Another Weekend, Another DH

Get to know the visitors, Amiens Gothiques.

This weekend, the Devils host French Ligue Magnus side Amiens for a fresh affair, that could bode well for early Conti Cup preparation and more fine tuning as the training camps and pre-season gets underway at Vindico Arena.

Amiens finished 7th last season in their league, down two spots on the previous year when they were in 5th.

Their last 2 seasons ended with 1/4 final defeats and heart ache in the French Cup, similar to last seasons efforts for the Devils.

Friends and Foes

This is not the first time they have faced British opposition, having previously iced against Panthers in the Conti Cup, finishing third in the 3rd round during the 19/20 campaign.

Previous entries in that competition included a group battle with another familiar team, Asiago in the 2nd round in 21/22.

They have also recently seen an export to the EIHL, in the form of Jonathan Desbiens, who signed with Manchester Storm, playing 18 times for 5 points last season.

Amiens have a set up reminiscent of this years Storm roster, leaning on a core of Usports imports, fresh from university, mixed with local and seasoned talent in their line up.

The Young Ones

One notable young player to watch is Julien Tessier, who joined from Trois-Rivieres, Uni of Quebec. He put up 30 points from 24 GP in his last academic year, adding multiple Uni Cup championships during his impressive collegiate career.

Fellow joiners from the same campus are Zachary Lavigne, Mathieu Boucher and Justin Bergeron.

Key Player to Watch

The main garçon to watch, would be Danick Bouchard, a 37 year old winger, that is affectionately known as the Goleador.

Last season he notched 26 goals, putting up 41 points, looking to add to his extensive career with Amiens.

This career has featured 2 top goal seasons, LM Cup Champion (Grenoble), French Cup winner (Angers), LM All Star and winning the leagues Charles Ramsey Trophy for most points.

He has also played in the AHL, ECHL, Champions Hockey League and still holds a 1.10PPG average in LM after 13 seasons.

French Connections

In the AHL, he was on a team with Patrick Bordeleau in 08/09 with the Lake Erie Monsters and Albany River Rats.

The Monsters roster included another EIHL player in Chris Stewart who went on to play with the Panthers.

Whereas the Albany roster included an EIHL player in Mathieu Roy, who dressed for the Steelers and Clan, who they also shared the same ECHL roster with Florida Everblades.

Not to mention, that 08/09 Everblades roster also included a certain Drew Paris, who put up THAT OT goal against HC Davos for the Devils first ever CHL win.

Watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZGAYN-2Aa0

A final ECHL team mate who also iced in the EIHL was Riley Emmerson for a couple seasons for the Edinburgh Capitals.

Expect this seasoned vet to be a handful on the weekend.