Gomenyuk signs for season; Smith named captain; 11th import inbound?

Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk has agreed to extend his short-term contract at the Hull Stingrays until the end of the 2013/2014 season.

The 35 year old guested for the club at the weekend as they dug in deep with a short bench to return home with a huge three points against Gardiner conference rivals following a shootout loss to Fife and 5-4 triumph over Edinburgh.

Gomenyuk - who will now partake in his 6th season in Hull - notched an assist and four penalty minutes over the weekend and is the club's fifth import blueliner.

While the defenceman has been criticised for some of his play in the past and would not have necessarily been most people's first choice, he is a welcome, cheap and most importantly immediate addition for Sylvain Cloutier - who has been struggling to pin down prospective players.

Of the Gomenyuk confirming his deal, Cloutier said:

"Gomy wanted to come back. He really enjoyed being back playing at the weekend, he settled in well with the other guys and had a lot of fun with them. He had no problem adjusting and you could not tell he had not played all season. Gomy is an experienced guy who will help out our defence a lot. He reads the game well and knows where to be out there. He will also boost our powerplay and penalty kill."

Meanwhile, following the departure of former captain Matt Suderman, Cloutier today announced that alternate captain Jeff Smith has been chosen to become the club's new captain.

The 32 year old veteran is incredibly well liked and respected both in the dressing room and by fans and is seen by Cloutier as the perfect captain and leader.

"Smitty has always been a leader in the dressing room since he came here. He has the respect of everybody and is a leader on and off the ice. He is someone you can rely on out there, he has been around, has captained teams before and has a lot of experience. He has also won championships wherever he has been. Last season was a tough one for Smitty with the problems he had not even being able to put his skates on. But he kept on battling for the team and is someone who never gives up and that is why he got the coach's award.

The move left a vacant alternate captain slot alongside Jason Silverthorn which Cloutier also announced has been filled by fellowed defenceman Martin Ondrej.

Finally, it is believed that the Stingrays have located and, indeed, signed their final import - a replacement for the long-departed Derek Campbell.

Speculation suggests that, pleased with the club's firepower in Jereme Tendler, Guillaume Doucet and the ever-improving Carl Lauzon, Cloutier may have plumped for a further import defenceman to shore up their back line in front of Ben Bowns and that that blueliner is another former Stingray.

The addition of another import defenceman would mean the versatile Kyle Mariani reverting back to his third-line forward spot alongside Tom Squires and Bobby Chamberlain - once he returns from Great Britain Under-20 duty.

Although the new import signing won't be in the country in time for Thursday's fixture in Dundee as they await a work permit clearance, it was hoped they may have him in the country in time for this weekend's home game against the Edinburgh Capitals.

Suderman named Stingrays captain; Silverthorn and Smith re-appointed alternate captains

30 year old defenceman Matt Suderman has been named the Hull Stingrays club captain for the 13/14 Elite League campaign - their 8th in the British top flight.

The Manitoba native - who joined the club this summer following nearly a year and a half out of the sport through illness - takes the 'C' from three-year captain Kurtis Dulle and will be assisted by alternate captains and fellow Canadians Jason Silverthorn and Jeff Smith.

Suderman - who originally joined the Stingrays in 2010 before opting out of joining due to the club's financial issues - has already made quite the impact on the roster according to player-coach Cloutier having been voted to become captain by his fellow teammates:

"This season I felt the guys should pick the captain and the vote went to Matt. You want your captain to lead by example and he will do that. He is a player who comes to work every night, he is a competitor and he battles all night. In the dressing room the guys are already listening when he talks, he has been around for a while and he has a lot of respect. Matt is a character and he is that hard hat-type of player and that is exactly what I want my team to be like. The Hull Stingrays need to have a team full of leaders who compete and battle - if we do that it will give us a chance.

On Smith and Silverthorn's re-appointment as alternate captains, Cloutier added:

"Silver and Smitty have been around a while too. They are experienced guys who come to work every night and also lead by example. I am very happy with the choices."

The Rays open the 13/14 season with an away fixture against the league, playoff and cup champions the Nottingham Panthers. Their first home fixture of the season comes on Sunday against reigning Gardiner Cup champions the Braehead Clan.

Third year for captain Dulle

32 year old defenceman Kurtis Dulle will return as Hull Stingrays captain for a third consecutive season after it was today confirmed that he has re-signed for the 2012/2013 Elite Ice Hockey League campaign.
An offensive blueliner, Dulle rejoins for a third term in East Yorkshire having racked up 65 points over two seasons and 95 games after joining the club late in the summer of 2010.

The 5'11, 194lbs blueliner had a career year during his first season in Hull in 10/11 - setting a Stingrays single season high in points by a defenceman (39) - in the process becoming the club's first true attack minded D man since 06/07 and fellow Canadian Kevin Young.

The University of Regina graduate has since go on to rank second in all-time assists (51) and points (65) amongst Stingrays defencemen in the Elite League trailing only Ukrainian Pavel Gomenyuk - who has played 108 more games than the Canadian.

In an official press release Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier said he was "really glad" to have the Saskatchewan native defenceman back for the third year, going on to add:

"...it just shows you that Hull is a great place to play. He has been our captain for the last two years and will be again. He brings leadership on and off the ice. He has been our most consistent D man for the last two years, he comes to play every night and that's what I need from him. He is one of the better offensive 'D' men in the league and with him, [Tomas] Valecko and [Shane] Lovdahl, I really like what we have at the back end so far."

Having contemplated retirement and life after hockey last summer following a spell in the Australian Ice Hockey League, he made a surprise return in October with the club struggling defensively but provided an immediate spark, helping the team to a win 9-4 over the Braehead Clan on his return.

Joshua Mizerek - who started the season as captain but was generally viewed as the weak link in the Rays D last term - was later released and replaced by his predecessor for the remainder of the year with the Stingrays going on to finish seventh before reaching the EIHL Semi-Finals and Final Four for the first ever time.

Over the season Dulle tallied three goals - something he may want to improve on from the get-go this season - and 26 points last season, 13 less than in 10/11 though having played 13 fewer games. Nevertheless, his first pass from defence and occasional tendency to rush the puck was a pivotal part of the Rays and their transitional game as were his puck moving abilities on the man advantage.

Critics may point to his 218 penalty minutes in two years and 95 games and state he takes too many cheap and unnecessary - something that can't be argued with given the only players to receive more penalty minutes in the last two season's have been Jozef Sladok, Derek Campbell and Andy McKinney, who all play the game with an aggressive edge.

Nevertheless, it is quite clear that Dulle is the kind of quality offensive defenceman and on-ice leader that the Stingrays cannot afford to gamble on or, indeed, miss out on given the previous signing of such ilk came in 2006. While those 218 penalty minutes add up, so do the 65 goals he has played some part in over the last two years, not forgetting the tremendous job he appears to have done as club captain both on and off-ice.

He joins a Rays defensive corps which currently consists of new signings Shane Lovdahl, Tomas Valecko and, likely, utility enforcer and fifth defenceman Ryan Hand with one defenceman left to sign.

That final defensive option is highly likely to be former Coventry Blaze blueliner Jeff Smith - who last season played in Holland with HYS The Hague. That speculation and rumour ties in perfectly with Cloutier's comment in today's press release stating the last signing on D would be "a big stay-at-home 'D' man, not flashy, just doing the job and keeping it simple."

31 year old Smith is a 6'6 former ECHLer who recorded three goals and one assist for the Blaze in 14 games before injury cut short his 10/11 season.

Mizerek leaves Hull; Dulle regains captaincy

Late last night it was officially confirmed that Stingrays captain Joshua Mizerek has been released from his contract with the club.

As I suggested in last night's blog this decision was solely down to the sub-par performances put in by the Rays captain and not financial problems which are hitting the ownership group in Coventry. Coach Sylvain Cloutier has confirmed he is searching for a replacement and also revealed that last season's captain Kurtis Dulle will regain his captaincy of the club.

It's not a numbers game, nor, I assume, was it a decision taken based on numbers, but Mizerek, 34, offered just two goals and five assists in 30 games, one of which I think should have been credited elsewhere. That is something of a surprise for a player that bagged 115 points in 150 games in the Dutch Eredivisie with Den Haag and Cloutier will have undoubtedly expected more.

Comparably, Martin Ondrej - who was criticised early on for his performances - has since solidified somewhat and has ten assists to his name. On occasion he also shows some offensive abilities that didn't materialise this season with 'Miz' and defensively he remains invisible.

It was patently obvious to everyone that the defenceman was the odd one out in Hull, even before forward Frantisek Bakrlik was released. His positional play was questionable and his lack of pace and strength unfortunately wasn't offset by his determination and work rate. Last night I likened him to Jonathan Bernier which was perhaps a tad harsh, as the enforcer lasted just four games in Hull, but the sentiment remains, he unfortunately wasn't good enough.

This will, by no means, have been an easy decision for Cloutier. Although on-ice performances dictated he had to be let go, he spent the best part of two years trying to sign the American from Dutch side Den Haag and the pair are good friends, having played together on previous occasions.

The timing of the decision was interesting to me. To release Mizerek heading into a weekend in which the club were so critically understrength due to injuries and international call-ups suggests either Mizerek had had enough himself or that he was issued his two-weeks notice but Cloutier hoped he would remain. Certainly his lack of appearance this weekend together with the late PR suggests the club didn't think they'd have to announce this quite so soon.

As has been mentioned plenty of times previously, Cloutier originally signed reinstated captain Dulle to boost the Rays defensive numbers to four imports and six total as he felt the club couldn't compete with five as it put massive pressure on Brits Sam McCluskey and Dan Scott. He will now look to redress that balance with a defensive signing in the coming days or weeks.

Mizerek reclaims Stingrays captaincy

Excel Hull Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier has today handed out his new on-ice captaincy roles for the upcoming 11/12 Elite Ice Hockey League campaign following the departure of all three of last year's captains and there are few surprises in his choices.

© Fintan Painting www.9pm.nl

33 year old American defenceman Joshua Mizerek has been named club captain for the second time - having initially been given the role when he first signed up to the club last summer - and he is joined by forward Jason Silverthorn and veteran Estonian Dmitri Suur.

Mizerek replaces outgoing captain Kurtis Dulle who is expected to retire from the sport at the end of the summer season in Australia - where he is spending what is thought may be his final season with Sydney Bears.

In a fairly inexperienced team Dulle was thrown into the captaincy upon signing from the Central Hockey League in early September last season as a late replacement for Mizerek - who left without playing a game after the club's financial issues - but turned out to be a popular on-ice leader for the club.

Questions over his captaincy were naturally raised when the club went through a rough patch in late 2010 and brought in  36 year old former NHLer Drew Bannister, however, standing by his captain, Cloutier instead handed Bannister Lee Mitchell's alternate captain's role.

The Rays boss said at the club's most recent fans forum that Mizerek's decision to quit last summer was based on his young family and a renewed opportunity to combine coaching with playing in Holland. Nevertheless he was eager to stay in touch, with Cloutier calling him "the Stingrays biggest fan" last season as he endeavored to keep up with results during his fourth season in Dutch capital Den Haag.

That eagerness to link up again was reciprocated by Cloutier as he wasted no time in signing the American and re-naming him captain. He said:

"It was an easy decision to make, Josh has been a leader wherever he has played. It is natural for him to be captain, he has captained championship-winning sides before. I was extremely excited to have him on board and I knew I wanted him to be my captain."

With former alternate captain Bannister now player-coach of the Braehead Clan and fellow former alternate captain Trevor Read also moving on this summer Cloutier somewhat unsurprisingly named Silverthorn, last season's Coaches Player of the Year, and Dmitri Suur, on paper the most experienced member of this year's team, as their alternate captaincy replacements.

Silverthorn has become a reliable, experienced and valued member of the Rays set up, and not just for his on-ice performances while Suur will be entering his 21st season in the sport at the age of 36. Cloutier added:

"Jason and Dmitri have both been leaders before. Silvers has been a leader since he arrived here and Dmitri has captained Estonia at the last two World Championships. Both have a lot to give the team and they will help Josh and myself out."

It was thought that, following his season coaching the youth set up in Den Haag, Mizerek may be named Bannister's replacement as player-assistant coach, however, it looks as though this time Cloutier is happy with Bobby McEwan as his bench and assistant coach and his all new on-ice leadership. He concluded:

"I am very happy with the choices I've made for all three positions and I just can't wait to get started."

On-ice leadership revealed

Hull Stingrays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier has today revealed that Canadian blueliner Kurtis Dulle will take over from Jeff Glowa as club captain with Lee Mitchell resuming as alternate alongside new signing Trevor Read.

Dulle, 31, joined the Rays in the second batch of signings this summer after spending five seasons in the Central Hockey League, last year appearing for both Corpus Christi and Rio Grande Valley. The two-way defenceman is seen as an ideal replacement for Glowa, who spent six seasons in Hull, captaining the club for the majority of his time.

Cloutier commented:

"Kurtis has been around and is a leader. He is a character guy and he will hold guys accountable. I expect Kurtis to have a big impact on our ‘D’. I have seen him play and others I have spoken to have nothing but good things to say about him. He will lead by example on and off the ice and he will help keep the team together."

24 year old Brit Mitchell returns for his second year as alternate captain having been installed in his first captaincy role by Cloutier last season and will once again look to lead by example.

The Kirkcaldy born forwards growth with the Stingrays has been something special, from a 18 year old prospect to a GB international, assistant captain and key asset capable of racking up the points. Although unlikely to remain at the club much longer due to his meteoric rise to fame and the impending demand for his signature, were he to stay at the club a role as captain would appear very likely in the future

Meanwhile Read, entering his second year in the UK following a year long stint with Basingstoke two years ago, has also been handed an alternate captain role. The 29 year old is another former CHLer and, like Dulle, will look to build off his significant experience in his year in the EIHL and six years in the CHL and ECHL.

While the Rays 10/11 squad is now complete, work off-ice is continuing with a media day planned for next week and with the Stingrays new jerseys and colour scheme hopefully revealed sometime in the next week.

Glowa re-named captain

Evergreen Canadian forward Jeff Glowa has been handed the club captaincy for the Excel Hull Stingrays 09/10 season. Meanwhile fellow long term Stingrays, Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk and British forward Lee Mitchell, were also rewarded for their loyalty to the club with the alternate captain badges.

Glowa, who is entering his six season in Hull and leads the club in games, goals, assists and points, is coming of the back of a career year, where he scored 33 goals and 29 assists in 60 games, in a season where he also held the title of captain. Meanwhile Mitchell and Gomenyuk have both spent four seasons with the club and have been two of the team's most consistent performers during that time.

Coach Sylvain Cloutier spoke to the official Hull Stingrays website about his captaincy decisions:

On Glowa:

"Having played against Jeff before I know exactly what type of player he is. He is a leader, a very good two-way player and a guy you know will battle for 60 minutes. He is the complete package.

On Gomenyuk:

"Pash is another leader and someone the guys listen to. He also wants the club to be successful and he will help the younger guys.

On Mitchell

"Mitch has been knocking on the GB door for a few years now and I believe he can do the same as Russ Cowley, who I played with in Coventry. He had a breakout season and got in the national team and Mitch can do that too."

Glowa announced as new captain.

The Excel Hull Stingrays top point and goalscorer, Jeff Glowa, has been promoted to permanent captain of the team, replacing injured defenceman Troy Neumeier.

Glowa, who has 17 goals and 13 assists in 30 games for the club, re-assumes his captaining duties after holding the post last season and will move into his new role ahead of tonight's match up against the Belfast Giants, a team the Stingrays have beaten twice in two games this season.

The move signals the very end of Troy Neumeiers season after speculation had suggested that the torn knee ligament injury was not season ending, despite all the signals indicating that it was. He was due to receive results from an MRI scan on his abductor knee ligament this week and the promotion of Glowa suggests that Neumeier will be out for the remainder of the season.

The move sees Glowa move from assistant captain to his old role of team captain, with 21 year old Scottish forward Lee Mitchell named as Glowa's replacement as alternate captain.

Meanwhile 38 year old Neumeier will travel home for a month to visit family over the Christmas period before returning to help Rick Strachan with his coaching duties in January.

Strachan names his assistants

As expected coach Rick Strachan has named Russian born Brit, Slava Koulikov, as one of his two assistant coaches for the upcoming 08/09 season, which begins on Saturday with the visit of the Manchester Phoenix.

29 year old netminder Curtis Cruickshank has taken the other assistant coaches role after a 5 year career in British hockey, spanning from Nottingham, Newcastle to Basingstoke and now Hull.

The on ice captaincy has been handed to returning 38 year old defenceman Troy Neumeier, with the alternate captains being given to last seasons captain, Jeff Glowa, and new boy Jason Kostadine.

Strachan had this to say about his new on-ice management and captaincy:

"I think three heads are better than one. They [Koulikov and Cruickshank] are both senior guys and have been around. They know the game. With Curtis being a goalie he can see the whole picture from the ice. As a forward, Slava will give us a different perspective. Feedback from everyone is very important, especially for me."

"Troy has played 1,000 professional games. He's a well-respected, senior guy. He has all the qualities needed. He's very level-headed and doesn't get over-excited. He's seen it all, done it all and will make an excellent captain."

This move will give the Stingrays three avenues of thought for tactics, player lineups and other on ice details, and is likely to please a small section of Stingrays fans who have grown tired of Strachans tactics over the past few years. As Strachan says himself "three heads are better than one" and some new ideas, which will inevitable be thrown into the mix by Cruickshank and Koulikov will do nothing but help the team.

The additional of Neumeier as captain will help the Stingrays on so many levels. Neumeier is not only a brilliant defenceman (ok a little devoid of pace at 38), but he will put the squad into place both on and off the ice. Jeff Glowa will be reluctant to give up the captaincy however with him taking the alternate captain badge, the Stingrays will have twice the experience to rely on, meanwhile Jason Kostadine is likely to be the alternate captain who sets an example with his relentless work ethic and constant checking.