5 Pavel Gomenyuk (03-05, 06/07, 08/09) The steady but solid Ukrainian has had three very mixed spells with the Stingrays, split by two equally indifferent seasons in Newcastle.Although he has had notable lows throughout his time in Hull, including 06/07, where his determination to play on through injury saw him on the receiving end of fan venom, he has generally been regarded as a safe bet as far as the Stingrays defencemen have gone.
His steely character has shone through in returning from not one, but two below par seasons with the club. And he particularly excelled last season, recording a career high 42 points in 56 games, mainly through his long searching passes and slapshots from the blueline, and in doing so earned himself a return under new coach Sylvain Cloutier.
4 Steve Slonina (08/09) Upon signing, the Abington, Maschusetts native initially appeared to be a very astute signing by former coach Rick Strachan, who signed the former Bakersfield Condor as a forward that could adequately fill in on defence. A handful of games and a switch to defence later, and Slonina had become one of the teams standout performers...on defence.After a largely ineffective spell in his natural forward position, he filled in for the injury prone Stingrays defence and shored up a backline that, from the outset, looked immobile and offensively blunt.
His tenacity and tendency to rush the puck forward from defence was a welcome change on a team that boasted several defensive blueliners in the form of Wilson, Kerr, Neumeier and Moran. A 40 point season and defenceman and fans player of the year at the teams end of season awards, reflects how good the American's season really was.
3 Dave Phillips (03-08) Recently invited to try out for the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks, Phillips progression in the sport has been frightening and very visible for Stingrays fans.Beginning his career as a forward, with former coach Strachan utilising the teenagers fearless ability to intimidate and agitate on the teams third line, Phillips was then switched back to his preferred role in defence in his sophomore season.
From there on in his career has gone from strength to strength, progressing from sparsely used third line defenceman to a staple of the Rays defensive core.
A season in the English Premier League cemented his reputation as one of the best up and coming Brits, and two seasons with the Stingrays in the Elite League not only handed him his first Great Britain senior cap, of which he now has 15, but also a move to the big spending Belfast Giants.
Phillips physicality, aggressive style and solidity at the heart of the teams defence, as well as his clear passion for both winning, and the team, set him aside from other defencemen as one of the best.
2 Kevin Young (06/07) Young really became everything an Elite League team wants from their import defencemen. Offensively brilliant, defensively solid and a clear leader in the locker room, Young was a favourite for the team in one of their best Elite League seasons.His skill set was clearly very high, and although his CV didn't particularly shine through a crowd, on the ice he was one of the most skillful. This was demonstrated perfectly in a memorable overtime winning goal against Nottingham, a solo effort rounded off by a nice backhanded finish and 'climb the glass' celebration.
His season came crashing to a halt with a Mike Rees check with the resulting dislocated shoulder, which threatened to keep him out for months rather than weeks, dictating that the team release him, much to the devastation of Young himself.
1 Craig Minard (04/05) Minard was not only one of the best defencemen to have iced for the Stingrays, but in his short spell in East Yorkshire he became one of the best regardless of position.He became the Stingrays version of Neal Martin in Coventry, Greg Kuznik in Fife and , to a lesser extent, Kevin Bobriuck in Sheffield, in that he was an outstanding defenceman that the team, and their fans, dream of re-signing each and every pre-season.
He stayed at the Hull Arena for just 25 games, but in that time scored an outstanding 20 points, including five assists in a crazy 6-5 win in Bracknell. Not only that, but he also took the teams captaincy and guided them to an encouraging opening stretch in 04/05 in league, Crossover Cup and Winter Cup, it would not last however.
Regretably Minard quit the team to return to the CHL and was immediately, and quite rightly, vilified for using the Stingrays as a pre-season training camp and wage earner.
That aside he is easily the most exciting defenseman to have iced in Rays colours, an offensive defencemen of the first quality, and for that reason he sits in the number one spot.
Honourable mentions: Slava Timchenko, Troy Neumeier
Images courtesy: bbc.co.uk, Arthur Foster,
