NIHL Signing News

NIHL News

Solway Sharks have today announced their second signing as the club confirms that fan-favourite Ross Murray will play a sixth consecutive season for the Dumfries outfit. Not one to shy away from the physical aspect of the game, Murray was NIHL North’s most penalised player during his 2014-15 campaign but he continues to collect points as well as penalty minutes, last season tallying three goals and thirteen assists in twenty two games. Fulfilling the role of alternate captain at Solway since September 2015, Murray is one of the team’s most dedicated leaders and often excels at making life difficult for his opposition. Another strong signing for the Sharks, Murray joins netminder Calum Hepburn on Solway’s roster as the team look to follow up their title-winning season with further success in the NIHL North’s Division One (Moralee).

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Kindly speaking to NIHL Northern Trio, Murray shared his thoughts ahead of his latest campaign with Solway: “I’m happy to be back with the Sharks for the up and coming season. I’m really looking forward to it. The league looks like it’s going to be a lot better and that’s good. Last year was too easy. This year I’m looking forward for teams to really challenge us and for us to prove that this is our league and it doesn’t belong to the new teams. It gives us boys up here a chance to prove we belong in a second tier league and why a lot of us don’t play higher is because we are tied down to jobs etc. I would like us to win everything in the North again - that might be an aim too high but we’ve always aimed high here at Solway so why not? I like the fact that teams are making good signings. It keeps the league interesting and fun to be in but we’re the big boys in this league and we won’t let any other team come in and take our titles.”

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Meanwhile, it has also been confirmed that Solway Sharks’ young prospect Duncan Speirs has opted to leave the club to join Edinburgh Capitals’ Academy with hopes to play in the Elite League. Having played for Solway Sharks’ Under 18s team in 2012, Speirs quickly progressed to play for their Under 20s side as well as their SNL and NIHL outfits. Besides playing in the lower tiers of British Ice Hockey, Speirs was presented with the opportunity to feature twice for Braehead Clan in his 2015-16 campaign and he soon found the back of the net for the side to impress at this level. Last season, Speirs continued his hard work for the Sharks, tallying twenty seven points in nineteen games whilst also icing with Team GB’s Under 20s line-up at the World Junior Championships where he was able to achieve a goal and an assist in five games. Whilst Solway’s loss is surely Edinburgh’s gain, Speirs will aim to continue his development with the Capitals’ academy in the hope that he will be provided with an opportunity to establish himself in the highest tier of British Ice Hockey.

Further to this, Billingham Stars have confirmed the signing of a second Latvian import as forward Deniss Baškatovs prepares to make his debut in British Ice Hockey from September. After playing for Under 18s outfits HS Prizma/Pardaugava 93 and Daugavapils Ledus Skola, Baškatovs went on to ice with DHK Latgale in 2010 before playing for Prizma Riga both in the Latvian Hockey League and in Russia’s MHL B. From here, the forward then progressed to play two seasons in the MHL for Olimpiya Kirovo-Chepetsk and MHK Yunost Minsk respectively. More recently icing in the BeNeLiga, the highest tier of ice hockey in Belgium and the Netherlands, Baškatovs racked up forty five points for Dutch team Eindhoven Kemphanen before tallying fifteen goals and twenty two assists in nineteen games for Belgian outfit Chiefs Leuven. Yet to play ice hockey in Britain, it is hoped that Baškatovs can produce as many points in the NIHL as frequently as he has in his last two seasons, particularly as Billingham aim to compete with the National Ice Hockey League’s strengthened competition next season.

In other news, Nottingham Lions continue to build their roster with the announcement that forward Paul Stanley has signed up for a second consecutive season with the side, having first iced with the team in 2000. Playing just two seasons with the then EPL outfit, Team GB speed skater Stanley moved away from the sport following a call-up to the GB Short Track World Cup team during his 2001-02 campaign. Making a seamless return to ice hockey last season, Stanley played twenty eight league games in which he recorded an impressive seventeen goals and sixteen assists to finish the season as the Lions’ second highest points scorer. An excellent signing, it is clear that Stanley’s return to Nottingham will certainly be welcomed when Matt Bradbury’s side take to the ice in September. Also joining the Lions’ roster are Hovell brothers Thomas and Jamie who will both return to their hometown club for another season. After progressing through the junior ranks, Thomas Hovell first took his place between the pipes for the Lions in 2011 and is now heading into his seventh consecutive season with the club. Recording a save percentage of 91.9% last season, the shot stopper appears to have a good record to date and he will no doubt aim to develop further if he is to keep the strong opposition of NIHL North’s Division One at bay. Meanwhile, defenceman Jamie Hovell is heading into his sixth season at Nottingham, having taken a break from ice hockey between 2008 and 2012 after working his way through the junior ranks to play for Nottingham Jaguars in the Under 18s league. Set to be his first season in the NIHL’s Division One as a result, ‘D’ man Hovell will seek to stand his ground against Nottingham’s new competition whilst chipping in with points where he can. As the duo assume their places on the Lions’ roster, Bradbury’s team is gradually beginning to take shape, his squad now consisting of one netminder, three defencemen and three forwards with more to follow soon. 

Also, Dragons’ Head Coach Scott McKenzie has re-signed forward Alex Parry who heads into his third consecutive season with the side after taking time away from the sport between 2013 and 2015. Starting out with Deeside Avalanche in the Under 16s league in 2005, Parry has continued to play his ice hockey in Flintshire, enduring the rebranding of the club and also enjoying the side’s promotion to the Moralee Conference in 2016. Playing just fourteen games for The Dragons last season after suffering an injury, Parry will be hoping to return to his usual form which saw him average a point per game in his 2015-16 campaign. Similarly, forward Jordan Bannon has also re-signed for The Dragons after playing eleven games for the team last season. Although unable to play for the club immediately in September due to his alternate sporting commitments, Bannon will link up with the team a little later in their campaign in the hope that he can again make an impact in the latter stages of the season by involving himself in the side’s offensive play, contributing goals and assists where possible.

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