Nottingham Panthers

Jono Bullard from The Cat’s Whiskers previews the season for the Panthers

The Panthers enter the new season still searching for that elusive league title, but at least coach Corey Neilson has a trophy under his belt after last season’s Challenge Cup triumph and although we came up short we did challenge until the final week of the season, I would expect a similar challenge this time around.
The squad this season has seen quite a bit of change, with only three of last seasons ten imports returning (Corey Neilson, Jade Galbraith and Jay Henderson), however all of last years British contingent have returned with the exception of Ross Dalgleish.
The most important position to fill is always going to be the netminder, I said at the end of the season that I’d be happy to have Kevin St. Pierre back but I wouldn’t be devastated if he left. So I was happy when he re-signed , but wasn’t devastated when he decided not to come back to Nottingham, especially as his replacement Craig Kowalski looks like an upgrade with an excellent pedigree. Dan Green comes in as back up from Sheffield and he is more than capable of starting a few games.
The defence has seen two changes, out go the disappointing Dominic D’Amour and the criminally under used Nick Toneys to be replaced by former Steeler Jonathan Zion and Guillaume Lepine. With Zion and Neilson being offensive defencemen I would expect Lepine to join captain Danny Meyers as a stay at home type as well as adding some much needed toughness, I expect him to protect Kowalski very well. The key D signing for me was the return of Stevie Lee, who was excellent last season. I fully expect him to further improve in this coming campaign, however I’m not sure we’ll be able to hang on to him for very long as I think his destiny lies in North America. Tom Norton also returns to hopefully get some ice time and continue his development.
The D does look offensive but not as bad as some are making out, as long as they protect Kowalski and don’t leave him out to dry when an offensive rush gets turned over I think they’ll do OK.
Once again it’s in the offensive department that Panthers look to excel and with 12 forwards there is also depth. Scoring shouldn’t be a problem with former Phoenix forward and EIHL player of the season David Beauregard joining returnee’s David Clarke and Jade Galbraith. Further scoring depth should be provided by former New York Rangers draft pick Billy Ryan, ECHL stalwart Dustin Sproat, college star Ian McDonald and Matt Myers who returns to Nottingham after a season in the ECHL.
Further depth is provided by Brits Robert Lachowicz coming back after a superb season in Manchester, youngster Josh Ward and my player of the season from last year Marc Levers. That leaves one, probably the most talked about Panthers signing of the close season, enforcer Alex Penner. This is the signing that will hopefully provide the protection for the squad and there’s no doubting the guy can fight as any number of YouTube video’s will show! He also looks like a can play a bit, however it is no secret that Neilson has brought him in to fight and with the number of heavyweights that are in the league this season I’m sure he will be fighting most nights.
Overall I think we have one of the most balanced looking rosters we’ve had in years, along with a lot of young and (hopefully) hungry players, although I do hope they can manage to keep away from the many distractions that Nottingham has to offer!
However I think the most important summer signing has been on the bench in the form of bench coach Dave Graham. His appointment should give Neilson the match night help he needs, someone who can manage the bench leaving Neilson to concentrate on his game, and hopefully stop him from trying to do everything himself when things aren’t going to plan. It was a crucial appointment in my opinion.

So do I think we can win the league? Yes we can. Do I think we will win the league? Unfortunately I don’t think we stand a chance! I don’t say that lightly or with any glee, I do think we have the makings of a great side, but I think the Belfast Giants look far and away the best squad in the league, I do not see any weaknesses in the side at all and it is chock full of pedigree in both defence and attack, the pick of the bunch for me being defenceman Jon Gleed.
The only hope that the rest of the league has in my opinion is if coach Doug Christiansen fails to control his dressing room or Stephen Murphy has a stinker of a season, but with that defence in front of him and the fact he was probably the best netminder in the league last season it is a bit of straw clutching on my part!
I fully expect the top three to contain the same teams as last year, only this time with the Giants in top spot and Blaze & Panthers fighting it out for second place.
The Blaze, as always, look to have built a strong squad and also benefit from having the best coach in the league, but I feel they are a little short of last years championship winning squad and do not have the depth of forwards that Panthers have.
Their most crucial player will be new netminder Brett Jaeger who has been outstanding in the CHL but struggled in the ECHL earlier in his career. He is very much a wait & see signing.
The defence looks strong with the excellent Jonathan Weaver and Brian Lee returning along with Matt Soderstrom and being joined by Brad Zanon and the incredibly tall Brian Lee!
Blaze have suffered the loss of Adam Calder in attack but can still rely on the qualities of Luke Fulghum, Greg Owen and Dan Carlson. The additions of Shaun Selsmar and Owen Fussey will add quality while once again Brad Cruikshank adds the brawn.
Places 4 to 6 I see as a battle between Cardiff, Sheffield and new boys Braehead. The Devils coach Gerard Adams has once again put together an impressive roster who should once again be tough to play against in the blue tent. Defence looks good with the addition of the Smith brothers Mark & Kenton and Scott Matzka and Jon Pelle should be among the goals. However will this be a season too far for the returning Brad Voth? I think it will.
The Steelers biggest battle this campaign will be if they can survive financially until the end of the season, but this is the Sheffield Steelers, how many times in the past have they fallen in to a big pile of shite only to come up smelling of roses?
Although there is quality in the squad it is aging, both Ashley Tait and Steve Munn are no spring chickens and it remains to be seen if they can re-produce the form of their double winning 08/09 season. For me the jury is out on their Latvian netminder Ervins Mustukovs but he will have a good defence in front of him.
Once again though it is in attack where I feel the Steelers will struggle with only Tait, Legue and Talbot looking to be getting anywhere near 30 goals. Ben Simon will be a quality player but also has to cope with the pressures of coaching and Derek Campbell looks to be a cheap option. With an import left to sign it needs to be a real quality forward, but is the cupboard too bare?
New boys Braehead look to have built a decent roster for their first ever campaign, but what else would you expect for Bruce Richardson? I guess we’ll now find out what an irritating little shit he is when he’s playing against you!
In JF Perras Richardson has recruited a very good netminder at this level (Although I’m sure some Blaze fans will disagree!).
The defence looks solid with the stand outs being Tim Wedderburn and Jon Landry who was signed from the DEL’s Cologne Sharks.
The forwards look like they’ll do a job but don’t seem to have the quality of their closest rivals in mid-table. Obviously we Panthers fans know all about Brendan Cook and I’m sure he will top the Clan in scoring, with Bobby Chaumont chipping in with a few.
The rest I feel will be fighting it out for places 7-10. Dundee have thrown down the gauntlet for their first Elite League campaign, they look tough and Coach Dan Ceman has pulled off a marketing master stroke by signing up enforcer Sean McMorrow from Belfast Giants, he won’t contribute much to the scoring but he will make the Stars marketable to a new audience and while I don’t expect the Stars to pull up many trees I do think they’ll be very tough to play at home.
As usual it is very difficult to form a concise opinion on the Edinburgh Capitals as they still have a few imports to sign, however they have captured another decent netminder in Alex Reid and Jeff Hutchins will get them a few points but until their import signings are complete it’s very difficult to say where they will finish. New coach Brad Gratton will have to perform miracles to match last seasons excellent sixth place finish.
The Newcastle Vipers begin life permanantly in Whitley Bay, but I do feel that Danny Stewart has missed a trick. I was expecting him to build a roster that would be perfectly suited to the Hillheads rink and was expecting something akin to the roster that Dundee have signed. Let’s face it, no other team is going to look forward to playing in the Bay, the Vipers could have made it hell on earth, but with three imports left to sign they could still make an impact if they get the right players.
Finally that leaves the Hull Stingrays. Personally I’m delighted they’ve survived, but Sylvain Cloutier now has his work cut out for him to get a full strength roster on the ice in time for their October start. In saying that, the Coventry Blaze team that have taken over in Hull will need some on ice success to try and make a return on their investment and I expect that Cloutier will have a larger budget in order to bring in some better players, but the retaining of Kalmikov has been a real shot in the arm for the Rays, he is one of the best players in the league.

After all that, I see the league finishing like this:

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