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.
