Ice Hockey: Silence, uncertainty and players checking out

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Mid-August is usually peak pre-season time for British ice hockey. This year there is silence and uncertainty.

And with the  entire EIHL season stuck on wheels and rolled  down the tracks until December,  player movement is very much away from these shores and into Europe and beyond.


The list of imports taking their kit bags and skates elsewhere seems to be growing by the day, and that places a huge question mark over recruitment for 2020-21 as coaches and GMs get to grips with a delayed start, and the jitters now starting to surface among key figures within the sport.


This week saw Mike Cazzola confirmed as leaving Fife Flyers for Italian club, Cortina, in the Alps Hockey League.


The UK had been his hockey, and studying base, since making the jump from the ECHL back in 2017, and this move into Europe underlines the trend now emerging..


Cazzola is the fifth Fife import to depart the UK. 


Kyle Just signed for Hungarian hockey club, Újpesti Torna Egyle, Carlo Finucci went to AC Corona Brasov in Romania, Chase Schaber dropped to the third tier of German hockey, and Michal Gutwald is bound for Poland.


Hockey players have always moved around. Some like to experience new counties, some move for money and new challenges, and others adapt that most transient of careers until it’s time to head home and hang ‘em up.


But this off-season feels different. The migration from the UK is considerable and, so far, few replacements have been signed.  With the pandemic impacting on every country, you can’t blame any player for securing a job elsewhere. 


The list of departees - and it is far from complete - includes some big names. 


Brett Perlini and Brian Connolly  have already left Nottingham Panthers to move into the Alps HL, while Cardiff Devils’ netminder Ben Bowns has moved to Austria.


Coventry Blaze have lost Charles Corcoran and Andrew Johnston to Danish and French hockey respectively, while Egils Kahns has swapped Dundee for Latvia.


Guildford Flames have lost Calle Ackered to Slovakian hockey, while Sam Herr has quit Panthers is Europe bound.


That snapshot will surely expand as the calendar clicks over into September and the UK sport remains in such a state of deep uncertainty.


Some observers reckon the 2020-21 season simply won’t happen. The first drips of doubt have emerged from senior folk clearly party to the mood of the boardroom in the EIHL. Are they simply preparing the fans for the worst news?


The fundamental  issues facing the league - restrictions on numbers rinkside, localised lockdowns and possible second waves of the virus - are all  outwith their control, and that creates worrying uncertainty.


Delaying the start until December only gave it some breathing space - nothing else. 


But, the timescale it needs to get guys in and ready for a December start is diminishing by the day.


And the more we lose guys like Mike Cazzola -  solid, reliable players integral to their clubs - the more those nagging doubts start to grow.


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