The contract, the first to be handed out by the team's second ever head coach Sylvain Cloutier, allows Archer to ice for the Rays if and when the Scimitars do not have a game.The Rays have already benefited from the former GB U20's presence twice, not least on Sunday against the Nottingham Panthers, where Archer scored his first goal at Elite League level with a cool finish that ultimately proved crucial in helping the Rays to a 5-4 victory.
That goal added to the assist he recorded in his first game as a Stingray last weekend as the Rays claimed a point in a shootout loss to that very same Panthers side. However, he does have previous Elite League experience with the Coventry Blaze, where he iced in a total of 33 games, registering just one assists.
Without doubt his development as a player has been served almost exclusively in the EPL, where he has been a very effective player with stints in his hometown Sheffield, Peterborough, where he played much of his early career, and, last season, Milton Keynes allowing him to accumulate over 140 points in 200 plus games.
So far this season the British forward has netted 14 times in the EPL for the Scimitars adding nine assists in 23 games as the Sheffield based side sit in 5th place and he will provide depth and energy to Cloutier's side for the remainder of the season.
Cloutier, who played with Archer at Coventry, revealed that he will play for the Rays in this months games against Edinburgh, on Boxing Day, and Coventry on the December 30.
"I was with James in Coventry so I know what he is capable of. He didn't get a lot of ice time with Coventry and moved on. But we have signed him on a two-way contract and he will play for us in Edinburgh and against Coventry [on December 30]. I thought he worked hard against Nottingham and took his goal well. He certainly adds some energy to our play when he is on the ice."
