The Twelfth Season of Giants

As the summer ticks away and July turns to August, the Giants roster slowly reaches completion and the fixtures are released, thoughts for some are beginning to turn towards the 2011/12 Elite Ice Hockey League season. We here at KotG have started to look forward also, with the return of A View From the Bridge podcast as only weeks remain until the inaugural pre-season hockey fest, with two "friendlies" against Nottingham and a Street Hockey tournament, ready to hit the Odyssey Arena.

Those who follow the Giants will note many changes. In league terms we have seen the demise of the Newcastle Vipers, a side against whom the Giants had many great battles over the years and we hope the side can return in the future for there are many good fans in the area who will be lost to the game. This demise however allowed Fife Flyers to return to the top table of British ice hockey and we look forward to welcoming them and their fans to Belfast. However in terms of the Giants themselves there have also been some big changes.

The biggest, and possibly most unexpected, of these changes has been the departure of captain Colin Shields to Europe. Shields has been an outstanding servant to the team, but last season things seemed a little stale and despite his efforts he did not hit the heights of previous campaigns. This departure adds a new dynamic as a new captain must be selected, and coach Christiansen has plenty of new and old bodies to chose from.

In goal Stephen Murphy returns after another excellent season in which his highlight must certainly have been his performance against the Boston Bruins. Now highly consistent, the goalie's performance will be key in the Giants' fortunes once more. This is even more important as perennial back up Nathan Craze has made the jump to EIHL starter, moving to Edinburgh where many Giants fans will wish him well in taking the next step in his career. We just hope for off nights when he faces Belfast. This has given Andrew Dickson, who filled in on occasion in the past, the chance to take over full time as back up after a season at Invicta in the ENL. It will be interesting to see how much, if any, game time he can earn.

Many were disappointed by the style of play employed by the Giants last season, with some spark considered to be missing. The coach and GM made note of this and promised to rectify it. Many of last year's imports are gone, with, at the time of writing this report, only Jeff Mason returning. On defence Canadian Jeremy Rebek comes to the Giants blue line from a highly successful time in Austria where he held leadership roles and also put up points at a good rate. A potential player to solve the Giants perceived powerplay problems?

Joining Rebek on defence is Nick Kuiper, veteran of 120 AHL games who also arrives from Austria. A huge presence on the ice, he will be expected to be a rock and not be pushed around while again being expected to provide leadership. Tom Dignard, the Yale University graduate, renowned for his all round play at both ends of the ice is another who like Mason will be expected to add offence from the back end. Graeme Walton returns on a 2 year contract and will hope to rediscover the form that earned him a GB call up a couple of years back. Rounding out the defence is James Hutchinson who arrives from Peterborough having represented Manchester, Hull and Nottingham in the EIHL in the past.

Up front for the Giants, the biggest capture has to be that of Jon Pelle from Cardiff Devils. Pelled put up 55 goals in 62 EIHL games last year, adding 55 assists for a total of 110 points. Here's hoping he can continue that form! Despite the addition of Pelle, many will be excited about the arrival of Adam Keefe. Keefe is a former ECHL and AHL player, renowned for his toughness, but also for having great leadership skills sporting a C and an A in the past and will be looked upon to not just look after his team but also contribute to scoring and on special teams.

Benoit Doucet comes from the Dutch league where he scored at a high rate, and could be a bit of a surprise signing who may come in under the radar of the other bigger name signings and shock a few. Darryl Lloyd arrives in Belfast from Kalmazoo of the ECHL where he was a team mate of former Giant Kory Karlander. Lloyd has speed and hits hard and will look to be a solid two way player. Lloyd appears more of a set-up man than goalscorer and will probably slot in on one of the lower lines.

Craig Peacock returns for a 3rd season, hoping to continue his improvement and scoring and, with the loss of Shields may well be given more responsibility. The loss of Shields opened up a spot on the roster and Robert Dowd jumped at the chance to fill that spot. Dowd has been a revelation over the last few years in Sheffield contributing to their championships and along with Peacock and another returnee Mark Garside gives the Giants some top quality local talent. Garside will hope to be over his shoulder injury which kept him out of the end of last year. Gareth Roberts returns, this time on a full time contract after earning himself a shot at the latter half of last season and scoring his first professional goal as the season drew to a close.

With two signings still to come, the Giants look strong on paper. However we wait to see how the lines gel, but once again things look like they will be fun in the Odyssey Arena and look forward to seeing everyone again in the next few weeks packing out the seats once more.

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