Phoenix sign new British forwards

Last Tuesday brought the news of two new British forwards to next season's Phoenix team.

Ciaran Long joins us from Basingstoke Bison where he iced for only one season. Long made a great impression scoring 15 goals and 15 assists in 39 games and becoming a very versatile member of the team, playing as a winger across two lines. The 20 year old from Birmingham started his career with the Swindon Wildcats where he iced in his first game at only 14 years old. He continued to play with Swindon until the 2009-2010 season when he joined the Slough Jets and was part of the EPL Playoff winning team.

Long is a very feisty player and racked up a total of 114 penalty minutes last season. He agitates the opposition but is very capable of scoring goals. I think that Long is a good signing for Phoenix and shows that Tony Hand is moving away from signing someone to take on the role of the "enforcer" and is looking for physical players who can skate. I would like to see him playing on both the 2nd and 3rd line to mix things up a bit but I think that Tony Hand will play him on the 3rd line with Tom Duggan. I can't see him fighting Payette but I can see him annoying players enough to make them drop the gloves. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do next season.

Josh Ward played on a three way contract last season with the Nottingham Leopards, Nottingham Panthers and Peterborough Phantoms scoring 5 goals and 13 assists. The 19 year old was a product of the junior system in Nottingham and has spent most of his career there. He managed to get himself into the Panthers team in the 2009-2010 season and scored his first goal in the January against Newcastle. He also helped them to win the Elite League Playoffs the following season.

Ward has a lot of energy when on the ice and I think that the team need this. I think that him and Tom Duggan will run, sorry, skate rings around the opposition especially if they are playing on the same line together. If Duggan, Ward and Long do end up as the 3rd line, the energy and passion that these players have will be a great combination and Long may be the key to stopping the cheap shots that Duggan picked up last season. I think that Ward will continue to develop his skills and career with us and I'm hoping that his presence within the team will create a better drive than last season to fight to win the games.

I'm looking forward to more Phoenix news this Tuesday and maybe news of some imports!!!! ;)

James Archer & Stephen Wallace return to Phoenix

Sorry for the delay on this one but as tomorrow is yet again Phoenix signing day, I thought I'd better get my act together :) 

So a couple of weeks ago we saw the re-signing of two British players from last season.

James Archer returns for a second season with Phoenix following an excellent first season with us, where he scored 21 goals and 23 assists. The 22 year old from Sheffield started his career with Peterborough Phantoms and helped them win the grand slam in the 2007/2008 season. Archer played for the Hull Stingrays on loan throughout the last two seasons and has become a well travelled player in the EPL. Tony Hand has stated that he felt that Archer settled well into the team and that her is glad to have him back. To be honest, I was surprised that Archer wasn't one of the first to leave following last season as  I thought he might of signed for Hull Stingrays and he seemed to be lacking the drive towards the end of the season, however, do not take this as if I'm not happy to have him back. He is one of the top British players in the league and the opposition struggle to get him off the puck once he's got it. He is a great playmaker but loves going for an attempt on goal when he gets the chance. I'm looking forward to seeing a few more goals from him this season and I think that him and Slava playing on the same line would be a great combination. I would also like to see him drop the gloves occasionally (but then again, I do like a good fight!)

Stephen Wallace is returning for his third season with Phoenix following a 50 point season making him the sixth top British scorer in the league and the third within Phoenix. The 27 year old from Billingham started his career with the Billingham Bombers and has had an extensive career within the BNL/EPL including stints with Newcastle Vipers, Bracknell Bees and Sheffield Scmitars. Tony Hand has said that Wallace was certainly one he wanted back and is delight that he will be with us for another season. I thought that Wallace played really well last season, he has great puck handling skills and a good shot. He started coming back to help out the defence last season which I think will help develop his game and he will get better as the season goes on. I think he will be one to watch for the 2011/12 season. 

More news tomorrow - I'll try and do my blog quicker this time! ;)