Panthers sign Steve Ward

[Pies]

www.eliteleague.co.uk/new-face-for-panthers-p192454

[Rob Scott]

Stats

[Deleted]

Looks good, bit of a Werner clone size wise.

[Yotes]

Blimey, someone tell Corey we've got 11 weeks of news to fill

[Warren]

Looking at the "Brampton Beast" squad from last season, he wasn't short of people to speak to about coming over to play EIHL... Tyler Michel, Matt Sudderman and Jason Pitton all on the rosta....

[Rob Scott]

Looks like he has some very good +/- stats.

3 out of 3 right shots on D so far....

[Stargazer]

Jun 6, 2014 11:28:00 GMT Rob Scott said:

Looks like he has some very good +/- stats.

3 out of 3 right shots on D so far....

Spot on! It needs balancing out with Lepine

[Rob Scott]

Jun 6, 2014 11:33:58 GMT Stargazer said:

Jun 6, 2014 11:28:00 GMT Rob Scott said:

Looks like he has some very good +/- stats.

3 out of 3 right shots on D so far....

Spot on! It needs balancing out with Lepine

Wouldn't say no to Lepine and Rawlyk to give the D a bit of balance.

[Rob Scott]

Bit of stuff about Ward here.

[Heanor Lair]

Oh bloody hell another 'wait and see' signing - Neilson dont you know we only want players with 6,000 NHL appearances, and 10 stanley cup rings. C'mon buck yer ideas up

[thebestpanthers]

Just like the buses - you wait for ages and then three come along at the same time

Totally underwhelmed by the signings so far - looks like it is going to be another nothing season !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!He He

[BigLad]

Jun 6, 2014 11:08:15 GMT @jordannooooooo said:

Looks good, bit of a Werner clone size wise.

Hopefully not a replacement though. IMO Werner is one of the finest d-men to grace the EIHL.

[Deleted]

Jun 6, 2014 13:24:59 GMT BigLad said:

Jun 6, 2014 11:08:15 GMT @jordannooooooo said:

Looks good, bit of a Werner clone size wise.

Hopefully not a replacement though. IMO Werner is one of the finest d-men to grace the EIHL.

Seems a top guy with potential two way value. He is Werner mk II. Thought Werner was brillant in the treble year, injuries took their toll last year.

We need a couple of no nonsense D men now. Lee, Ward & Mosey all seem to have offensive tendecies.

[Deleted]

Looks ok with decent +/- stats , need another another 2 d men simular to him and a offensive d man to make us competitive with our rivals, as Belfasts defence is solid and you can bet sheffield will have 4 d men + sarich .

You have to study how does Ward match upto Kohn of sheffield and Elfring at Belfast ?

[cooperphil156]

Jun 6, 2014 11:54:45 GMT Rob Scott said:

Bit of stuff about Ward here.

Like the fact that he was captain- that is exactly the type of player we need who will stick his hand up.

[jdizpt8]

We've got our 3 mobile offensive d men sorted now just to grab 3 big boys who will stand up tall and hit like trains and say hey guys go fudge yourselves this is my barn!!

[kezypanther]

I think we are still abit light upfront for goals so I think a big signing In that last (?) position. If Neilson goes with 5 import D that is.

[dp]

Hmmm, I know we're not allowed to say anything negative about anyone based on stats, but if he's Werner's replacement then he looks to be a downgrade.

He's come from the CHL, so the whole "Corey's obviously seen something" argument doesn't really work because obviously nothing was seen by any DEL, AHL or ECHL coaches before last season. He looks yet another cheap signing to me.

Yes I know that sometimes gems are unearthed from the CHL and expensive teams don't always gel etc, but the teams with a lot of players straight from the higher leagues ALWAYS win the Elite League and play offs - and these players seem to raise the game of the CHL calibre players around them. CHL and ECHL players don't win the Elite league on their own.

I'm waiting for these big, top draw signings to balance us out, otherwise it could be a long season.

The only way I can look at this objectively is that if Sheffield had signed our team so far, I'd genuinely be very happy as a Panthers fan. So far, we look to have a far weaker team on paper than Coventry - the signings we're making look about Fife level, without any disrespect to them. We have to account for the "Corey factor" though who I think is far and away the best coach in the league, which should help us slightly.

I think our budget's been cut massively this season, and Corey's "I don't want ex-NHL players this time" was a bit of GM spin to set the fan's expectations in advance. I haven't renewed my season ticket because of how boring and stale the last couple of seasons have been, and I wonder if others haven't either and it's hitting them in the pocket. I notice I got a call from them before the deadline asking if I was renewing, which i don't think has happened before.

And, yes, I may be proved wrong, but if I were to be a betting man I'd put money on not being, unless the last few signings are absolutely mind-blowing. I was thinking the same as this at the same time last year and look how that season panned out.

And what's Brent Hughes got to do with it??! Are we meant to be impressed??

[Deleted]

I agree, this team is just not exciting me at all tbh, its not a team you`d expect the `leagues wealthiest club` to put together by any means. The last 4 imports have got to be something special to make me optimistic for the season ahead. Well i was hoping we d splash the cash to say we are in the CHL looks to me weve gone the other way....

[EMB]

Maybe we're not as rich as everyone is lead to believe, money could be syphoned off for 'other' Black projects. What's happened to the Masters business? has Panthers overtook that now as the money spinner?

[Rob Scott]

Jun 6, 2014 19:58:58 GMT dp said:

Hmmm, I know we're not allowed to say anything negative about anyone based on stats, but if he's Werner's replacement then he looks to be a downgrade.

He's come from the CHL, so the whole "Corey's obviously seen something" argument doesn't really work because obviously nothing was seen by any DEL, AHL or ECHL coaches before last season. He looks yet another cheap signing to me.

Yes I know that sometimes gems are unearthed from the CHL and expensive teams don't always gel etc, but the teams with a lot of players straight from the higher leagues ALWAYS win the Elite League and play offs - and these players seem to raise the game of the CHL calibre players around them. CHL and ECHL players don't win the Elite league on their own.

I'm waiting for these big, top draw signings to balance us out, otherwise it could be a long season.

The only way I can look at this objectively is that if Sheffield had signed our team so far, I'd genuinely be very happy as a Panthers fan. So far, we look to have a far weaker team on paper than Coventry - the signings we're making look about Fife level, without any disrespect to them. We have to account for the "Corey factor" though who I think is far and away the best coach in the league, which should help us slightly.

I think our budget's been cut massively this season, and Corey's "I don't want ex-NHL players this time" was a bit of GM spin to set the fan's expectations in advance. I haven't renewed my season ticket because of how boring and stale the last couple of seasons have been, and I wonder if others haven't either and it's hitting them in the pocket. I notice I got a call from them before the deadline asking if I was renewing, which i don't think has happened before.

And, yes, I may be proved wrong, but if I were to be a betting man I'd put money on not being, unless the last few signings are absolutely mind-blowing. I was thinking the same as this at the same time last year and look how that season panned out.

And what's Brent Hughes got to do with it??! Are we meant to be impressed??

Which team do you support?

The last couple or season of watching the Nottingham Panthers has seen us finally win the league with arguably the best roster ever assembled in the Elite League, has seen us win 4 out of the last 6 major trophies and has also included a tremendous home weekend of the Continental Cup and an unforgettable trip to Asiago.

[bill238]

Jun 6, 2014 19:58:58 GMT dp said:

Hmmm, I know we're not allowed to say anything negative about anyone based on stats, but if he's Werner's replacement then he looks to be a downgrade.

He's come from the CHL, so the whole "Corey's obviously seen something" argument doesn't really work because obviously nothing was seen by any DEL, AHL or ECHL coaches before last season. He looks yet another cheap signing to me.

Yes I know that sometimes gems are unearthed from the CHL and expensive teams don't always gel etc, but the teams with a lot of players straight from the higher leagues ALWAYS win the Elite League and play offs - and these players seem to raise the game of the CHL calibre players around them. CHL and ECHL players don't win the Elite league on their own.

Not really, its pretty obvious to anyone that the reason he played in the CHL last season was because he got the chance to play for a team right next to where he is from. Something that was never an option until the Brampton Beast were formed last season. Other players such as Rob Collins (DEL veteran), Tylor Michel, Matt Caruana (AHL/ECHL career) etc. also joined them for the same reason as Ward did.

Steve is clearly not a 'CHL calibre' player. He has spent his other 6 pro seasons playing in the ECHL/AHL including being a captain of arguably the top ECHL team (Alaska) while winning the ECHL regular season twice and the playoffs once. Eric Werner who you mentioned was signed from the 2nd Division in Italy, a much worse league than the CHL.

I'm waiting for these big, top draw signings to balance us out, otherwise it could be a long season.

You mean like the 7 ex-NHL players who featured for the Panthers last season? That didn't turn out too well.

I think our budget's been cut massively this season, and Corey's "I don't want ex-NHL players this time" was a bit of GM spin to set the fan's expectations in advance. I haven't renewed my season ticket because of how boring and stale the last couple of seasons have been, and I wonder if others haven't either and it's hitting them in the pocket. I notice I got a call from them before the deadline asking if I was renewing, which i don't think has happened before

Well your probably on your own right there. Wonder how many Panthers fans found the 12/13 season 'boring and stale'? Last season wasn't good for numerous reasons but the crowds still went up and I think we had the best average attendance in our history. As for the budget being cut, well apart from no one really having an idea what the players are on, how would you know? How do you know we won't start with 13/14 imports?

Also the Panthers call round to practically everyone who doesn't renew, happens every season I believe. Definitely read about it on here before

And, yes, I may be proved wrong, but if I were to be a betting man I'd put money on not being, unless the last few signings are absolutely mind-blowing. I was thinking the same as this at the same time last year and look how that season panned out.

And what's Brent Hughes got to do with it??! Are we meant to be impressed??

Last year we started out with lots of ex NHL/AHL experience on our roster (Ryan, Wrenn, Loyns, Murray etc.). Now your saying we are doing the opposite i.e not signing enough of those sorts of players. Maybe you just have more of a negative outset?

As for Brent Hughes, being the assistant coach of the Brampton Beast sort of has something to do with it. Being someone who was in the EIHL for 4 seasons as well as being a coach here sorts of makes it obvious why he was mentioned in the press release

[BigLad]

Corey's quite specifically stated that he's looking to build a team, with players playing specific roles in that...basically what Belfast did last season.

My only worry with that is if we lose one or two to injury...

Overall I'm not going to judge any of this team until they've played a few games...although Jacina has a lot to prove IMO.

[Peacock]

Jun 6, 2014 19:58:58 GMT dp said:

And what's Brent Hughes got to do with it??! Are we meant to be impressed??

Google/Hockeydb/Eliteprospects may have been a good idea BEFORE you posted...

[dp]

Jun 6, 2014 22:58:56 GMT Peacock said:

Jun 6, 2014 19:58:58 GMT dp said:

And what's Brent Hughes got to do with it??! Are we meant to be impressed??

Google/Hockeydb/Eliteprospects may have been a good idea BEFORE you posted...

Why?? I already knew that. My point was that it was a bizarre thing to say in a press release without any explanation. Most people reading the article on the Post website will never have heard of him. It's not like saying "Wayne Gretzky recommended him to us" is it??