Dundee Stars

Neil Ross aka Jellybeano from the Dundee Stars Forum previews the inaugural Elite League season for the Stars

Well its back to the ‘big time’ for Dundee Stars after a 5 year exile from professional hockey at the top level in the UK. After an off-season that began with rumours of secret discussions and rushed applications it was finally announced on the 28th of April that the hockey fans of Dundee would indeed be seeing Elite League hockey in their beloved Dundee Ice Arena.
Since then it’s been a rush to build a completely new roster from the ground up, but with one week until the start of the new season and 17 players on the staff , with new players trials currently in place it’s all systems go for the new season.

The Coach:
With the announcement of Dan Ceman as player/coach, Stars have signalled an era of what would appear to be North American style hockey. With previous Elite League experience with Sheffield, Bracknell, and Nottingham, Dan seems to have decided that a strong physical approach is the way forward for his first venture into coaching. Having spent the last 4 seasons in the Danish elite league, the possibilities of European imports seemed a very likely option, but with the signings of 3 Americans and no less than 8 Canadians, it seems that Dundee will be turned into a land of stars, stripes and maple leafs on hockey nights.

The Team:
The team building started with the re-signing of 5 Scottish players that were with the Stars in the previous seasons as they enjoyed spells in the Scottish National League and Northern Leagues. John Dolan and Gary Wishart were the first to put pen to paper, followed by last season’s goalie and former Edinburgh Capital Mark McGill, and then D-men Euan Forsyth and the youngster Sam McCluskey were joined by new signing Kris Phillips.
The imports then started to roll in thick and fast, with the Alaskan born Peter Cartwright joining up, rapidly followed by Brent Hughes joining from the Newcastle Vipers as player/assistant coach. Jason Tessier, Mark Nebus, AJ MacLean, Steve Makway, Matt Suderman, and Canadian born Luciano Lomanno all followed for what appears to be a hard skating, exciting line up.
The starting goaltender was announced as 26 year old American Jerad Kaufmann. The 6ft 3 goalie was a NCAA University of Nebraska-Omaha record holder with a school record of 2.31 GAA in his fourth season.
The biggest talking point so far though, has been the signing of the controversial Sean McMorrow. The Canadian forward spent most of last season with the Belfast Giants where his no-nonsense enforcing saw him crowned as the self proclaimed Heavyweight Champ of the EIHL, and already he is proving a hit with the Dundee fans even before a skate has touched the ice. With city centre promotion of the team, hugely entertaining PR releases and promises of being the ‘biggest character and best entertainer in the EIHL’, Sean looks like being at the very least a crowd pleaser who will bring fans into the arena.

The Season:
So the question has to be asked: What are the expectations of the Dundee Stars fans for the new season? Well really, its an unknown quantity, with most fans seeming to just be happy with the return of top level hockey for now, but when that first puck drops I’m sure it will be raised expectations and hopes of at least making the play-offs. Realistically though, for a new team to enter the league, the first aim has to be avoiding the wooden spoon. The next aim for the fans obviously has to be being the top team in Scotland. With fellow newcomers Braehead Clan and the Edinburgh Capitals its an exciting time for Scottish Ice Hockey and promises some exciting nights with travelling fans bringing an exciting atmosphere to the games.
The overall hope though is for an exciting season filled with drama, passion, and skillful hockey that will announce the return of Dundee Stars to the top league.

My prediction for the final league table is as follows:

1. Belfast Giants
2. Coventry Blaze
3. Cardiff Devils
4. Nottingham Panthers
5. Sheffield Steelers
6. Dundee Stars
7. Newcastle Vipers
8. Edinburgh Capitals
9. Braehead Clan
10. Hull Stingrays

Lets hope for a great season, good luck to all fans, and looking forward to welcoming you to Dundee.