The league has now dropped the format for the league for the 24/25 season. A new trophy has been added, the path to grand slam for anyone wanting it just got a bit longer and we have some new enemies joining us on the campaign for the league, play off and National championships
SOUTH 1 EXPANSION
We have 2 new teams in NIHL 1 South this coming season. One of them a familiar face rejoining us after some time away in South 2. And the other a new face stepping up to South 1 for the first time.
The Cardiff Fire make their return to South 1 for the first time since 2020. Following the Covid curtailed season the Fire opted to enact a plan to rebuild the team after a torrid few seasons that had seen them rooted near the bottom of the league in its various guises. That last time around the Fire roster was something of a mystery till they arrived on the High Road to open the season having not announced anyone. This time around the Fire are slowly but surely announcing signings, most of which seem to be joining from the Oxford City Stars so far. Which has lead to a great deal of consternation among Oxford and non Oxford fans as it seemed like no one was signing in Oxford. So far they have signed, Danny Williams and Tom Stephens to bolster their ranks. And likely given he's a Welshman himself we could expect to see Ross Miller sign on with the Fire.
Stepping up for the first time to NIHL 1, as what seems to be a push by the Nell family owned teams to get development routes going for their National teams in Leeds and Swindon. The Wildcats 2 side makes the step up from NIHL 2 to NIHL 1. While everyone else drip feeds the news of signings through the summer as a means of fan engagement. The Wildcats opted to drop their entire roster in one go. And its a strong mixture of youth and experience. The Wildcats 2 are determined not to be in the wooden spoon fight at seasons end, but are also determined to be committed to developing talent.
To this end they have signed players with experience of the National, NIHL 1 and 2 leagues. In net they have landed Brett Massey from Slough. Likely a move to further the organisational goal of moving Massey into the main Wildcats roster one day. The arrival of Wildcats 2 much the same as Cardiff Fire has hit the Oxford Stars hard with Ben Nethersell,Matt Lawday, and William Harding all being brought in along with adding a scoring touch by signing away Liam Coleman and Steve Osman from Solent. And for good measure bringing in everyones favourite player they all love to hate Jay Warren.
These experienced players, will be aided by a crop of talented youngsters who are a mix of graduates from the NIHL 2 Wildcats, the Swindon Academy and even players who have already played up with the Wildcats main like Dylan Lipsey. Jan Kostal jr is a player everyone is watching keenly, and his youth stats back this up. Carl Forshee, Ethan Taylor, Ben Mason and Alfie Druett are all players the club will be hoping continue their upward development trend in NIHL 1
CONCLUSSIONS
The expansion of the league with the addition of 2 new teams is only good for the leagues entertainment value and is in turn therefore good for business, for 7 of the other teams. Despite the assurances made by Oxford and Mark Saunders that despite a large percentage of Fire's new signings having been part of the Oxford last season. And Swindon's NIHL 1 arrival seeing players like Oliver Stone and Matt Lawday leave, along with Jan Kostal and Shannon Taylor departing to take up coaching roles with the Wildcats. The Wildcats and Fires arrivals is going to impact the Stars ability to improve the roster after a couple of seasons where the team has struggled on the ice. As was seen last season, the Wildcats and Solent organisations were the Stars best options for players they could try to sign to strengthen. With 2 new sides now in that catchment area, along with the Pitbull's in NIHL and NIHL 2 it makes a very crowded market place.
From a fans perspective this will be great of course. The issue with the 8 team league was of course that the same teams would be back once every 2 weeks. I recall a point where we played the same team twice in 2 weeks. Now while the addition of 2 new teams meaning 2 new home and 2 new away games won't mean an end to that. It does mean there will be more of a breaker upon how often we see certain teams. That combined with the new formats I will look at shortly will make for a more exciting league for the fans.
THE NEW STRUCTURE
The league announced yesterday the plans for the league structure this coming season. They break down as follows
Points - Its now 3pts for a win, 2pts for an OT/Shoot Out win 1pt for a loss in OT/SO and 0 for a regulation loss
Roster limits have now also been introduced, and the Non British Trained player rules changed as well.
Rosters are now only allowed to contain 30 senior age players(these will likely be U24 and above) and on game day only 2 non British trained players. Or Imports as we collectively call them, will be allowed to ice, and the old rule preventing them from icing at the same time has been removed. This will now allow teams at our level the option of signing import net-minders if possible. Meaning any club who signs Petr Cech will not have to juggle him with another import skater.
With the expansion to 10 teams there has been a corresponding rise in games for the league season. We return to the format of 36 games in a season. Thats 4 against the 9 teams we play, 2 at home and 2 away. Of those 36 games 10 will make up the cup campaign, where we will compete in a group of 5 with 4 other teams. Currently we don't know how the groups will be split but likely it will be done using either east v west or north v south divides.
The play offs get the biggest shake up however. The league has adopted the round robin format for the play offs. With 6 teams not the usual 8 qualifying for the quarterfinal round robin, where it will be 1 home 1 away and the 1st and 2nd qualifying for a 2 leg semi final. Presumably the seeding draw will be 1,3,5 in one group, and 2,4,6 in the other.
Of course the biggest part of this shake up, has been the announcement that there will now be a National Play off championship weekend for all regional divisions at 1 and 2 levels. By April 5th and 6th all regional division play offs(the round robin and 2 legged semi finals) will have to have been completed. Following this on April 12 and 13th there will be a National play off weekend. Were the S1,N1, S2 and N2 play off finals will be decided. Then on the Sunday the North will face the South in a National play off championship game.
CONCLUSSIONS
The leagues expansion has precipitated these changes, but also the widening of the gap between those teams in the top 6 to 7th and 8th in recent seasons has also lead to these changes. After several seasons of what could be seen as a bye in to the finals weekend for the teams finishing 1st and 2nd, and with cricket scores seeing them through to the finals weekends. Im not blind of course to the fact we have been the beneficiaries of this situation. The introduction of a top 6 qualification format increases the jeapordy of those top 6 positions in a league of 10. And it makes the end of season play off run in equally more packed with the possibility for upset. As all it will take is one or two bad games to upset the possibility of a favourite moving on to the semis or the finals weekend.
The change in points structure will add to the excitement surrounding all this. The fact that teams were rewarded the same for what was effectively a tie in a game going to overtime as a win in regulation didnt make sense in my opinion. The introduction of 3 points for a win, should mean an improvement in the entertainment of games as teams go all in to win games for the maximum points. It will also help make the title fight more entertaining in theory with more points on offer, and thus more ways for opponents to close ground, but also lose it by allowing late comebacks to turn a win and 3 into 2 or 1 point in over time.
Change is something that many will fear, and many will not approve of. Thats UK hockey, many things done in it are done because that's how its always been done. But if the sport is to grow, and to evolve it needs to look at new ways of doing things, and while ourselves and S2 are clearly an experiment with the end result being it will be applied to the National league if succesfull.
The play-off weekend now enters what I think maybe if commercially succesful, its final evolutionary form. The MK weekends were a good attempt at doing a whole weekend for South 1, however the location just wasn't ideal for South 1 hockey fans, despite the modest number of nearby hotels. Travel issues and the fact the last one was done over the easter weekend when everything was shut leaving everyone with nothing to do on the Sunday, combined with tribalism keeping large numbers of fans away, leading to a rather empty arena on the Sunday for the final. Saw the league opt for Ally Pally for a joint S1 and S2 weekend. Commercially this event was a success, with standing room only and even then that was hard to come by, for all the games. With the stands packed out, however there have been several who have voiced concerns at the venues suitability due to its remote location, lack of nearby hotels and amenities, the food options and hotels and a lack of locker rooms.
While the national venue has not yet been announced, Ally Pally is not likely to be it. Its a wonderful building and the visuals of the National Finals taking place on a hill overlooking the capital are the things of cinema. But reality is that the finals weekend will need to be held somewhere geographically central or will need to be somewhere with the means and capacity to host such an event. The shortlist there would be Nottinghams arena, Coventry, Ice Sheffield or even the Hallam Sheffield arena for the Steelers, possibly MK as well.
The two choices I would be betting on here are Coventry or Ice Sheffield. This will all depend upon whats happening with the NIHL play offs and the EIHL play offs. Whether both will have been completed on time of course. But I'd also put an outside bet on somewhere like Leeds, Bristol or Nottingham. Sheffield or Coventry though would be the best chocies, both are experienced at hosting hockey tournaments, have good travel links, and hotels and other ameneties in close proximity to the rink.
The introduction of a National play off title will add another level of intrigue to the play offs, and may provide a window into the National league champions game the week after in Coventry if its league champion vs league champion. However for any team looking to secure all the trophies it will now represent another possible blocker on that quest. But you can only defeat who is put in front of you and can only play for whats on offer.
Hello again all and welcome back, the team building for the Streatham Redhawks continued these past couple of weeks with the departure of a homegrown talent, the welcome return of two big parts of last seasons roster and one of the biggest and best signings at our level this off season. Whether by coaches design or by offers too good to pass up players end up leaving eventually. And while its always a shame to see our favourites depart(I was crushed when Vanya left for example) sometimes these departures form part of a teams natural evolution. As has been shown in nature, creatures that fail to adapt to the environment around them go extinct. In the case of the Streatham RedHawks coach Paynter is trying to ensure the teams run of dominance doesn't go the way of the dodo.
HARVEY BRIGGS
As I said in the previous post about Jack Hoppes, its a tradition on the High Road recently for the club to find solid young players in the prospect pipeline and see them depart one or two seasons after we signed them. Alongside Conner Smith Briggs was touted as a great young homegrown prospect. However after the opening phases of the season saw limited ice time for the youngster, and too some extent overshadowed by the emergence of Millique Martelly as one of the best offensive D-Men in the league. Harvey ended up departing the club for Romford Buccaneers(then Raiders 2) for 2 seasons. Arguably Harvey made a smart move here as this opened up the door for him to make 30 appearance for the Buccs and 8 games with the Raiders national side scoring 2 goals at National level in the process.
Image by Mel O'Brien
To be totally honest, when Harvey left in 2021, it wasn't something I saw as a loss to the teams overall makeup. He had shown flashes of the potential that made Michael Farn sign him, but hadn't really lived up to that potential, that said 8 games is a low sample size so I would say I was hasty in that opinion. In fact what Harvey needed to bring out that potential was to play on a team at this level who were going to give him a bigger role, as he returned as something of a thorn in the side of the Redhawks on a few occasions. So I was pleased to see Harvey prove me wrong on his return to the club this season.
While he may not have improved his stats line in fact ending the season with the same points as the season before in the league with 5+6 for 11 points on the season. With an additional 2 goals and 1 assist in the Britton cup. Harvey looked a totally different player to the one I remembered. He moved the puck with more confidence, was able to thread needles to get pucks into the zone. A big part of the Streatham model as I have said has been speedy players who can move the puck, Vanya Antonov archetypes and Harvey fit that bill on his return. And even though he only just slightly edged his stats higher this season, that number doesn't reflect that when paired with certain line mates he had chemistry with Harvey showed why he has landed the opportunity he now has
We don't know yet where Harvey is bound for, the best best would be the Bee's as part of the development pathway. But in all likelihood he has probably been enticed back to North London and the Romford Raiders. With an outside bet on him heading up to MK to join up with Millique.
Taking The High Road Back
49 Ryan Watt
Back in 2017 Jeremy Cornish was faced with a dilema, a roster he had built to contend for NIHL 1 silverware had gone from champions in waiting to a team having to overcome the odds as the collapse of EPIHL hockey saw the Redhawks forced to chose between NIHL 2 and familiar competition or toughing it out against the former EPIHL powerhouses. The decision to stay was the right one, but Corny knew he needed more skill and firepower able to contribute at this level. Enter 3 men who have entered legendary status at the club in Adam Carr, Michael Farn and Ryan Watt.
Image By Mel O'Brien
Watty has always been something of a divisive player wherever he has played. He is one of those players you love if he's on your team, and hate if he isn't. This is because Ryan is a player who plays close to and over the edge and is prone to letting the red mist descend, that has lead to some lengthy suspensions. Which has lead to some divides at times among us Streatham fans over his on ice actions.
But to me something that outweighs these things, is everything that Ryan has brought to the club since that first season in 2017. Ryan brings that blend of skill and physical play that does lead to him straddling and crossing a line. But that in part has been because Ryan has always bought in on being part of this team, cliche as it sounds he goes to war for his team mates every game. But like a good captain he holds his team mates responsible as well. Even when injured or suspended Ryan can still be found at the rink supporting the team both home and away. Ben sums up quite well why you need a player like Watty on the team
"Being able to secure someone with Watties experience and skill at this level is massive. He has been a huge part of all of our success over the years and he has the ability to score massive goals when it matters. He plays the Streatham way with a blend of skill and physicality and knows what it takes to win trophies!"
From day 1 I have enjoyed the way he can throw hits and hands one minute, the next out dangle the opposition to deliver the needle threading pass for a goal, or find the room up top for a bullet from the point. Ryans bursts up and down the wing to rush the net have been great to watch over the 5 seasons he's been with us. Ryans been more of a set up player for the last 2 seasons, however it should be noted injury and suspensions did cut short his playing time over the last 2 seasons. Seeing him only score 7 goals a season, but generating 29 assists in 22/23 and 11 in 11 games in 23/24. He dominated in the Britton Cup however scoring 6+9 for 15 points in 5 games in this competition.
Something about Watts scoring in the past 2 seasons has been that he's found a specialty in making things happen from up high, particularly on the pp. Below is just such an example, the goal that basically secured the 22/23 league title in a 3-2 win over Solent, Ryan feeds in a shot/pass for a waiting Ben Paynter to tip it in.
Another example is this goal(also scored on Solent, which seems to be Ryans specialty)
Ryan has been a big part of the championship success the team has enjoyed in recent seasons, both on the scoreboard and the important intangibles and of course the leadership he brings to the team. So it's great that Ben was able to get Ryan back on board, but as Ryan said in his signing interview like coach Paynts said we're not done yet. So I have no doubt there was nowhere else Ryan wanted to be this season.
77 LUKE BRITTLE
Late in the 19/20 season coach Adam Carr signed a new face to the Streatham roster as some late season depth and additional scoring. In 7 games Luke posted 9 goals and 9 assists, for a total of 18 points, making him a 2.5 Point per game player. When hockey returned in 2021, I looked forward to seeing Luke back on the team sheet, as someone who had watched Luke play in NIHL North 1 for Telford many years prior I felt given a full season in NIHL 1 South he'd tear the league apart. Ben had the same thoughts, as he resigned Luke for this campaign at the start of the year this time, Ben acknowledged that Luke had spent time away from the game and that he needed time to get up to speed. No doubt attempting to temper expectations that Luke would be firing the puck in the net at the same pace. Goals were not immediately abundant, but soon as he got dialled in and got those first few goals he began lighting the lamp and picking up the assists as well. Ending the season on a 1.65 PPG pace, with 38 points in 24 league games.
Photo By Mel O'Brien
While I have focussed a lot in these articles on the physicality of the players Ben has been bringing in, especially the newer faces. It's also important that the team has puck movers on the offence as well as in the defensive transition phase of play. This is something Brittle is really good at as he showed last season with his 24 assists. Of course he knows how to fill the net as well as evidenced by 14 goals to go with it. Brittle provided something I didn't feel we had enough of which was the guy who could bat in the garbage around the net, something Ben has added to with some key additions this off season. But I'll never forget the sight of Luke batting a puck in out of mid air against Solent. Luke has stated he feels he can contribute more, and Ben has said given a full season, and summer of prep under his belt he thinks he will be producing more.
TAKING THE HIGH ROAD IN
George Norcliffe
Losing Brandon Miles to Slough, meant Streatham lost one of if not the best power forwards in the league. So there was only one possible response Ben could have but to go out and get a player who has all the potential to take the crown of best power forward in this league. George Norcliffe brings everything that Brandon did to the ice, size, physicality, willingness to fight. There is a key difference between the two however, which is that George has more of a goal scoring pedigree to go with this.
George is another returnee to the high road this season rejoining after his last appearances for the club back in 2017. And to me he's the most important signings made this off season. Its one thing to sign a player who was in the National league last season, it's another to sign a player who has now had multiple double digit goal, assist and point seasons, over a sustained period at second tier level. George is one season removed from a career year captaining the Bison where he scored 57 points. That career year saw him much sought after before signing for the Romford Raiders, where he had a downturn in production ending the season on 34 points, with 12 goals and 22 assists. This to me underlines the potential that is there that George could dominate the division
Looking online for descriptions of George, the best comparables I have seen, are that of him being akin to a brick being thrown at a window or a freight train moving at high speed, when he's on the puck and heading for the net, and that he is the spearhead you use to force attacks through. These are all things a coach looks for, especially in a power forward so it's easy to see why Ben signed him, as he is an evolution on the Streatham archetype. Big and physical at 6'2" and with a goal scoring and assist generating pedigree fresh off 6 seasons playing in the various iterations of hockeys second tier George is a high caliber addition that not only plugs the gap left by Brandon Miles, but to a degree further reinforces and replaces on the gap in the line up left by Ben Ealey Newman departing, as he has the potential to be that same clutch big goal scorer.
Conclussions
Getting Ryan back on board will have been one of those split second decisons for both Ryan and Ben. Ryans the captain, he's part of the core and he's basically part of the furniture in the rink these days. So much so as I said he's always there for the lads when he's not able to ice. With a few parts of the core leaving keeping Ryan was also about that continuity of both the same group of players, but also the glue and spirit that has helped turn this team into the force it is at this level.
Losing Harvey Briggs does cost us something in the mobility and speed department going forward. But I think the new transitional defensemen we have brought in should compensate for this. Its a shame to see a young player with such upside leave but an offer of National hockey for someone looking to go as far as they can in their career is not to be turned down, so all we can do is wish Harvey the best, and in an odd way hope its a long, and successful time in National or Elite before we see him again.
Its great to see Luke Brittle convinced to give it at least one more go this year. I often wondered what happened to him after that short stint with us in 19/20 as he was a potent threat in front of net. So its great to see he's settled here in London and wanting to give it at least one more go with us. I asked last off season with Vanya gone who would score the goals, Luke made a good contribution in that regard, with a full season now under his belt, back up to speed and a full summer prep I am excited to see if he improves on this.
Lukes return, along with the biggest signing of the off season so far in George Norcliffe signals to me that Ben's taking the team in a still defence first mode, but one that is able to transition, crash the net and score more goals. Because though Streatham won a lot of games last season, those 1 goal losses to Oxford, Slough and Solent in the play offs are no doubt playing on Ben's mind that if we'd had a player able to put up the points and break through we might have landed that grand slam. George Norcliffe personifies this for me. And to paraphrase Mr Olivander "We can expect Great things from him" on his return to the High Road
So the 2024 off-season is well and truly underway. Silly season sees fans guessing who's coming in and who's leaving while other anonymous accounts post rumours about who is going where. For us Streatham fans we have so far seen 5 confirmed departures and 7 confirmed returns and 2 new and 2 familiar face returning. So just what has the club lost and what has the club retained
Now its safe to say, with several key players opting to take the High Road out of town, Streatham fans have had some concerns. Especially as 2 of the players departing where big pieces of a multi title winning puzzle that have gone to one of our biggest title rivals in 24/25. I suspect the club sensed this as they put out the below release to assure fans the evolution of the team is progressing.
Something that has to be remembered, is that hockey teams and the results they get are generally cyclical in nature. Top teams eventually are always weakened, if you have the top guys other teams are always after them to strengthen themselves and weaken you. Sometimes players achieve goals with one team and want a new challenge, having finally won the National title maybe that can be true here. Other times players have to move to other regions for university or work reasons, or just want to play closer to home or return to a boyhood club. Whatever the reason players do eventually depart and championship winning cores begin to see elements fall away.
Of course all this represents is a challenge and a chance for Ben to put to use the ability he has for identifying and fixing problems and weaknesses in the roster(probably a crossover from his day job as an electrician) If I was to venture an opinion it would be that while the team was the strongest defensively and while it did look potent offensively, it was an offence that teams could close down, and struggled to bang in the garbage goals and generate screens at times. While also getting itself into penalty trouble too much. And while the defence and PK first approach was underlined by 22 minutes of PK in the National final, Ben possibly will feel the team shouldn't have put themselves in that position in big games.
The club has also taken steps this offseason to improve its chances of signing high calibre talent in the future, and developing its own prospects with the formation of a development pathway with the Berkshire Bees. This now means academy players can move from NIHL 2 With the Blackhawks to us in NIHL 1 and the the NIHL with the Bees. And in our case we get the chance to sign Bee's players looking to take a step back from the commitments of National League Hockey. A great bit of business that hopefully will secure success for both sides involved.
Taking The High Road Out Of Town
Nate Gregory
In hockey the starter being able to win you games is key, but an underrated thing is a back up who can win you games when the starter hasn't made it possible. Streatham has been very luck since Nate Gregory arrived to have a back up who fit that description. I do feel using the term back up is somewhat unkind to Nate as he's always shown the potential and ability to be a starter at this level. He's just always been behind the likes of Matt Colclough, Damien King, Tom Annetts and Danny Milton. Great net-minders in their own right, who while keeping Nate in that back up role will have been great teachers for him to learn from. As a player Nate was often that back up you could rely on to start and win games as well as finish them out. Never having a season with a career average of 2.29 GAA and a SV% of .919 according to EP over his time in NIHL 1.
The club has lost a strong second option in net. Most likely we'll see Dylan Phillips brought in as Nates replacement, unless the club pulls off another Annetts/Milton pairing style signing as it did a couple of seasons back
Where is he going? At this time no idea, being born in Woking and having spent time in the Bracknell junior system a possible destination could be Slough maybe, but then maybe Nate fancies a stint as a starter and is headed to somewhere like Harringey who would be on the look out for a starter calibre net-minder at NIHL 2 level who could join them when they move up to NIHL 1.
Jack Hoppes
A recurring theme in Streatham's recent seasons has been the unearthing of a young up and coming defender who ends up leaving the club after a season or 2. Millique Martelly, Emil Oksanen, and now Jack Hoppes departs the club for the Solent Devils. Yes Jack has done the unthinkable for some and opted for the south coast side of the Solent Streatham side of the rivalry.
Image By Mel O'Brien
The club has lost a talented young right handed D man who I always described as a player much like Millique Martelly but with less shooting accuracy than Millique. Still a great puck mover and solid in his own end, I will never forget seeing him frustRate the man who is now his coach Alex Murrayin that title decider 2 seasons ago. I'd suspect given Jacks age he's headed to the south coast and the Devils as a result of him heading off to university maybe(at 19 it would fit the bill) or as a player with National experience with Bees and a championship calibre the Devils met the price to pry Jack away from the High Road.
Callum Burnett
Callum only had 1 season on the high road, but certainly made an impact and impressed me greatly during his time here. Something I felt the D needed going into last season was players with youth and energy but on a solid footing. Callum fit that bill for me, he had the youth and energy. But as I saw it became a great transitional defenceman able to play in both ends and be reliable doing it. Would always contribute strongly to the offensive phase and this was the pedigree he came in with and lived up to. Callum could be relied upon to provide those much needed assists from the back end as he chipped in 9 in the season and 3 in the play offs along with 2 goals on the season.
Image By Mel O'Brien
At this time, Callum hasn't been announced as signing anywhere. But given his youth at the age of 23 that means he could be the target of any southern National league team. But I'd wager the best odds lay with him joining Ben Ealey Newman and Brandon Miles in Slough having been a Slough junior as well. With an outside chance he returns to the Chieftains team he captained before he joined us.
Ben Ealey Newman
This is the first of 2 departures that really blows a hole in the forward lines. Ben Ealey Newman ended the season as the clubs 4th leading scorer and Ben Paynter coaches player of the season. Bouncing back after a 22/23 that saw him sidelined for a long time with an injury Ben has been a big part of Streatham scoring group over the 3 seasons he has been Redhawk. His calmness on the puck when skating at opponents, and cut backs from the half boards to the centre to roof the puck where something to behold. Sadly we'll now have to fear these moves as he joins up with title rivals the Slough jets for the 24/25 season. For Ben its a move that makes sense, hes a former Jets junior, he possibly feels having won the National he can now move on to a new opportunity that possibly moves him closer to home.
Image By Mel O'Brien
Bens departure, throws a question mark over a return of brother Josh, as generally clubs have always signed the pair together. However this will also of course depend on how Josh heals from his shoulder injury suffered in January.
The Jets needed a player capable of scoring but also doing the dirty physical stuff. Ben fits this bill perfectly, and in signing a leading scorer from a strong opponent in the past the Jets have succeeded in weakiening our core group. All be it hopefully temporarily depending who Ben signs in his place.
Brandon Miles
Over the years there have been switches in sports that no one saw coming. Hulk Hogan joing WCW after leaving WWF, Sol Campbell signing for Arsenal from hated rivals Tottenham, Figo trading Barcelona for Real Madrid and Carlos Tevez trading the red side of Manchester for the Blue. And now we can add Brandon Miles leaving Streatham for Slough.
Brandon Miles may not have been a Streatham junior, but he is basically the player most associated with the clubs identity and the way it plays hockey. One of those players you love when you have them but hate them when on another side. Brandon has been on quite an upward development from 2020. When I first saw him play in 2017 he seemed little more than another typical goon, more interested in fighting and hard hits that drew the ire of opponents and officials. But since his return in 2019 he's developed in to one of the best power forwards in this league. Granted this past season he posted only 3 goals and 13 assists. But Brandon always provided that insurance that if you messed with anyone on the streatham roster you'd answer for it.
Image By Mel O'Brien
In a post season pod cast appearance I stated slough needed a Brandon Miles. And either Lukas Smital heard and agreed with me, or had already made the approach. Either way the Jets now have a hard hitter capable of scoring given good service and in jack Goodchild, and the Mohrs he will receive this, meaning we could see his stats go up again.
His departure leaves a gap in the fan bases hearts that hopefully someone in the locker room will fill. Because Brandon was very much the peoples champion of Streatham hockey. Why did he choose to leave? Only he can tell us, given he started out in Slough he possibly fancied a homecoming. If memory from a road trip serves he's based near Slough so that also makes sense. But possibly he having won a National title, felt it was time to close this chapter and open another one. Either way for us fans it feels like we've lost not just a player, but an unofficial captain of the team. Slough fans will soon learn how lucky we were in Streatham to have such a player
Taking The High Road Back
So now we have looked at the departure so far, why not take a look at who's going to be taking the High Road back into town. Because while a few core elements have departed, there are several key faces from the past few seasons who have decided to return once more
14 Ben Paynter
Having now been the coach who masterminded 2 league title a play-off title win and finally a National Championship it was obviously a no brainer for Streatham to bring back head player coach Ben Paynter. I believe Ben to be the best 2 way centre and defensive forward in the entire league. And a coach who has shown a great acumen in my opinion for identifying what needs to be changed in order to win, case in points I feel are the way he changed the teams focus from one of overwhelming firepower to overwhelming and smothering defence and all with a minimal of player turnover. And further to that when the team looked to be finally hitting that rough patch so many fans had wanted us to have with the 3-2 and 3-0 losses in early season. Ben successfully identified the changes needed and made them. Ben is always humble, and tells me its not about him its the team when I've tried to ask him how it feels to be the coach who has won what his predecessors couldn't. And he's very right in that regard, he clearly has exactly what a winning coach needs which is confidence and trust in his players to execute his game plan. While also clearly having the respect, confidence and trust of his players to lead them to the end goal of winning trophies.
On the ice as I said Ben is the best 2 way centre in this league in my view. Being a coach has not seen Ben drop off his own production as he ended this past season on comparative ground with his last couple of seasons with 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 league points. While down on the previous season the shift in team ethos to a more conservative approach on offence of looking for the chances instead of bombarding the net was probably a factor here. Hopefully the new signings he's touted in recent press releases can help add to this.
8 Preston Tombs
As I mentioned in Jack Hoppes section, a recent trend in Streatham has been the unearthing of young up and coming defensemen, who end up getting noticed by other teams and being given an opportunity elsewhere. Best example of this being Millique Martelly. Preston has not been as explosive as Millique was in his arrival on the Streatham hockey scene. But that hasn't made his rise any less impactful. Preston debuted for the club 2 days after turning 16, in the 21/22 season, the same season as Millique. But while Millique has grabbed the headlines as a puck moving offensive D man. Much the same as Martelly and Hoppes before him Preston will be getting National league experience on a 2 way deal this season as he's been signed by the Berkshire Bees on a 2 way with us.
Image By Mel O'Brien
Preston has been developing solidly in to a top 6 guy as the solid reliable defence-man you can trust to just do what he's out there to do well. As coach Paynter has said of Preston he reads the game well, and has come to be very trusted to handle the toughest of situations. He really in my view came to the forefront this past season during the short benching phase. The fact he is iced alongside of Sam Waller most of the season is testament to how highly he is rated as a player. Seeing Preston return will have been key for Ben who no doubt wanted to avoid a repeat of Jack Hoppes leaving possibly a little too early on a two way, who after signing with the Bees returned to Streatham early in the season, low on confidence after seeing little ice time in the National, despite having been part of Bee's team that was over performing by many pundits estimations. However with Preston part of the development pathway, I doubt we will see this pattern repeated.
13 James Warman
The man I mistakenly assigned a Josh Ealey Newman goal to on two occasions returns for his testamonial season on the High Road. James is part of the furniture in Streatham(literally, the guy lives in Streatham) but has been on the team sheet of every coach in Streatham for the past 10 years. And it's plain to see why, off the ice James is great with us fans and in the locker room with his team mates. In coach Paynter's words he brings the right attitude week in and week out. For me thats always underlined he goes along with a running gag from twitter over that goal I miss-assigned to him.
Image By Mel O'Brien
On the ice James is that thing that every coach wants on their roster. A solid reliable and dependable defence-man that does the simple stuff and everything else well and in the good sense will go unnoticed by a commentator like myself, then abruptly announce himself with a huge hit. James loves his hits and I have seen him deliver multiple bone crunchers at High Road centre ice. While his stats may not reflect it in the goal column. James is a great player in the transitional phase of play, making those key passes in the neutral zone and offensive zone, that lead to goals, for example picking up the key assist on jared lanes goal in Coventry. Though he did have a less productive 23/24 but having missed a large chunk of the back end of the season with a dislocated shoulder that can be overlooked.
15 Ziggy Beesley
2023/2024 was the year of Ziggy Beesley in Streatham, leading goal scorer, leading points scorer, winner of nearly everything at the end of season awards night, and winner of so much in the raffle that JJ Pitchley had to eat his remaining tickets to prevent him winning anymore.
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When Vanya Antonov departed the club, someone was needed to step in and fill the gap of the clutch free scoring forward that the club could rely on in any situation. Many thought maybe Danny Ingoldsby or the Ealey Newmans or Pitchely and Martin would fill this gap. But Ziggy put in the hard work this season, training twice a week with the Redhawks and Blackhawks to maximise his ice time. I already saw Ziggy as one of the best centres in the league, but this past season he took it to a new level. Putting in a career season with 20 goals and 22 assists. Ziggy became a net front presence that could score and create, but also developed a deadly one timer snap shot from the slot. Coach Paynter describes Ziggys return succinctly To be successful you have to have guys like Ziggy in the line up.
37 Sam Waller
Waller brings so much to our team in all areas. He is relied upon in big situations defensively, he is composed on the puck and leads our D offensively. Those are the words Ben used to describe Sam Waller. Sam has become the offensive engine in the heart of the Streatham defence. Sam doesn't really fit into one single mould as a defence-man. At times he's a shutdown guy you can rely on, at others a physical defence-man who puts the body about, and finally an offensive D-Man who contributes goals and creates them. Such flexibility is craved by coaches in their D groups. Streatham are fortunate we have it all in one player.
Image By Mel O'Brien
If the club are to continue the defence first, physical style players like Sam Waller are vitally important. He's played at a high level in UK hockey and has brought that experience every time he skates for Streatham. His partnership with Preston Tombs this past season was a great example of 2 players complimenting one an-others style. With Sam laying the big hits and forward forays looking for offence while Preston would cover off getting to the puck first and using speed bursts to cover the back end on turnovers and counters. Hopefully these 2 are back together again this coming season.
51 Jared Lane
One of the design structures baked into the streatham model of team building going back to Jeremy Cornish is players who have speed and skill coupled with players that bring phyical play. Jared is very much the case of a player with speed and skill. An excellent eye for passing Jared reminded me of Vanya Antonov on first viewings. He's able to thread needles to get pucks on the rights guys stick for crucial goals. But is also able to put himself in just the right spots to score the crucial ones as well as we saw when he collected James Warman's pass for the 3rd goal in Coventry.
Image By Mel O'Brien
A player who had a lot of pressure and potential heaped upon him as a younger player in Guildford and Bracknell, however for whatever reason his development didn't progress as many had predicted. However at Guildford Phoenix and here with us he found a spark that ignited him meeting that potential. He's become a big part of the teams core, it can be no coincidence that when Jared returned and Ewan Hill left the teams flagging early season performances turned around in a big way.
As Ben puts it He moves the puck well, is calm under pressure and in big moment and I can rely on him to play in all situations. He adds a dynamic to our offence that not a lot of teams have and delivers every night. I'd further add that Jared is speed and skill all rolled in one player.
42 Danny Milton
When you build a championship winning team, you need to build from the net out. That is vitally important for a team operating on the mantra of defence wins championships. You also need the kind of netminder who steals you games you have no business winning to win championships. In Danny Milton the club has secured just such a netminder.
Image By Mel O'Brien
In his first year with the club, Danny saw limited outings. He had come is as an alternate option for Tom Annetts, when Tom was unavailable and when Danny's goalie coaching time allowed. He would make a total of 7 league and 3 cup appearances that season. Posting I think at least 5 shutouts in the process Danny ended that saeson with 1.65GAA in league action and 1.52GAA in the play offs. Of course this lead to Ben immediately wanting Danny back for 23/24.
Danny has been a wall in the Streatham net this past season, and is exactly as I described the netminder who wins games the team has no business winning. His form of course also made it nigh on impossible for Nate Gregory or Dylan Phillips to get a look in. He backstopped this team to hard fought wins in games like the cup semi final first leg v Invicta, and his heroics on the High Road keeping out the most dangerous offence in South 1 were what won the team the challenge cup this season. As Ben puts it He was a difference maker all year and I have no doubt he will be the same this coming season.
Taking The High Road In
Roman Cathcart
Up next, we have the newest addition to the Streatham roster. Roman Cathcart. Most 17 year old players coaches sign can be lumped into the development prospect category. Guys the coach has an eye on for the future who show promise. In the case of Roman I wouldn't put him in there. He's already a well developed and rounded player having already had experience at NIHL 2, NIHL 1, and National level, in particular being up for a solid 11 games with Basingstoke. Roman will continue to gain experience at high levels while with us as he will be signed with both us and the Berkshire Bees on a two way deal
Image By Mel O'Brien
With Brandon Miles no longer a RedHawk, Ben has needed to bring in a players who can play the Streatham style, but have some youth and more of a scoring touch or potential. While Roman is no direct swap for Brandon, he's a physical player, but he's a physical player with speed. Something that could and did trip Streatham up over the last few seasons was that the faster players such as Jared or Ziggy could sometimes be too far forward waiting for the support of the physical players. With Romans youth and tenacity there's now someone who can probably keep pace with these guys. But additionally he's a player who comes in with a string pedigree.
Harvey Stead
The second of the new signings announced over the last couple of days, Harvey is a player I have come to be rather familiar with over the past season working as a commentator for the Berkshire Bees webcast where he joins us from. Having just become a father Harvey has opted to step away from the National league and join us as part of our cooperation with the Bee's, so he can have more family time. Harvey is of course another player who fits the mould of being a Streatham player. He's physical, clears the net well and has an offensive upside too him and will stand up for himself and the rest of the team. To boot he's also born and bred in my hometown of Reading.
Photo by Chris Callaghan Blue Line Photography
The club have lucked in big time landing a player of Harvey's experience and skill, while he is still very much in his prime years at only 28. I've heard it said the peak age for D-Men is the later part of their 20's to early 30s due to the accumulation of experience by this point. Not to of course make this about Harvey's age but landing a player still in their 20's with over 350 EPL and National league games experience is a great get by coach Paynter. Not only that but he also bring international experience with the GB youth teams.
"He has a magnitude of experience playing at a higher level and I can’t wait to see how he translates that experience into our line up. Transitioning defence to offence was something I felt we struggled with last season and the addition of Harvey really helps with that"
Harvey to some extent fits the Sam Waller archetype I described earlier, a physical D man, who will mix it up but also has a lot of offensive potential and underlying numbers to be a big threat at this level in all 3 zones.
Brendan Baird
Another of the marquis off season signings that strengthens the defence, in comes Brendan Baird, Brendan joins as part of the development path way with streatham and Berkshire Bees, that gives players looking to play at the semi pro level and commit less time to hockey a chance to sign on with streatham in exchange for youngsters going the other way on 2 way deals. No stranger of course to Streatham fans having last donned the Red and White in the 17/18 season. Brendan has been playing at a high level in UK hockey for the past 6 seasons, with the now newly minted Berkshire Bees and before that as part of a battling Basingstoke bison side.
Photo by Chris Callaghan Blue Line Photography
While not showing his defensive ability. The below shows the kind of offensive input we can hope for from Brendan. He's the kind of offensive player involved in every phase of the play
Again underlining Bendan's offensive skillset is this clip from a Bees game last season. Brendan delivers a shot from the blue line that beats the keeper, after finding the space to do so
Brendan, much like Harvey, is a player who I have seen play a few times this past season in my capacity as co commentator on the Bees webcast. Brendan is another player that will help with that weakness that Ben has noted which is a struggle with transitional play from offence to defence. He's a player who creates for others around him. But also is a defence-man who can given the chance put the puck in the net. He's been left exposed at times on a struggling g Bees side this season, but the player I have seen still rarely leaves his post and is very adept at making sure he supports his net-minder around the crease. At 28 again Brendan is in his prime years as a players and has already amassed over 404 games experience across NIHL 1, National and the EPIHL level. All indicators that Brendan is a high quality get at this level.
Aidan Doughty
Another big signing this week is the arrival or return of Aidan Doughty. Aidan is the second of 2 players signed as part of the 2 way development path between Streatham and the Bees. Like Brendan Baird Aidan has take adbvantage of the affiliation between the two to keep playing but drop to a level he can fully commit to. Aidan last iced for us back in the 17/18 season. Having been the second highest scorer on the solent Devils. Aidan only managed a 21 point season for us the following season. Something was obviously not a good fit for Aidan in that season however as he went onto be a force the following season for the team he joins us from the Berkshire Bees where he had 36 and 27 point seasons, before joining the Basingstoke Bison where he posted a career high 51 points. The following campaign Aidan was on a 42 point pace before his season was cut short by a spinal injury. A total of 21 points on a struggling Bee's team I feel is attributed more to the way he was used and who he was iced with.
The reason I have just run off that list of figures, is because after last season when Josh Martin and JJ Pitchley arrived and it took them some time to settle and find goals some questioned the signings. Of course JJ came good in the end, and there is no reason Aidan wont either. He provides something that I have touched on as missing earlier in this article, which has been a player who can generate from the very front of net. Picking up rebounds, and causing chaos as part of a screen, which with the new offensive edge for the back end could see plenty of chances generated and converted.
Final Thoughts
It's been something of an explosive start to the offseason for Streatham fans. The lows of losing several of the core group. To the highs of being announced as a development partner with the Berkshire Bee's, that has seen 3 high calibre players bolster the ranks of what is one of the most stacked rosters in the division. Ben said he wanted to identify the weaknesses and fix them, with Harvey Stead and Brandon Baird on board the club trades Jack Hoppes and Callum Burnett for 2 top 6 National league D men. Who can both contribute on the defensive and offensive transitional play. Something that was as Ben has pointed out a sticking point for the team last season. Aidan Doughty provides an offensive upgrade in front of net in terms of the net front presence and physicality if he can recapture the form that saw him score 51 points at national level just 2 seasons ago, again don't forget he was a 1st line player with the Bees at times last season. Roman Cathcart signing as a 2 way development path player gives the forward lines an injection of quality, physical play and potential, that hopefully we see pan out. Ben really helped bring on Preston Tombs last season, so he knows how to develop the best out of young playersAdd these to the already existing and key core team members that have been retained and the doom prophecies some fans were predicting when it was announced Brandon was leaving can be dispelled to a degree(Slough and Chelmsford are strengthening as we speak after all)
Getting the likes of Ziggy, Jared, Sam and Milton back were vital signings after some of the core left. Now those departures may be because Ben is changing things up, or they as I said fancied a new challenge. Either way making sure as much of last years group stays is vital and we are off to a great start with the re-signings. But it was important that the replacements are equal to or better than the components they replace and on the potential alone matched against experience I think Ben has hit the bullseye here with that.
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