Braehead Clan
Coach: Ryan Finnerty
Last Season: Last season was a difficult one for the Clan with coach Drew Bannister accepting a job in Canada just 2 weeks after agreeing to stay on for the 2012/13 season. Then in January, they suffered another blow when Krestanovich decided to leave shortly replaced by Paul Gardner. Although they narrowly won the Gardiner conference, they failed to make any real impression in league finishing only 8th after being tipped as outsiders to win. They fared better in the Challenge Cup, beating Coventry in the Quarter Finals before losing to Sheffield in the Semi Finals. However their play-off ambitions were dented at the Quarter Final Stage by Cardiff after losing heavily in Cardiff.
Blog From Block 15's player to watch: Ed McGrane - This veteran forwards career is far from shabby. He has averaged a point a game in the regular season every year since 2005 including 5 years in the CHL with the Colorado Eagles and last year with Grenoble in France. I can see him doing a job for the Clan very similar to that of Ling at the Panthers last season and it makes him an exciting proposition.
2013/14 Comments: Many people had tipped the Clan for an outside shot at the league title last season on the basis that they would take points off their conference rivals easily, a prediction that never came to fruition. However it seems like Finnerty has learned something from his spell in Sheffield and has signed a roster that can play as opposed to being the proverbial 'Goon Squad.' The additions of Kevin Bergin, Julien Corriveau and Ray Macais will please fans whilst they have a top quality forward in Ash Goldie who is capable of repeating his 34 goals from last season. New nettie Kyle Jones feels like an upgrade on Daren Machesney who I felt had some issues with his temperament last season.
2013/14 Blog From Block 15's Predictions: Braehead under Finnerty will be a stronger outfit and it is hard to look past them for the Gardiner conference title. They will also be challengers for the league and I expect a decent showing in the cup competitions although the increase in quality in the Erhardt conference will make any challenges for silverware that little bit more tricky.
Gardiner Conference: Winners.
League Position: 3rd.
Challenge Cup: Semi-Finals
Play-Offs: Semi-Finals
Dundee Stars
Coach: Jeff Hutchins
Last Season: Dundee remained competitive within their conference and were close to taking the honours before a late rally by Braehead pipped them at the post. However they only managed a ninth place finish in the league showing that they hadn't really moved forward when taking points from teams in the Erhardt conference. Their Challenge Cup dreams ended in the Quarter-Finals after a huge defeat to Sheffield and they failed to qualify for the Play-Offs.
Blog From Block 15's player to watch: Rory Rawlyk - This tall Canadian D Man has predominantly plied his trade in the ECHL but has been in Europe for the last 4 seasons. He scored 14 goals in Germany's 2nd division in the 2010/11 season which means the Stars will be able to count on him for a few this season. With roughly 1,000 PIM's to his name throughout his career he will also be able to provide his team mates some protection in what has certainly become a tougher league.
2013/14 Comments: It's difficult to comment on exactly how Dundee will fare this season as they have a number of import slots left and they will be looking for some extra quality to join the team. Francis Meilleur's recent decision to join a club in France as opposed to the Stars will have also been a big blow. Alot will also be resting on Canadian Netminder Dan Bakala who had a difficult time in the 12 games he played in the CHL last season with a 4.04 GAA.
2013/14 Blog From Block 15's Predictions:
Gardiner Conference: 3rd
League Position: 8th
Challenge Cup: Quarter-Finals
Play-Offs: Quarter-Finals
Edinburgh Capitals
Coach: Richard Hartmann
Last Season: The Caps finished bottom of the conference however they were only 5 points back from Braehead due to some good results against Erhardt conference teams. They also managed a 6th place finish in the league. However they were eliminated in the group stages of the Challenge Cup and were defeated by Belfast in the Quarter-Finals of the play-offs.
Blog From Block 15's player to watch: Martin Cingel - The Caps captain netted 15 goals and contributed with 31 assists in the league last season and alot of pressure will be on his shoulders to carry the team in the new season. However with 29 goals in the 2008/09 season he has shown he can find the net at this level.
2013/14 Comments: Losing Rene Jarolin, albeit for family reasons, will hit the Caps hard as they need to replace the 30+ goals a season he provided to them over the last 2 years. At the moment they only have 2 defencemen in their roster and unless they can sign some real quality in the latter stages of the off season it could be a long season for them. The Capitals website has them at the top of the league and realistically this will be the only time you will see this happen!
2013/14 Blog From Block 15's Predictions:
Gardiner Conference: 5th
League Position: 9th
Challenge Cup: Out at group stages
Play-Offs: Fail to qualify
Fife Flyers
Coach: Todd Dutiaume
Last Season: The Flyers were embroiled in a tussle for the conference title until the final weekend of the season where they missed out by 1 point. They also finished a respectable 7th in the league and lost to the Panthers in the Quarter-Finals of the Challenge Cup and Play-Offs. On a personal note the Flyers earned alot of respect last season for some of their performances and after beating the Panthers 4-2 in the first leg of the play-offs, their will have been one or two fans worried an upset was on the cards.
Blog From Block 15's player to watch: Andy Contois - The left winger has been playing in Denmark over the last 2 seasons scoring 28 goals in the regular season. Prior to that he has played in Germany and also had a brief spell in the CHL with the Mudbugs scoring 5 goals in 15 games. He has averaged almost a point per game if not a point per game since 2007 and Fife will be looking for a similar output.
2013/14 Comments: Fife have retained a fair few of last seasons roster and this isn't a bad thing. However they have yet to sign a netminder and this will be crucial to their success. My only other concern is that Contois aside, their other import forwards don't look as if they will bring them 30 goals a season and in order to compete with a stronger Clan side they are going to need to address this.
2013/14 Blog From Block 15's Predictions:
Gardiner Conference: 2nd
League Position: 7th
Challenge Cup: Quarter-Finals
Play-Offs: Quarter-Finals
Hull Stingrays
Coach: Sylvain Cloutier
Last Season: Whilst it is pleasing that Hull remain in existence after their financial issues back in 2010, I don't really see that they have made any real progress on the ice. They finished 4th in the conference but 10th in the league and as such failed to make the play-offs. Despite managing to get out of the group stages in the Challenge Cup, they lost to Belfast in the Quarter-Finals.
Blog From Block 15's player to watch: Guillaume Doucet - This right winger joins the Stingrays after 2 years playing in France for Morzine-Avoriaz. He has scored 21 goals in the last 2 league campaigns over 52 games whilst also chalking up 19 assists.
2013/14 Comments: I can't say that Hull have recruited this badly this off season, yet I can't get too excited either. The signings of Huttel, Suderman and Muncy aren't bad but then I fail to see why they have wasted an import slot on Derek Campbell. Alot will also rest on the shoulders of young nettie Ben Bowns who has shown potential by being picked to play for GB. Don't get me wrong, I like Hull, it is a great away game but part of me wonders whether this is a situation similar to that in Coventry and a change of coach is needed to freshen things up and offer new ideas.
2013/14 Blog From Block 15's Predictions:
Gardiner Conference: 4th
League Position: 10th
Challenge Cup: Out at group stages
Play-Offs: Fail to qualify
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