Elite Ice Hockey League

[scottmcleanscontacts]

How things can change since last posts were posted.

Clan and Flyers very much on the slide, Flyers especially. Can't get my head around either, but especially Clan as they have some really decent players.

As for Stars, the hot and cold kings as ever. Definitely good enough to beat anyone and most certainly shite enough not to. The change since Pacha punted Maylan and Pearce though is palpable. Two very good performances against Fife recently, an away win in Belfast and two great results at the weekend in Nottingham and Guildford would suggest that a corner has been turned. Only a point behind Flyers as it's standing and certainly not marooned as yet. Should be an interesting three months but the form book would suggest that it's only the opening weekend that is keeping Flyers above Stars at present - the last 30 Stars are some way clear. Fife need their ideas to be bucked up big time to avoid the misery of no play offs and the wooden spoon.

[spud131]

How things can change since last posts were posted.

Clan and Flyers very much on the slide, Flyers especially. Can't get my head around either, but especially Clan as they have some really decent players.

As for Stars, the hot and cold kings as ever. Definitely good enough to beat anyone and most certainly shite enough not to. The change since Pacha punted Maylan and Pearce though is palpable. Two very good performances against Fife recently, an away win in Belfast and two great results at the weekend in Nottingham and Guildford would suggest that a corner has been turned. Only a point behind Flyers as it's standing and certainly not marooned as yet. Should be an interesting three months but the form book would suggest that it's only the opening weekend that is keeping Flyers above Stars at present - the last 30 Stars are some way clear. Fife need their ideas to be bucked up big time to avoid the misery of no play offs and the wooden spoon.

Clan having a lot of injuries this season which his disrupted things quite abit recently, just been announced that Matthieu Roy is out for the next 6-8 weeks!

[scottmcleanscontacts]

Clan having a lot of injuries this season which his disrupted things quite abit recently, just been announced that Matthieu Roy is out for the next 6-8 weeks!

Massive loss. He's a top player. Very impressed with him when I came to see Stars at Braehead Arena in November or thereabouts.
How do you rate Fitzy?

[spud131]

Massive loss. He's a top player. Very impressed with him when I came to see Stars at Braehead Arena in November or thereabouts.
How do you rate Fitzy?

I'm pretty happy with him to be honest, has been abit niave in a couple of games but it's still his first season in management.
He's brought in a few really good players (although it's hard to know how much is him or the GM/agents).
I'd like him to be kept on for next season regardless of where we finish in the league this season, we've not had a huge amount of stability with coaches over the last few seasons.

[scottmcleanscontacts]

I'm pretty happy with him to be honest, has been abit niave in a couple of games but it's still his first season in management.
He's brought in a few really good players (although it's hard to know how much is him or the GM/agents).
I'd like him to be kept on for next season regardless of where we finish in the league this season, we've not had a huge amount of stability with coaches over the last few seasons.

And could easily end up with another John Tripp.

[MP_MFC]

Fitzy is doing arguably worse than Tripp. He's rotten.

We need to poach the Pach.

[invergowrie arab]

On 18/01/2020 at 22:41, MP_MFC said:

Fitzy is doing arguably worse than Tripp. He's rotten.

We need to poach the Pach.

No way is Pach  a coach that could take Clan to the next level.

I wouldn't want to lose him from the Stars organisation but he's a bang average coach.

[BallochSonsFan]

Pacha is a decent coach and good with off ice issues. I'd like to see him at a club with a bigger budget but he'd be unlikely to go somewhere that he doesnt have a significant input off ice.

This season has been an absolute bust for the Clan. We had a decent spell relatively early when the big teams in the league were struggling. They found some consistency whilst we were just plain found out. Our roster this year is an absolute wreck. We've had injury problems for sure, but some of those were foreseeable. Who'd have thunk that Roy would have injury problems having missed the whole of last season due to injuries? Beyond that we've got 2 veteran scorers in Beca and Pitt who couldn't score between them in Lupinenstrasse. That's supposedly a top line and yet they've been largely disappointing.

The 2nd line? We've got 2nd line offence from LaPorte and Bjerrum. Our 2 top scorers and the only 2 Clan players in the top 20 for goals. We only have another 2 in the league's top 50 players. We have 1 player in the top 30 for points. Chad Rau has pretty much been a disappointment. He's had some good games but he hasn't delivered like a guy who played KHL last season should have. He's either influential in games or utterly missing. Certainly not a guy who would demand the kind of wages that a star player in a team would demand.

At the back we've been ok, as much as that may be weird given our form. Killeen blows hot and cold. When he's hot he's on fire. When he isnt then he ships some soft ones. The D aren't playing terribly. Ehrhardt is having a decent enough season defensively but isnt giving us enough offence. Springer has by and large been a pleasant surprise. Haywood was ok before his injury. I think Pufahl has been poor defensively but he's chipped in with some offence. Stanisz has had a poorer season than last year and is making some really poor decisions. Moore was an upgrade on Sullivan but has had injury issues.

Then there's the coach. He's making really bad mistakes. Always likely to happen in his first season but there's a question as to whether or not he deserves another shot? You can rightly point to the injuries. He's had some serious problems. Chalmers has done nothing to help him in that respect and it was way too long before we were able to get help in. That said, Clan have the worst PK in the league. Special teams are poor. Our systems aren't working, particularly offensively. Thats putting the D under a lot of pressure every night. You can get away with backs to the wall defending for 40 minutes but unless you're the Devils and you have Stevens, Neidermeyer and Brodeur in your line up then you're not shit-festing your way to a win over 3 periods. He doesnt know how to call time outs, particularly to break momentum when opponents are equalising in games with a run of unanswered goals. We typically go on to lose those matches because we can't interrupt opposition momentum. If we're ahead and you can grab a couple of goals to tie it then you're almost certainly going to go on to beat us. I'm really not sure I'd give him next season. He clearly wasnt first choice to replace Russell and this feels exactly like season 3 did when Krestanovich was given the job late on to replace Drew Bannister. That year didnt work out well and essentially killed Krestanovich's career as he was so disheartened by the experience as player/coach. Our first 2 seasons we had inexperienced coaches and I think a lot of credit should really go to the help they got from a trusted assistant in Frank Morris. Would a proper assistant on the bench help Fitzy? Maybe, but is that justification to give him a 2nd season - particularly if we weren't to bring in help?

I'm pretty much just killing time til the end of the season. Circumstances have meant that I havent been at a game since Christmas. Not sure if I'll go on Saturday or if I'll keep the money and put it in my Mannheim fund for my next DEL german hockey trip? I don't mind losing if it's a tight game but right now we're just gutless. The changes in league rules for next season will mean a drop from 14 to 13 imports and a restriction on mid-season signings. That'll influence how we build our next squad and whether or not we risk bringing in veterans and all the miles they have on the clock? Also asks a big question of clubs looking for an extra Brit. All told I think the biggest questions of all have to be asked of Gareth Chalmers. We've been going backwards all season. We had a good enough year under Pete Russell but John Tripp was an absolute nightmare and the rebrand from Braehead Clan to Glasgow Clan really has been a cosmetic change only. Off ice we still seem to be a bit of a mess. I'd like to think that Neil Black would be asking serious questions of our GM but the reality is that Black couldn't care less so long as we're meeting his financial targets. The fans in Braehead deserve far better.

[spud131]

Pacha is a decent coach and good with off ice issues. I'd like to see him at a club with a bigger budget but he'd be unlikely to go somewhere that he doesnt have a significant input off ice.
This season has been an absolute bust for the Clan. We had a decent spell relatively early when the big teams in the league were struggling. They found some consistency whilst we were just plain found out. Our roster this year is an absolute wreck. We've had injury problems for sure, but some of those were foreseeable. Who'd have thunk that Roy would have injury problems having missed the whole of last season due to injuries? Beyond that we've got 2 veteran scorers in Beca and Pitt who couldn't score between them in Lupinenstrasse. That's supposedly a top line and yet they've been largely disappointing.
The 2nd line? We've got 2nd line offence from LaPorte and Bjerrum. Our 2 top scorers and the only 2 Clan players in the top 20 for goals. We only have another 2 in the league's top 50 players. We have 1 player in the top 30 for points. Chad Rau has pretty much been a disappointment. He's had some good games but he hasn't delivered like a guy who played KHL last season should have. He's either influential in games or utterly missing. Certainly not a guy who would demand the kind of wages that a star player in a team would demand.
At the back we've been ok, as much as that may be weird given our form. Killeen blows hot and cold. When he's hot he's on fire. When he isnt then he ships some soft ones. The D aren't playing terribly. Ehrhardt is having a decent enough season defensively but isnt giving us enough offence. Springer has by and large been a pleasant surprise. Haywood was ok before his injury. I think Pufahl has been poor defensively but he's chipped in with some offence. Stanisz has had a poorer season than last year and is making some really poor decisions. Moore was an upgrade on Sullivan but has had injury issues.
Then there's the coach. He's making really bad mistakes. Always likely to happen in his first season but there's a question as to whether or not he deserves another shot? You can rightly point to the injuries. He's had some serious problems. Chalmers has done nothing to help him in that respect and it was way too long before we were able to get help in. That said, Clan have the worst PK in the league. Special teams are poor. Our systems aren't working, particularly offensively. Thats putting the D under a lot of pressure every night. You can get away with backs to the wall defending for 40 minutes but unless you're the Devils and you have Stevens, Neidermeyer and Brodeur in your line up then you're not shit-festing your way to a win over 3 periods. He doesnt know how to call time outs, particularly to break momentum when opponents are equalising in games with a run of unanswered goals. We typically go on to lose those matches because we can't interrupt opposition momentum. If we're ahead and you can grab a couple of goals to tie it then you're almost certainly going to go on to beat us. I'm really not sure I'd give him next season. He clearly wasnt first choice to replace Russell and this feels exactly like season 3 did when Krestanovich was given the job late on to replace Drew Bannister. That year didnt work out well and essentially killed Krestanovich's career as he was so disheartened by the experience as player/coach. Our first 2 seasons we had inexperienced coaches and I think a lot of credit should really go to the help they got from a trusted assistant in Frank Morris. Would a proper assistant on the bench help Fitzy? Maybe, but is that justification to give him a 2nd season - particularly if we weren't to bring in help?
I'm pretty much just killing time til the end of the season. Circumstances have meant that I havent been at a game since Christmas. Not sure if I'll go on Saturday or if I'll keep the money and put it in my Mannheim fund for my next DEL german hockey trip? I don't mind losing if it's a tight game but right now we're just gutless. The changes in league rules for next season will mean a drop from 14 to 13 imports and a restriction on mid-season signings. That'll influence how we build our next squad and whether or not we risk bringing in veterans and all the miles they have on the clock? Also asks a big question of clubs looking for an extra Brit. All told I think the biggest questions of all have to be asked of Gareth Chalmers. We've been going backwards all season. We had a good enough year under Pete Russell but John Tripp was an absolute nightmare and the rebrand from Braehead Clan to Glasgow Clan really has been a cosmetic change only. Off ice we still seem to be a bit of a mess. I'd like to think that Neil Black would be asking serious questions of our GM but the reality is that Black couldn't care less so long as we're meeting his financial targets. The fans in Braehead deserve far better.

Pretty much a spot on assesement of our season so far although it's hard to put up too much of a case when we have conceded the most goals in the league and an average of 3.84 per league game.
I posted a few weeks back that I'd give Fitzy next season irrespective of how this season ends however I'm now reconsidering this. He has been given a lot of leeway by the fans due to his status within the club and had it been a 'stranger' in charge (eg Tripp) I think there would have been a lot more unrest from the fans.

Pitt and Beca have been the biggest disappointment this season for me, 2 guys who have consistently done it in this league who look a shadow of there formerselves. I appreciate they are getting on abit however they offer very little most games. I'd rather see players like Mac Howlett get more ice time for the rest of the season.

Going forward we need an experienced coach, or if we are keeping Fitzy then some one experienced alongside him.
Playing wise it needs pretty much a new team bar maybe 5 or 6 of the current players.

[BallochSonsFan]

2 hours ago, spud131 said:

Pretty much a spot on assesement of our season so far although it's hard to put up too much of a case when we have conceded the most goals in the league and an average of 3.84 per league game.
I posted a few weeks back that I'd give Fitzy next season irrespective of how this season ends however I'm now reconsidering this. He has been given a lot of leeway by the fans due to his status within the club and had it been a 'stranger' in charge (eg Tripp) I think there would have been a lot more unrest from the fans.

Pitt and Beca have been the biggest disappointment this season for me, 2 guys who have consistently done it in this league who look a shadow of there formerselves. I appreciate they are getting on abit however they offer very little most games. I'd rather see players like Mac Howlett get more ice time for the rest of the season.

Going forward we need an experienced coach, or if we are keeping Fitzy then some one experienced alongside him.
Playing wise it needs pretty much a new team bar maybe 5 or 6 of the current players.

Only 2 forwards worth keeping are LaPorte and Bjerrum. At the back I'd keep Ehrhardt if he was playing another season and Springer.

The rest of them can go, and I include Killeen in that.

As big an issue is the reduction from 14 to 13 imports. Haywood hasnt had a good season this year. Peacock can be dangerous but is just as likely to be missing on any given night. Moore is a decent option at the back but needs to stay healthy. I really don't rate Musil and we don't really play to Howlett's main strength. Another major rebuild isnt what we'd want right now but it's what we'll need over the summer.

Biggest change I'd like to see us make is Gareth Chalmers.

[spud131]

Only 2 forwards worth keeping are LaPorte and Bjerrum. At the back I'd keep Ehrhardt if he was playing another season and Springer.
The rest of them can go, and I include Killeen in that.
As big an issue is the reduction from 14 to 13 imports. Haywood hasnt had a good season this year. Peacock can be dangerous but is just as likely to be missing on any given night. Moore is a decent option at the back but needs to stay healthy. I really don't rate Musil and we don't really play to Howlett's main strength. Another major rebuild isnt what we'd want right now but it's what we'll need over the summer.
Biggest change I'd like to see us make is Gareth Chalmers.

Again agree with pretty much all of that.
I'd consider keeping Tanski for another season, versatile, hard working player. Not gonna get you lots of points but does a lot of the dirty work.

I thought McLaughlan was pretty unlucky to lose his place in the team when Killer overcame his injury. McLaughlan had a good few games (although still conceded a few) when he was called upon.

[spud131]

Fitzy gone from the clan.
On reflection prob the right decision from the club, other than our good spell at the start of the season we were pretty woeful for the majority of the season.
Although I don't think Fitzy was helped by the lack of an experienced coach beside him on the bench and alot of injuries to the teams.
Will be interesting to see who we get in for next season, hopefully got someone in mind and that's why we're announcing the departure of Fitzy at this stage.

[paddycreggshinpad]

 

[Thereisalight..]

Just bumping this thread seeing as intu Braehead is in trouble. A worrying time for Clan fans (myself included!)

[spud131]

Just bumping this thread seeing as intu Braehead is in trouble. A worrying time for Clan fans (myself included!)

I can see there not being an EIHL league this season, or at best a half season starting in January.
Clan still haven't appointed a head coach or signed up any players as of yet (understandable with the uncertainty going about).

[Thereisalight..]

3 hours ago, spud131 said:

I can see there not being an EIHL league this season, or at best a half season starting in January.
Clan still haven't appointed a head coach or signed up any players as of yet (understandable with the uncertainty going about).

There was talk of doing closed doors games but streaming them. Don’t know if that was just a pipe dream or not. 

[Empty It]

It'll be interesting to see when the rinks are back open for normal business, considering pubs ect are meant to be opening in the near future it can't be too far away.

[spud131]

There was talk of doing closed doors games but streaming them. Don’t know if that was just a pipe dream or not. 

I'd imagine that if it was closed door games then rosters would be pretty Brit heavy this season. Although streaming would provide a source of revenue I don't think it would be enough to fund a full roster of imports.

 

[scottmcleanscontacts]

At this stage I can't see how we'd not have some kind of crowds for the start of the season.

It's looking like crowds will be allowed outdoor and indoor at some point, soon after the end of July, so presumably with an October start the EIHL will be fine.

[Torpar]

If Glasgow really needed a place to play then there is always Murrayfield, they would need to convince the owners that could pull in more money than the Saturday night disco skates though! They used to train there when Braehead wasn't available but the changing rooms were robbed twice and they moved I believe to Stevenson. I'd imagine Paisley Pirates could move their games to Stevenson no problem and if they were to just stream games then so could the Clan. Shame that the Lagoon Centre in Paisley no longer has ice, and that most of the other ice rinks in the West of Scotland (Apart from Dumfries) are shite for ice hockey.