Sylvain Cloutier has today signed 24 year old Tommy Sandahl as the Excel Hull Stingrays number one netminder for the 2009/2010 season. The Swede will replace Curtis Cruickshank between the pipes and becomes the Stingrays fourth starting Elite League netminder in four seasons.Soon to be 25, the Ljungby native will spend his first season out of his homeland after nine seasons spanning across the Junior EliteLeague, Allsvenska, Division 1 and Division 2.
Last season he returned to his hometown team, Troja-Ljungby in the Allsvenska, following a spell in with Gislaveds in the lower Division 1, and there he backed up former Nottingham Panthers netminder Petter Sandstrom, statistically outperforming the former ISL keeper albeit in fewer games.
After starting in ten games and also reliving for Sandstrom, Sandahl ended with a 90% save percentage and 2.92 goals against in 535 minutes of competitive play, and although these figures may not seem overly outstanding, the Allsvenska, Sweden's second tier, is thought to be a higher level than the Elite League.
Together they helped Troja-Ljungby surprise the league by ending the season in that seventh, and final playoff place, just outperforming former EliteSerien side Malmo Redhawks in the process, something that is hoped the Stingrays will achieve for the very first time with him between the pipes.And coach Cloutier is very happy with the signing of the Swede, after requesting his brother, former NHLer, Dan Cloutier, find him the best possible netminder.
"He will do great here in the UK. He played at a high level in Sweden. The scouting report on him was good. He has quick feet, is very acrobatic, has a quick glove and more importantly he is a competitor. Tommy will be one of the better goalies in the league."Meanwhile Sandahl expressed his excitement at playing overseas for the first time.
"I am very excited and looking forward to moving to a new country, a new culture and a different style of hockey. I wanted to look for a move outside Sweden and when I spoke to Sylvain Cloutier I felt comfortable. He seems to be a great person to lead the team and he told me he had full confidence in me being the starting goalie."His signing spells the end for the wholly unpopular Curtis Cruickshank, who spent just one season in Hull recording a lowly 88.6 save percentage and a soaring 4.26 goals against average.
Obviously the Stingrays frail defence did nothing to ease his troubles, but it was more than Cruickshank's stats that bothered fans, it was his demeanor on the ice, positioning and erratic decision making that did not lead to a happy spell at the Hull Arena
Netminder is a position that the Stingrays have struggled to find continuity in. Miroslav Bielik was too injury prone, but Ladislav Kudrna and Cruickshank were too inconsistent, despite the odd jaw dropping save.Sandahl revealed on the official Excel Hull Stingrays website what kind of netminder he is.
"Hull will be getting a stable goaltender who doesn’t give up too many rebounds. I play a safe game and am not a highlight goalie – I just keep things simple."So with Sandahl filling the solid and stable, rather than the spectacular and unorthodox mold, he will hopefully bring about some stability in what is the most important position on any hockey team. And providing he is not injury prone, the Stingrays will hopefully see one of the more consistent keepers in their short history.
With Sandahl signed, and Andrew Jaszcyzk set to sign as his backup, the next aspect of the team that looks set to be covered is defence and as well as an element that is likely to feature heavily in this years team, toughness.
Andre Payette, Mike Beynon and Brit Craig Mitchell are amongst the names that have allegedly already signed for the club, as Sylvain Cloutier continues to build for a two season shot at the Elite League.
Sandahl's promotion video (courtesy 37 Hockey)
