Tilburg Trappers (NL)Coach: Mark Pederson (Canada)
NM: Yukata Fukufuji (Japan)- One of the instantly recognisable names on the Trappers roster. Japanese international Fukufuji is a former NHLer, with three games under his belt with the LA Kings; he was also the first ever Japanese player to ice in 'The Show'. He comes with a high end pedigree and has been signed by Pederson, his former coach in the ECHL, to ice for a Tilburg side with high expectations for the upcoming season.
D: Kory Scoran (Canada)- A standout ECHL defenceman, Scoran, a former Idaho Steelhead, impressed in the third tier of North American hockey with 77 points in three seasons, last season recording 33 points. Much more is expected of him in the Dutch Eredivise.
D: Bjorn Willemse (Netherlands)- 25 year old Willemse, a native of Tilburg, has been an everpresent in the Dutch national side since his debut in 2003, after a lengthy junior international career, and, up to last season, had spent his whole career with the Trappers. Last season he ventured to France, where a six game spell in the French top tier saw a return of four points, before he bolted to re-sign in Tilburg.
F: Daryl Bat (Canada)- Entering his fourth year in Tilburg, Bat has stood out as one of the Trappers top scoring players in his three years with the club, notching up 73, 59 and 53 point seasons respectively. Bat outscored Stingray Matt Reynolds twice in two years in Canadian college at York University, and more goals and points will be expected from the 28 year old, both this season and this weekend.
F: Josh Liebenow (USA)- Another recruit from coach Mark Pederson's days in Bakersfield, Liebenow had a rough first season in the 'E', recording just five points in 28 games, before exploding for 27 goals and 55 points in 06/07. He quickly moved to the German Bundesliga and two seasons, 71 points and 86 games later he signed up to join Pederson again, this time in Holland.
F: Pieter Van Biezen (Netherlands)- Van Biezen, like defenceman Willmse, has spent his whole career with Tilburg, usually finishing off the season with a spell for his national side at the World Championships. Coming off the back of a career year, with 40 points in 40 games in the Dutch top flight, Van Biezen will surely be a scoring threat this weekend, despite his poor scoring record with the Netherlands.
Nottingham PanthersCoach: Corey Neilson (Canada)
NM: Kevin St Pierre (Canada)- The 28 year old Sherbrooke, Quebec native has joined friend and former team mate Bruce Richardson at the Panthers and replaces Michel Robinson in net after two years in the CHL with Tulsa. St-Pierre is an experienced starting netminder with spells in all four North American minor leagues, with his best years coming in 02/03 (with Bakersfield, ECHL) and 03/04 (with Fort Wayne, UHL), where he recorded bests in save percentage (92.9%) and goals against average (1.98) respectively.
D: Dominic D'Armour (Canada) D'Armour is another new addition to the Panthers lineup and it is thought he will turn out to be one of the league's top defenceman. A third round draft pick of the Toronto Maples Leafs in 2002, D'Armour has over 100 games experience in the AHL and was twice called up to the AHL last season, after primarily spending the year in the ECHL with Florida and Dayton.
D: Corey Neilson (Canada) Whilst it is thought that D'Armour should turn out to be one of the Elite League's finest defencemen next season, there is no doubt that Neilson is already at that plateau. The Panthers player/coach has recorded an outstanding 174 points in 179 games from defence and came up with a career year last season in his first term as coach at the age of 32.
F: Cameron Mann (Canada) Surely one of the biggest signings in league history, Mann is a veteran of 94 NHL games, 302 AHL games, 34 SM-Liga games and, most recently, 172 DEL games...all some of the top leagues in the world. Not much more needs to be said about the forward, who last season scored 13 points in 17 DEL games, he should be one of the dominant forces during the P&O Channel Cup, and should be one of the top goal and pointscorers come the end of the season.
F: Sean McAslan (Canada) McAslan has returned for a second shot at the Elite League with Nottingham, following a successful two year spell between 2006 and 2008 in which he scored 166 points (and 84 goals) in 121 games as the Panthers won the Challenge Cup. A year in Denmark saw a return of 35 points in 43 games but the goalscoring forward will be wanting to help Nottingham end that long wait for a league title. A big season will be needed from him if the Panthers are to end that wait.
F: David Clarke (Great Britain) The Peterborough born forward has been a Great Britain regular for nine years and constantly hits the twine for both club and country. Now an adopted Panther, Clarke had a career year in 06/07, scoring 37 Elite League goals in 50 games, before trying his luck on the continent in Italy with HC Alleghe. An unlucky year later, in which he broke his leg, Clarke returned to Nottingham and helped the Panthers to the playoff final with 28 goals and 49 points in 41 games. He is one of the few Brits that can be relied on to hit the net regularly and is a huge part of the Panthers squad.
