I read Mick Holland's recent piece in The Evening Post about how Panthers chief Neil Black is targeting a 'Champions League' style tournament for European ice hockey teams. For those of you who haven't read it the link is as follows:
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Nottingham-Panthers-chief-targets-place-new-Euro/story-19384435-detail/story.html#axzz2XEF9KbJd
This is not the first time a story linking the Panthers and European hockey has been published and it got me thinking about whether this is as good an idea as Neil Black seems to think it is....
I don't think any Panthers fans or any fans of other Elite League teams for that matter would object to seeing good standard European teams playing on their ice during the season. Midweek games suffer from poorer attendances than those of their weekend counterparts and this would certainly boost revenue in the league in a time when you have to wonder how many of the 10 teams are actually turning a profit throughout the season. However it is all well and good saying that the 'Ice Hockey Champions League' will potentially replace the Continental Cup, the reality is that at this present time we can't even complete our own domestic cup competition without doubling up league and cup fixtures. So assuming that the Elite League takes a position similar to the Premier League and the top 3 or 4 teams qualify for the competition, that means more often than either the Panthers, Giants, Steelers, Blaze or Devils will be the ones involved. You add another 13 fixtures to their calender and there will be no alternative but to have more league and cup fixture doubling up which could mean a loss of income for those teams who really need it.
The idea isn't without its advantages however. There is no denying that the Elite League struggles to get any mainstream media coverage and this may change that. Additionally, an continual exposure to a better standard of players both as opposition and as team mates due to increased playing budgets, will help the development of GB players in the long term.
My overall opinion though is that despite the glamour and excitement of a regular European competition, the Panthers, along with the rest of the Elite League need to focus on ensuring we have a sustainable league to compete in next season, 5 or even 10 years time. I would much prefer to see efforts focused on having all participants in the league being on a sound financial footing so that maybe we can begin to operate a league system with promotion and relegation like in football. The adoption of the conference system was a step in the right direction but we still need to sort out the cup competition as it still is a largely over scheduled and not overly valued by fans.
On some separate notes, news has come through that Frank Doyle won't be joining the Devils for the upcoming season. This is a shame as he looked like a solid netminder and I certainly hope that as the calibre of signings in the league has increased this off season, other players don't follow Doyle's lead and decide to try their luck elsewhere.
Also Tony Hand has resigned as GB coach. I am not going to say I am disappointed by this news as I thought the team was going backwards a little under his stewardship. Latest rumours have Corey and Paul Adey being touted as joint coaches. Although I think this is a bad idea from a Panthers perspective as I would prefer Corey to concentrate on the Panthers and nothing else, I would like to see GB appoint a coach who is not only British (I still think there is something to be said for the pride of coaching your own country) but doesn't have a club side to manage. I think a full time national coach would benefit the system greatly as the scouting and coaching would improve. However I suspect the budget isn't there for this to happen and I am pretty sure I also saw the job advertised on Twitter!
Lastly the trend this off season seems to be the recruitment of big, strong defensemen with most Elite League teams bulking up there defensive lines significantly. Not be outdone, the Panthers have signed 6ft7" D Man Brett Henley. I am looking forward to seeing him play and this along with the Salters signing means that Corey has addressed an area of concern I had last year. Whilst Lepine's skills on the puck had certainly improved, many of his fights had become hugging sessions and I felt that towards the end of the season it was left to Beckett to stand up and be counted. As many have commented, the signing of Henley should give Salters a little more freedom to throw is weight around and that isn't such a bad thing when you consider how many in the league like to chirp!
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