Devils Catch Up

Chain Gang, Squad Taking Shape, Prospective Line Ups, Looking Ahead

The past week has seen another double header win, this time vs Clan, who brought a well organised outfit to Cardiff and battled every shift.

Their most impressive star was net minder Jake Kielly, pre-scouted earlier this year, amongst others including Callum Booth to make landfall in the UK and lace up in the EIHL.

Also, it saw a fond return for firm fan favourite, Bryce Reddick, who won the EIHL title and Playoff title twice during his stay at the Devils.

Another memorable takeaway from the weekend, which enraptured the fickle fanbase of the league, was the enigmatic, one the top and utterly bombastic logo chains for the squad and for sale in the club shop.

This has to be the marketing masterpiece of the season, as the EIHL isn’t the only league to feature them, but featured they are. I expect POFW to have quite a few dangling around!

Even the owners were sporting them, https://x.com/cardiffdevils/status/1701249393062445080?s=20

The shape of the team is looking good, even despite a sluggish start to the previous weekend DH, the way the team can take control of the game, dominate puck possession and play a 200ft game has been an evident difference to the last couple of seasons.

The main weakness so far is team discipline, whilst it is only preseason and you can only play the team in front of you, there has been a lot of PK action for the special teams, which has adapted to new tactics pretty comfortably.

Sanford and Cox have been leading the way in this department, adding to the study of Sam Duggan, so there should be a return to the favourable and impressive PK% of the last few seasons.

The other side to the special teams has seen others make their presence known as well, particularly Rymsha and Ryan Barrow. Barrow, has impressed at a goal per game pace so far, utilising his hockey IQ and frame to be persistent irritant around the boards and net.

He would also presumably, delight his folks back home with the growing stock of Penderyn Whisky being collected for his handful of MOTM performances to date.

Another welcome improvement is the synergy and mobility of the blue liners. Even without captain Mark Richardson, each pair has been solid in their own right. Most notably Evan Mosey and Marcus Crawford.

Mosey has been playing as if he was a giant and so far, the only one relevant in the UK. His relentless presence and great positioning to break up passing and play, compliments the poise and aggression of Crawford nicely and when both are on the forecheck or prowling around the point, things happen.

Another pairing faring well is Pietroniro and Batch, as expressed before, this is the tandem that works better than most would give credit.

A lot of fans expected Pietroniro to be an ‘upgrade’ for Brandt offensively, however, his ice time will be built up on the blue line I expect.

Further players that have impressed so far are Bayley Harewood and Joshua Waller, with their pace, nose for net and individual skill all being showcased, with points to back it up.

Harewood is laser focused on making the Devils roster full time and Waller has a point to prove to make the top 6 his domain. Expect more to come this weekend.

Looking ahead to the weekend, there is a road and home battle vs the often morally bereft and whimsical Nottingham rivals, Sheffield Steelers, aka SheField.

They started with a predictable ‘bang’ after another controversial social media calamity, then being humbled by their larger club rivals, Nottingham Panthers.

So far, Devils have had the most time together, aside from Giants, so this will be a good test as the Steelers have just as much to prove, with retirements and tragedy in the mix, I expect this will be an emotional season for them.

To add, this might just be Aaron Fox’s last chance at throwing the dice, with a record equal to Brodie Duponts in terms of silverware success. I would expect a more aggressive outfit this year from Sheffield, intimidation being their key set up.

As for the current set up at the Vindico Arena, it has been interesting observing starting lines and the players that are rolled out from the bench each week.

I expect the captain to sit out at least one more game this weekend, to allow further rest and hit the season running vs Guildford Flames next week.

Here is my projected line up based on the preseason so far;

Trevor Cox – Joey Martin – Cole Sanford

Cole Ully – Jamie Arniel – Ryan Barrow

Joshua Waller – Tyler Busch – Justin Crandall

Riley Brandt – Ben Davies – Sam Duggan

Marcus Crawford – Evan Mosey

River Rymsha – Cody Donaghey

*Mark Richardson – Josh Batch

Ben Bowns

Callum Booth

Healthy Scratch; Chad Pietroniro (Swap with MR if still not available this weekend)*

2-Way; Bayley Harewood