashing in Cardiff in Bannister's first game, in which he played the full 60 minutes, facing 42 shots, however, he rebounded well allowing just one goal the following night at home to Nottingham. Often caught out by both one timers at the back post and breakaways, the latter not helped by consistently poor team line changes or a slow retreating blueline, Boucher to his credit was an ever-present in the lineup and played at a ridiculously consistent level all year long, rarely slipping from that level. That reliability is key for Elite League netminders and as such his chance of returning looks high, nevertheless, his apparent lack of match winning ability did have some questioning whether Cloutier would roll the dice the summer looking for a keeper capable of winning a game on his own. The 27 year old NCAA graduate is a favourite in Hull and could certainly feel hard done by were he not at least offered the chance to return.

Andrew Jaszczyk (3GP 4.04GAA 85.7sv.%)
Grade: C-
Return: Yes
Backup netminder is undoubtedly the hardest role to play in British hockey and 21 year old Jaszczyk found that out more than ever this season, when his ice time was halved for a third consecutive year for no apparent reason. Statistically there isn't much to judge in the Brits three bit part appearances this season that totaled just 47 minutes. Even under circumstances such as Edinburgh's mid-season demise - normally perfect backup territory - the Rotherham born stopper remained on the bench more often than not. Unsurprising, given the team was chasing 6th place right up to the penultimate weekend of the year but nevertheless frustrating for Jaszczyk, who must now make a decision on his future ambition within the sport. A seemingly popular member of the squad that plays a number of important duties off-ice for Cloutier, he would undoubtedly be a welcome returnee for the Stingrays, and with starting opportunities in the English Premier League limited that would appear to be the obvious choice, unless a return to regular ice-time in the third tier English National League is preferred by the 21 year old.

Defencemen

Craig Mitchell (25GP 1+4 25PIM)
Grade: C-
Return: No
The younger of the Mitchell brothers, defenceman Craig returned for his second year in Stingrays colours hoping more ice-time and another year under his belt would propel him into contention for the Great Britain national side. Unfortunately, the 20 year old was largely robbed of that opportunity after breaking his arm blocking a shot in the club's second game of the year, a 6-1 loss in Braehead. A solid, dependable defenceman that Cloutier had a lot of faith in, Mitchell returned to action in November after just over a month out but was then again sidelined to a shoulder ligament injury, returning against Coventry in February only to find the injury had not healed. The former Edinburgh defenceman then allegedly had a closed doors disagreement with the club over the extent of the injury and didn't return, handing in his notice to leave Hull before the club's final games of the year, signalling the end of his brief two-year stint with the club.

Trevor Read (61GP 7+22 55PIM)
Grade: D
Return: No
Former Basingstoke defenceman Read came to the Stingrays after a below average year in France and almost immediately caused concern with his lack of pace, defensive mistakes and poor shot from the point. In short, at that point there was very little the Canadian did right on a blueline that had a huge deficiency in speed and was often caught out of position. The release of Latvian Kriss Grundmanis and signature of former NHLer Drew Bannister changed that though as Cloutier paired Read with the veteran signed from the AHL. Awful pre-Bannister, Read was now a fairly solid, if unspectacular part of the Rays defensive corps. Sure, mistakes were still made and Bannister's arrival didn't magically bless the 27 year old with speed or a good shot but he did improve his all around play and positioning, even if some believe that may have been down to Bannister's presence. Nevertheless, it is a credit to Read's character that he persevered throughout and it was definitely appreciated by the club's fans that he had faith to remain with the club post-summer collapse.

Kurtis Dulle (61GP 12+31 132PIM)
Grade: B+
Return: Yes
A late replacement for captain-to-be Joshua Mizerek, who re-signed in Holland after the club's collapse, Dulle turned out to be one of the captures of the summer by Cloutier. The offensive defenceman that the club had been craving since the days of Kevin Young and Craig Minard, he was named as an unlikely but more than capable captain in Mizerek's place and ended up an ever present in the Stingrays lineup. With his natural strengths going forward, bringing the puck forward from the back, his continuous hard work often went unnoticed as did his defensive play. The only minor criticism that could be aimed at the 31 year old is that he took too many penalties as he somehow clocked up a mammoth 132 minutes with no fighting majors. Still, the majority of this may be attributed to trying to do too much and often getting caught forward, which is understandable given the Rays lack of offensively capable defenceman. There has been talk of him retiring after spending this summer playing in the Australian league with the Sydney Bears, however, with Cloutier likely to have offered a contract, another year with the Stingrays could prove tempting.

Aivars Gaisins (49GP 0+4 81PIM)
Grade: C-
Return: No
Gaisins returned to the club for a second season and filled a hole on the Stingrays blueline, much like Trevor Read, after a debut year in which he was restricted to just two games after injury. The Latvian was signed as the club's sixth defenceman as a result of living and working locally but was called on increasingly this year after Craig Mitchell injury woes. As an import that was likely cheaper than the equivalent Brit, Gaisins was very useful in the higher import limit EIHL, however, his place in the team next year may be more difficult to justify after the Elite League decided to drop that limit from 12 to 10. While a handy, gritty player to have as a sixth or seventh defenceman, Gaisins probably isn't good enough to secure a full role in next seasons ten import Stingrays with the occasional mistake to his game at Elite League level and very few points. Nevertheless, it is likely he will remain in the city in his full-time job so should the Rays lack of depth on D strike once again he should be available to slot in as and when, assuming he most likely continues training with the side.

Drew Bannister (34GP 5+15 50PIM)
Grade: A
Return: Yes
Former NHLer Bannister signed on as player-assistant coach as one of the club's biggest ever signings after a full season captaining Binghampton Senators in the AHL in 09/10 and he easily stepped in to the place left by towering Latvian youngster Kriss Grundmanis, a bizarre player switch but one that obviously proved to be mightily effective for the Stingrays. Ignoring his debut, that now infamous 12-0 thrashing at the hands of Cardiff live on Sky Sports, Bannister made an immediate impact on the Rays blueline turning a previously slow, sloppy defensive unit into one that was one relatively stable. Although there were still issues at the back, mostly related to the opposition getting in behind the defence all too regularly and too easily, Bannister's impact was obvious, particularly on Trevor Read's game, which improved no end when he joined the club. Individually, club Defenceman of the Year Bannister was cool and calm on the puck, tenacious and hard working off it and as experienced and clever as they come, as would be expected for a D man that has played in three of the world's top leagues. Whether the seasoned pro returns to Hull for one last season at the age of 37 remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, he will go down as one of the best ever defenceman to take to the ice as a Stingray.
 
MIA

Kriss Grundmanis (17GP 1+1 19PIM)
Grade: D-
Return: No
Signed as one of two towering European blueliners, Grundmanis never truly looked cut out for Elite League hockey and ultimately paid for lacking the physical, enforcing abilities of Jozef Sladok. The Latvian began the year being sucker punched by Cardiff's Justin Sawyer and his 17 game spell didn't get much better with his lack of physical play often frustrating for a 6'5 defenceman. Another likeable player but unfortunately one that came to the Rays too soon and was clearly too inexperienced for the British top flight. He ended his stay with the club by scoring his only goal in a 17 game spell with a fine individual effort against Coventry before joining English Premier League side Sheffield Steeldogs, where he played out the rest of the year, impressing in the process.

Also iced: James Hutchininson and Thomas Jeffrey (EPL Peterborough Phatoms), Thomas Ralph (ENL Kingston Jets)

Thursday 14 April 2011

Defenceman Scott is first new face for 11/12

18 year old defensive prospect Daniel Scott has today joined the Excel Hull Stingrays for their 11/12 Elite League campaign. The Great Britain junior international joins the Rays having spent the majority of his rookie 10/11 season with the English Premier League's Telford Tigers, having also made his debut in the top flight while on a two-way contract with the Elite League's Coventry Blaze.

Scott recorded just one goal and three assists in 48 games with Telford on his return to the country this season having spending two years at Northwood School, an American high school specialising in hockey based on the edge of Lake Placid, New York. The Kent born defenceman, who originates from the Invicta junior setup, netted his lone league goal of 10/11 and the first of his professional career in the Shropshire club's final game of the year against the Guildford Flames as the Tigers finished eight points out of a playoff spot.

The blueliner is thought to be a real prospect for the British game having followed up two years in North America with that solid year in Telford which included a two-way six game stint at the Coventry Blaze. Although he recorded just four points in the EPL and failed to register in the Elite League, he made a good impression all season long for such a young player, and played regular minutes on his lone visit to the Hull Arena in Coventry's 7-2 triumph in mid-March

He went on to cap a good first senior season in the sport by playing a big part in England's 10-0 win over Scotland at the National Ice Centre prior to this year's Elite League Playoff Final between the Cardiff Devils and Nottingham Panthers. Neither appearance in Hull nor Nottingham went unnoticed by Stingrays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier:
"I am really excited to have Daniel on board. We saw him play for Coventry in Hull at the end of the season and he showed what a level-headed player he is. I saw him play for England at the Final Four weekend and he really stood out. I am excited to have him on board. Daniel is an up-and-coming kid and I want to help him develop his game and hopefully one day he will play for the GB national team."
Cloutier went on to describe the 6'0, 179lbs defenceman's strengths:
"Daniel is very calm and composed on the puck, he is a big kid and a good skater who has a lot of potential. He will add size to our back-end and he will be getting plenty of ice time at the top level and he needs to take advantage of that."
Scott comes to the club as what is thought will be a direct replacement for Scottish defenceman Craig Mitchell, who unceremoniously ended his two-year spell at the club at the tail of of last season after a disagreement behind closed doors over a wrist injury that limited him to 25 games.

Mitchell ended his stay at the club having iced in 77 games for the club, netting two goals while adding 12 assists, and his departure also saw brother Lee Mitchell leave Hull after six seasons, 225 appearances and 153 points.

Given the brothers departure and the decrease in import limit from 12 to 10 for the Stingrays next season, the club is likely to need a new influx of British talent this summer with no fewer than three new British signings required on top of the capture of Scott. That is of course assuming fellow Brits Ryan Lake, Lee Esders, Andy Hirst, Ben Lowe and Andy Jaszczyk all remain with the club for another year as is largely expected.

Sunday 10 April 2011

Mitchell ends six season Stingrays stint

24 year old Scottish forward Lee Mitchell has today signed for Elite League rivals the Dundee Stars for the 11/12 season, thus ending his six year stay in Hull with the Stingrays.


The former GB junior international will join up with the Stars and player-coach Dan Ceman in August, ahead of the 11/12 season, for their inaugural season in the Elite League after they ended their first year in the top flight in a credible eighth place despite losing their first 15 games.

Kirkcaldy born Mitchell moved south to Hull in 05/06 as an 18 year old after two seasons with his hometown Fife Flyers and, with the Rays dropping down into the English Premier League, he became one of the club's leading forwards, netting 14 goals and 19 assists in 33 games in the club's largely unsuccessful year in the British second tier.

The club stepped up to the top flight the following year and, although Mitchell put in a career low in goals, while registering just 11 points in 50 games, he remained an ever present in the Stingrays lineup as he continued a promising start to his career.

He would go on to register career point high's in three successive seasons in Hull, notching 20 points in 40 games during 07/08, 30 in 54 during 08/09 and 35 in 44 during 09/10.

Joining the Rays as an Great Britain Under-20 international, Mitchell's progression over the year's from 18 year old prospect into one of the up and coming, must have British forwards has been clear to see and all things being well he should make his second appearance at the World Championships next week, after his debut in GB colours against the Netherlands last season.


Unfortunately, while in his first two seasons in Hull he was evidently still developing, Stingrays fans have been largely robbed of seeing the Scot at full flight at full potential for a full season after injury problems severely blighted his six season stay, and that may leave a sour taste in the mouth as he moves north of the border to Dundee next season.

Those injury problems, particularly his numerous knee injuries, have restricted him to just two 50+ game seasons in six years in Hull, while this past season he was able to ice in just 27 games. That said, although he has missed more than 70 games over the years, including more than 30 this season, Mitchell ends his stay in the top five of all the clubs all-time records charts, sitting in second in appearances (255), fourth in goals (59), third in assists (94) and third in points (153).

Undoubtedly one of the best British players to have iced for the Stingrays, and certainly one of the most loyal servants to the club during it's eight year existence, Mitchell's departure is a big blow to Sylvain Cloutier's team building plans and leaves a big hole in Rays roster for the 11/12 Elite League campaign with just Jereme Tendler signed up for next season.


Brother Craig Mitchell is already expected to have quit the club after a supposed disagreement during his lengthy spell on the sidelines with a wrist injury and Lee's defection from the club, while possibly costly depending on the quality of his replacement, is no surprise with Belfast and Braehead previously rumoured to have been ready to sign.

With the Elite League dropping the import limit down from 11 and 12 to 10 for the upcoming season Brits, and more importantly quality international Brits like Lee Mitchell, are invaluable and the loss of siblings will put extra strain on Cloutier, who will now have to find three extra homegrown players on top of what he had at his disposal this year providing no further Brits leave the club.

Considering every Elite League side will be most likely adding at least one Brit to account for the new rule change, prices for players from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are likely to rise in line with demand and as such that search may not be as easy as it initially sounds.