Sorry I'm Late...

Giants players come, Giants players go, and some are ready to go from the fist drop of the first puck, while some are drafted in weeks later. Patrick Smyth looks at a few of the "late-comers"...

Those that know me will know that I am always late. Late to the pub (a crime in some countries), late for work, I was even 15 minutes late to a friends wedding last month. Being late can sometimes mean embarrassingly creeping in at the back and hoping that no one noticed, or it could mean crashing in the front door and making an impact everyone can see

This weekend Peter Campbell and Stevie Lyle arrived from Basingstoke and made no secret of their late arrival. Lyle stood on his head to finally stem the incessant goal leak the Giants had been suffering since the season began, while Campbell fired himself into an early 2 points per game average, with 2 goals and 2 assists.

Over the last few seasons there have been a few players who have arrives after the season had begun, some have made more of an impact than others, but few kept their head down and hoped no one noticed they were late…

Steve Roberts – Season 1

The good ol’ days of the ISL, when you could pick up a third line import without much hassle and no one batted an eyelid. “The PieMan” as he became ‘affectionately’ known as due to his “stocky build”, came to the Giants soon after the Odyssey had finally become the home of the team. He had failed to make an impact in Sheffield having arrived that season from arch-rivals Nottingham Panthers, where he’d spent the previous two seasons. So when Mike Blaisdell said it was time to go, Dave Whistle was happy to add the winger to his Giants side, who at that point were already an import down. Whis had previously lost out to the Steelers in the signing of Shayne McCosh. McCosh had allegedly agreed in principle a move to Belfast, so much so that sticks, skates and crested shirts were received by the Giants for McCosh’s arrival, before he relented and joined the Steelers team that picked up their controversial “Grand Slam” when the season ended.

Stevie Roberts slotted into the Giants forward lines, and in 35 games as a Belfast Giant he scored 10 Goals and 8 assists overall. The Giants first #17 was a role-player whom was taken to heart by the Belfast fans, a lot of whom were experiencing hockey for the first time and maybe thought this “bigger” lads “agility” on the ice was more akin to their own… on a Friday night…. after 6 pints… and maybe they could have a shot at this hockey malarkey?

Stevie’s next move was to the BNL with the Coventry Blaze, the Fife Flyers and Hull Thunder, before heading back for a stint in the CHL and ECHL where he rediscovered his scoring touch. Roberts was looking a lot more “svelte” when he returned to Sheffield last season with the Scimitars at IceSheffield. But that may be because he couldn’t find a Greggs bakery in San Angelo?

Sean Berens – Season 2 & 4

Arguably the first big impact player for the Giants, He arrived off a plane from Chicago on a wet Friday in September 2001, guitar in one hand, hockey stick in the other. He laced up for the Giants as the Panthers were in town and proceeded to write himself into Giants folklore with probably one of the best debuts ever seen at the Odyssey (Yes, I’d dare to say even better than Theo’s).. Despite only stepping off the plane 7 hours previously, and having not even put a pair of skates on for the week preceding the game, Berens stepped out into a packed Odyssey Arena to take on a Panthers side containing the likes of Lee Jinman, PC Drouin and Patrik Wallenberg. Unfazed, Berens put on a storming show. Todd Kelman had been playing a forward role while Whis looked for a top liner, and the arrival of Berens allowed Killer to slot back into the D while Berens to take his place next to Jason Ruff and Kevin Riehl in possibly one of the greatest forward lines seen if not in the ISL, then certainly in Belfast. “Super Sean-y” scored 2 goals that night as the Giants ran out 4-2 victors. And before you could say “You hum it, I’ll play it”, Berens was strumming his way to the top of the Giants points tally for the season, 72 points in 53 games as the Giants picked up their first league title.

The next season saw Berens play in Austria, but before you know it he was “Back in Belfast” again. The Giants, this season under the direction of Rob Stewart, had been struggling to find the mark and Stewart was able to coax Sean to the banks of the Lagan once more. Berens only played 16 games during his second stint in Giants colours, however he was still able to wrack up 26 points, including 10 goals. He once again joined Jason Ruff on the 1st line, however Kevin Riehl had since left for pastures new, and Curtis Bowen was now the top line centre. Their scoring touch was good, but times had passed since Ruff-Riehl-Berens, and the memories maybe didn’t match the new reality.

16 games later, Sean was off, he had been offered a position with Langenthal in the Swiss-B division, a fantastic opportunity for a player of Berens standard, and one that offered better money too that the fledgling new EIHL. So Sean sang his last tune and was off. He got a lot of abuse from some Giants fans for his departure, many seeing it as him “leaving us in the lurch” or “deserting us in our hour of need”. My opinion was and remains that opportunities like the one he was offered do not come along all the time, being a professional sports person in any discipline is one that you need to make tough decisions for your own benefit, and I was pleased that such a talented player was getting this opportunity. What’s he doing now, Well it looks like he’s passing on the skills.

Sean Selmser – Season 3

A little cameo appearance here, Sean Selmser deserves an honourable mention for his efforts, if however brief, at the Continental Cup Qualifiers at the Odyssey Arena. Games that not only saw Colin Ward score one of his best ever Giants goals, games that not only saw then back-up Colin Ryder but in one of the most astonishing back-up nettie performance ever witnessed in the Odyssey, game that not only saw the Giants qualify against the odds for the Continental Cup Finals in Lugano Switzerland, but games that saw Selmser, a player without a team following the unfortunate demise of the Scottish Eagles, lace up for a short benched Giants and in 3 games on the Left Wing, pick up 4 points and make Giants fans yearn for him to remain.

It was always unfortunate that Selmser was not to be a part of the Giants team that went to Lugano, an tournament he was instrumental in achieving for the Giants. He was quickly snapped up by the Austrian League, and has spent the last few years there with VSV and Graz. But there’s always a mention of his name, the fleeting cameo that brought so much joy one weekend in November many years ago.

Steve Thornton - Season 3

Now this is one I’ll really enjoy talking about. Steve Thornton is one of my all time favourite Giants forwards. He was only with us for a matter of months, yet his ability and graft on the ice was such that he became and instant favourite of not just myself, but many Giants fans who frequented both the Odyssey and the NIC that night we won the Playoff Title.

Steve was no newcomer to the UK Hockey scene. From 1996 to 2001 Steve was central to the Cardiff Devils, picking up titles with the Welsh side before moving to the London Knights in 2001. But a knee injury early in the season sidelined Thornton for over a year, he only ever played 15 for the Knights before his injury. So when Dave Whistle picked Thornton up early in 2003, some were concerned that signing a player who had such a long layoff was a huge risk to take, however despite an understandably slow start, Thornton came into his own when Playoffs rolled around. Stevie played 15 games in the Regular season with 11 points, but was a point per game player in the post-season, 18 points form 18 games, including the final. As the 2nd line centre, he sat only behind Ryan Kuwabara and Kory Karlander in the points for that post season.

In that Playoff Final against his former club, the London Knights, Stevie was on the end of a bad hit that knocked him to the ice with a thud, and he stayed down. I remember the concern when he seemed lifeless. Stevie had been a powerhouse in the Semi-final against Sheffield and was again getting stuck in to the Knights, but I remember thinking “This could hurt us if we lose Stevie”. He was stretcherd off as the period ended, but there was a really cheer from the relived Giants fans when he skated out for the next session, looking un-hurt. The Giants went on to win that final thanks to some great goals by Shane Johnson, but to me there were only 2 players that season who really impressed me. One was the Panthers Lee Jinman, and the other was Stevie Thornton

Stevie left for Europe after the Giants, he spent some time in Switzerland and in Italy before this season returning to the UK with the Basingstoke Bison. Given the Bison’s troubles of late, there have been rumours abound of Thorntons immanent departure back to Europe, personally I hope he sticks around, at least until I get a chance to cheer him at a game.

Mark Finney – Season 4

When Sean Berens left the Giants for the second time, Belfast were left short benched and the pressure began to mount on Rob Stewart. The results weren’t bouncing our way and fatigue was hitting the team. So Rob called on an old mate to step into the Giants side. “The Fisherman” Mark Finney had played hockey with Stewart and Dave Whistle at Bracknell in the mid-90’s, he had also spent time with Guilford and played a single game for Basingstoke in 2001 before Rob Stewart called upon him to step into the vacant import slot. Despite not setting the world alight, Finney showed his experience. He only scored 10 points in 27 games, but he did bring a solidity to a team who didn’t achieve much that season.

Theo Fleury - Season 6

Arrived in October, had an astounding debut against the Capitals, and scored almost 100 points for the season. The name itself is enough to conjure up memories from that EIHL title winning season. Over 2 points per game, 308 penalty minutes. All in 45 games. Fleury had been brought in by new Giants owner Jim Yawarski, and as the Giants, and the EIHL, awaited his arrival. Matt Reid, a forward from the South Carolina Stingrays, kept his seat warm.

The Giants were already in a strong position when Fleury stepped off the plane, but his arrival set the team alight. He was loved in the Odyssey, hated everywhere else, but the ability of the Stanley Cup Winning NHLer was undoubtable. And to be honest I’ve written so much about others, I know I don’t have to write about him, because Theo Fleury is certainly one late arrival people won’t forget about in a hurry.

So how can being late effect you? Well we’ve seen the good, the bad and the indifferent and if there’s one thing you learn, it’s not to judge too quickly. A player coming into a struggling team may rejuvenate them, the same way a player coming into a winning team may unsettle them. Peter Campbell has already made an good early impression, as have Lyle and Shawn Sutter to boot. So who knows, by the end of the season we may be revering them as the people who turned our early form for the better…. Here’s hoping!

Big thanks to Giants-History.com for all the stats.

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