TAKING FLIGHT
THE WAITING IS
OVER
In the eternal words of Howie Rose, THE WAITING IS OVER!!
For Streatham fans those words have a dual meaning as we approach September.
When Streatham dismantled the Invicta Dynamos in February 2020 it ended a multi
decade trophy drought, and just like a 109 Bus on the High Road, if you wait
long enough for one another will turn up at the same time. A month later that’s
exactly what would happen as after a season that saw the RedHawks demolish the
opposition going 32-1 on the season to win the league title. Sadly, outside
forces would mean there was no party on the pad, no joyous lifting of a trophy.
And no play off run to follow. As UK jockey fans had to make the ultimate
sacrifice, to keep everyone safe we had to say goodbye to the rink for 18
months.
A sad
truth of the last 18 months is that there are likely those who were among us
that night, who had waited longer than any of us, who will sadly have departed
us because of the pandemic. There’s a rather dark joke in sports, of a fan
holding a sign up saying I can now die in peace, and the Maple Leaf fan
skeleton in a lawn chair with the sign saying waiting since 67. It hits home
harder when its actually true though that, there are members of our hockey
family who are no longer with us because of the last 18 months, who could go to
their rest knowing they’d seen the Redhawks end the drought. We must never
forget them and do all we can to honour them by bringing the noise in their
absence.
If you’ll
forgive the maudlin turn this article has taken, but I felt it important before
looking ahead, that we look back. Because I hope when I turn up at the rink on
September 5th, that I get to see all the familiar faces I have
missed these 18 months. So that we can all get away from the world and escape
in to those nights of beer drinking, chirping, yelling and maybe hugging(if you
feel comfortable) at the High Road again, because on September 5th
The Waiting is over.
As is the
case in UK hockey, Streatham have been the victim of the off season as much as
anyone. Being a championship winner is no guarantee all of the previous seasons
roster will return. And in fact, that is very much true with the 2021/2022
Streatham Redhawks roster. Key players have departed leaving gaps on the roster
and behind the bench. Meaning the team will need to bring in re-enforcements to
fill those gaps or even look within to fill them.
The biggest and most notable
change is behind the bench, as head coach Adam Carr has opted to retire after a
long and successful career. Carr has retired for much the same reasons as
Jeremy Cornish, to spend time with his family. Given the length of Carrs
career, combined with how much of family life the travel from MK to Streatham cost
him its understandable. Carr leaves behind a continuation of the blueprint left
by Cornish, one which Farn can use to bring future success. Much like Carr Farn
is in his rookie season as a coach, but like Carr he knows how to lead, has the
experience, and will have a list of contacts he can call on, Farn being a known
quantity has seen the bulk of last season squad return as well.
As I like to build from the net
out, we’ll start there. In net the Redhawks see the return of its reliable goal
tending tandem of Nathen Gregory and Damien King. King brings the pedigree of
not only a starting netminder, but a championship winning netminder, not only
having done that with Streatham in 2020 but with Invicta long before this. King
is the kind of netminder all coaches want in that he stands on his head night
after night and keeps tight games tight and soaks up shots like a sponge.
Waiting in the wings Gregory provides that able back up who can step up and
play, not just when the teams up by 5 with 1 period to go, but who can play
from the start. Gregory will look to build on what can be seen as a breakout
season, that saw him record shut out performances and put in strong
performances as a starter.
Joining
King and Gregory this year is new addition Tom Annetts. Due to Kings
commitments away from hockey preventing him from playing in every game coach
Farn has acted to give his crease some more depth. In a season where games
against the likes of Chelmsford, Solent and Oxford will be expected to be
tough. Being with the 1A option may be a handicap the team doesn’t want.
Annetts gives the team that depth option to cover for King, or come in for
relief of Gregory in a game if he struggles. Annetts also provides another
experienced voice for Gregory to learn from. Depth at every position is key in
a winning season
Now while
it is important to build strongly in net (and building from the net out is a
philosophy I very much subscribe to) its no good having a Damien King in net if
there’s no one clearing the rebounds, driving the play wide and choking off the
lanes, while also providing fire support from the blue line.
Streatham’s
defence is missing two of its most key and physical components from the 19/20
roster. The physical presence and offensive capability of Rupert Quiney will be
sorely missed, his up-ice rushes before firing puck into the net where a sight
to behold, and in his own end he was never afraid to do the dirty work in the
corners, block shots and drop the gloves if needed. Similarly, Adam Wood who
has also opted to take an opportunity up North that sees him icing for the
Whitley Warriors, Wood will not be missed by the rest of theSouthern league,
but sadly will be sorely missed by
Streatham fans. If you cut Wood, he would bleed red and white, a player who
gave his all for the team, a constant agitator and pain to opponents, Wood was
a terrific transitional player able to change the flow of the game with an up
ice rush from the back end much like Quiney. Right now these two leave a large
hole in the Streatham D that will need to be filled either by outside signings
or internally. With 2 D men set to be announced watch this space
So that is what the Redhawks are without on the back end, so
what do they have currently?
Making a return is the surprise of the 19/20 season in
Andrew Cook. Signed after some time away from the sport Cook was a player, I
had seen playing for Whitley in my days watching up in Coventry. He impressed me
then, but I had reservations he would pick up where he had left off. I love
when players make me feel foolish for doubting them as Cook did exactly that,
the kind of defenceman you don’t notice over the course of a game for all the
right reasons. Because he does exactly what he is supposed to and does it well,
he’s a solid work horse in the Streatham back end.
Joining
him in returning alongside his brother Nathen is Jordan Gregory, just as Nathen
has shown great promise and development in net Jordan has shown great
development playing a more and more responsible role on the back end for the
Redhawks. Deceptively fast for his size, the yeti as he’s been nicknamed by
some Invicta fans is not afraid to mix it up and use his size and physicality
along with his fists if needed to get the job done. While both Cook and Gregory
don’t net the puck often both have shown the ability to create with double
digit assist scores last season.
Returning
for yet another season alongside them is another stalwart of the Redhawks team
core in James Warman, just like Cook Warman is one of those defencemen who has
the ability to go unnoticed because he does the little things right. Another
unafraid to mix things up physically Warman saw something of a renaissance in
form last season playing alongside Michael Farn, providing a strong back up as
the offensive D man surged forward.
Speaking
of which, returning as head coach Michael Farn is back to carry on what he
started when he first arrived in Streatham in 2017. As if carrying on the torch
passed from Cornish to Carr,Farn has returned to make his debut as a head coach
in the NIHL. An all-star defenseman, with a career full of trophies and success
there is no doubt Farn, the former team captain is the man to lead the team
from the bench. A powerplay quarterback who I liken to heavy artillery with his
deadly point shots, who’s not afraid to pinch down and sneak a wrister home
Farn does the job at both ends. Closing out lanes and not being afraid to get
involved physically, expect more of the all star performances we have come to
expect from Farn.
The 2
newest faces on the roster are a mix of an unknown quantity and for lack of
better terminology a reclamation project. Milique Martelly joins as graduate
from the Streatham academy. Much the same as Conner Smith he jumps from the
academy straight into the main team. Having never seen Martelly play I can only
speculate, but his size fits in with the blueprint of D-Men Farn has signed and
his junior numbers suggest an offensive minded defenceman(That being said
Junior numbers can be widly over inflated. Martelly is a high calibre prospect
having represented GB at U16 level and having been invited to the GB U18
Selection camp as well. Ultimately Farn clearly sees some potential here or he
would not have signed him to fill one of the two D core spots.
Just as
last season the team saw Andrew Cook become something of a surprise return to
UK hockey, Sam Waller makes his return after 4 years in retirement. At 6ft he
has the size needed to play the physical strong hockey that Streatham has
played over the last few seasons. Having seen Waller play as part of a
Guildford D that would choke opposition offences off, he can certainly do this
if he can pick up where he left off. Waller has all the tools to be a success
in Streatham and could become another key free pick up. One I was not
expecting.
The
forward group sees a large majority of its number returning as well, again with
2 positions vacant due to the departures of Adam Carr and Rhys McCormick.
McCormick arrived in Streatham as a player with something to prove according to
my friend at Solent Devils. I remember seeing him for the first time in a preseason
practice and being really impressed. He was an energy player who was eager to
get on the puck and make something happen with it, I felt if he could just put
himself in the right spot and improve his accuracy, he would be more dangerous
than he was. That said he was a valuable addition in the bottom 6 of the team
and helped ensure the bottom 6 contributed points as well as the top end.
Adam
Carr’s retirement leaves a gap in the line up that any coach will find
incredibly difficult to fill. The first line centre roll is a roll that coaches
from the NHL down struggle to fill, its what makes the number 1 draft choice so
valuable as a franchise centremen is often there to be had. Carrs leadership
and points production will be sorely missed, able to provide the quality
passing a star winger like Vanya Antonov needed Carr was as deadly with his set
ups as he was with his shooting. Hopefully though a solution to this problem
can be found within the roster for the coming season
The first
of the new faces for 21/22 is Harvey Briggs. At 18 years old Briggs is going to
be a development project of the team the same as Conner Smith. Much the same as
Smith Briggs has strong high scoring seasons at junior level, which if Smith is
an indication should hopefully translate into a solid developing prospect.
Briggs spent part of the last full season playing in 11 games for Streatham’s
NIHL 2 side. With 4 goals and 3 assists in 11 appearances that is a strong
record for a young player making the jump up from junior. While there is
something of a gap between NIHL 1 and 2 in terms of quality the fact Briggs
bridged that gap and performed well is a good sign for his continued
development at this level. Briggs describes himself as a playmaker able to slot
the puck home, given he’s done both at every level he’s played I have belief he
will back this up. When I saw Briggs play NIHL 2 his performances were limited
by the quality of support around him, and I predict with support from the
higher quality linemates available on the roster Briggs should take the next
step in his development.
Conner
Smith makes his return after an impressive first season playing in the bottom
half of the Streatham roster. The 18-year-olds haul of 4 goals is testament to
the fact that there was and is offensive ability up and down the roster.
Adapted well to the style of NIHL 1 after jumping straight from the U18 level
and has a very accurate and effective shot when given the space but can also be
counted on in his own end. He’ll be expected to build on last seasons
development and be pushing to move up the order
Another of my personal favourites Ziggy Beesley makes his
return, it was not really a secret that Beesley would be back after comments he
made on social media indicated his return. The diminutive centreman is an
energy player who is like a dog with a bone on the ice, when he doesn’t have
the puck, he’s agitating and hassling to reclaim possession. Not only this but
Beesley also has a weapon of a shot that saw him hot a career best in points
production. He’ll provide the speed element of any line he ends up on but speed
with truculence.
Given his
suspension Brandon Miles will start the season on the side-lines for the first
10 games or so. The result of the fallout from a bad-tempered game between the
Redhawks and Devils in February. Miles surprised me on his return to Streatham,
I made no lie about how I viewed Brandon in my last preview. I felt he wouldn’t
contribute much beyond penalty minutes, but a season playing top line in
Invicta seemed to develop him as a player. While he is still the player, we
know who plays on and way over the edge, his partnership with Vanya and Carr
turned him in to a scoring and set up threat. His size and physicality are an
asset when used to make space and intimidate opponents. Hopefully when Miles returns,
he gives Farn a selection headache and picks up where he left off.
The first
of the new arrivals David Millner presents the first potential selection
headache, but also the potential solution to the Carr problem. A utility player
who can play D Millner also plays centre, having played in the 3rd
tier of Swedish Hockey Millner is of a better quality than a lot of imports at
this level. A speedy player who could keep up with Vanya Antonov, but also more
fond of creating goals than scoring them Millner gives the team some flex and
an offensive threat. It will be interesting to see if he takes the first line
centre position, ahead of other more established players
Another
of the new arrivals though Ben Ealey-Newman represents the second option. While Ben isn’t strictly a centre more a
forward and more a goal scorer than a set up guy, his goal scoring ability
added to Antonovs on line 1 or the first PP unit could make for a pairing that
gives every goalie a red severe case of red light sun burn. Newman being new I
would not expect to receive a letter just yet but being a former Assistant
captain of the Hornets I’d see him leading as best he can on the ice. I would suspect
he will slot in on the first or second lines, unless Farn plans to have 3 free
scoring top lines with a defensive 4th.
What
though is better than one Ealey-Newman, that’s 2. With the arrival of Ben, I
hoped his brother Joshua would follow. However, I suspected that despite being
inseparable from his brother most of his career Josh having had a successful
season with Bracknell Bee’s meant that he would be returning there. He provides
something that is key to the success of any line up beyond scoring and that is
chemistry. If paired up with his brother and another forward who can work well
with them the potential is there for the roster to smother opponents with 3
scoring lines, not just 2. Even if they are split up the arrival of both the
Ealey-Newman brothers gives the secondary scoring more depth.
That
brings us to last seasons second line, and first Ben Paynter. Paynter was one
of the players who left the team for the greener pastures of Doug Shepherds
Bracknell Bes rebuild. But returned last season and showed why the Bee’s had
signed him for that level of hockey. His line was expected to provide the
secondary scoring but he, Ingoldsby and Bailey had never really been free
scoring forwards before. This all changed as Ben had a career year at pro level
with 20 goals and 32 assists. The blueprint of the Redhawks is very much the
same as under Carr, physical forwards on each line with speed players and in
Paynter we get the physical side of hockey in spades, happy to hit agitate, mix
it up in front of net and throw hands Ben is just that player. Hopefully eh
kicks on and resumes the form he had in 2020
Of
course, Paynter’s success was mirrored by that of his line mate Danny
Ingoldsby. Having seen Ingoldsby playing for the Bison years prior I was excited
to see how he had developed, but his numbers indicated he was something of a
gamble. There was obviously something Carr had seen about Danny that made him
confident he would turn in to a productive second line player. He had never
gotten out of single figures in the goal column before with a high of 7 in NIHL
2 and 5 in NIHL 1. But he obliterated this over a season where he evolved from
simply being an agitating more defensive forward to a legitimate secondary
scoring player.
The final
element of the trio who also developed well over the course of the season was
Scott Bailey. Who makes his return after his own break out season for the team,
signed as a development project by Jeremy Cornish, Bailey showed signs in his
first season of what Cornish had seen in him, only falling short of equalling
his career best by 2 points. But when paired up with Paynter and Ingoldsby his
scoring exploded ending the season on 45 points. Bailey found his confidence in
front of net, and like his line mates uses his size to his advantage everywhere
on the ice. But he also has deceptive speed for a player of his size.
Up Next,
we have the controversial, the most loved and hated player in UK hockey
depending on who you talk to, in Ryan Watt. Watt was part of Cornishes change
in culture for the club when he arrived in 2017 where he excelled as a top line
forward. He exceled so much that it saw him signed away b Bracknell who used
him poorly in a bottom six enforcer role. Watt plays on the edge, in fact he
often plays way over it. But the fact is when given a top line job Watt is a
real threat, he loves nothing more than to out dangle defences and fire the
puck by netminders, and he has the skill to do just that. Not only that though,
his on the edge style means he’s not afraid to play a physical game and drop
the gloves. Watt does need to watch himself as he’ll be a target for agitators
and the league has already put the hammer down on him before. But following his
quick return and then suspension last season we then saw Watt focus more on
silencing critics by amassing points not penalties. I would expect Watt to
feature somewhere in the top 2 lines
And of
course, we then arrive at the jewel in Streathams crown, a player I still can
not believe the team has the services of in Vanya Antonov. Described as the
steal of the draft during the Pandemics EIHL Elite series where teams drafted
brits to rosters for a mini tournament I was thrilled to see Vanya end up on my
team the Coventry Blaze(so thrilled I have both his home and away game worns
one of which I sponsored) During the tournament Antonov was a talking point and
no doubt Vanyas had offers for his services. But he appears to have decided to
stay here in Streatham, I can only assume he’s continuing his studies. The club
sadly almost lost Antonov to a business opportunity that had come up in March
2020. But of course, history intervened and it seems that chance is now gone as
Antonov returns. The sight of his stick held aloft in celebration was a sight
many Streatham fans became accustomed to as the free scoring forward terrorised
offences up and down the league in the 19/20 season. Able to play in the corners and behind the net
where the lack of space should neutralize him Antonov always finds a way to be
in the right place at the right time ready to fire in the puck. If Farn can put
him with someone to feed him the puck and someone to make others think twice
about taking a run at him and make the space, he will no doubt continue
lighting the lamp for fun at this level
So there
you have it the 2021/2022 roster. So how do I think this team will do, well I’m
fortune teller so its impossible really to know how this team will do. Every
other team seems to be upgrading their armouries ahead of facing us this year.
Solent have retained the bulk of a strong squad, as have Chelmsford and
Invicta. The new Bristol squad has some really strong players as well, so its
tough to predict just how things will shape up this season. But that said the
game plan for this roster seems the same as before, victory by intimidation. If
the fact the roster has 3 free scoring lines doesn’t intimidate then then teams’
physical style and abrasive on the edge approach will. Going 3 deep in net is
also a strong way to guarantee success this coming season, but the team will
need to find some new tricks and not just rely on heavy scoring. If the new
players gel and the unknown gambles pay out this team will be fighting at the
top end again.
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