NEW Signing is Rod Stevens

[Rich]

Full story on the official site

www.panthers.co.uk/newsitem.asp?NewsID=1271

Sorry I cudnt post on talk hockey

[carolle]

It`s looking GOOD.

[Rich]

Stats:
www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=16397

[DS]

Good player but I'm not sure he is a good as Tess

[ted]

!

Looks bloody great! I didnt see him at Belfast so anyone else remember him?

[Deleted]

He was a quality player for Belfast, he linked up well with Karlander and Reihl i believe.

I think Rod will be a very important part of this jigsaw Ellis is now completing.

One more thing, Rods team mate in Germany the last 3 years was none other than former panther Jeff Hoad , at 33, and for a 2nd line centre he could still do a decent job for us.

Anyway welcome to Nottingham Rod, hope your stay is a sucessful one

[Rink Rush]

ds said:

Good player but I'm not sure he is a good as Tess

And if he isn't does it matter. He's not coming in as a direct replacement for Dan (or anyone else for that matter). You've got to look at the team as a whole rather than comparing him against one man.

[DS]

Well Well, Dispute MP posting to say Enough is enough. There is always one who stills wants to have a go at someone opinion.

I think you will find me comment was based on the fact our coach stated

"When I have finished my line-up, we will have two players as good as him.

and my OPINION is he isn't.

I've never complained about the way the team is looking, infact it looks strong but I'm still worried about Giants and Blaze but we will certainly give teams a good go.

[begmurphy]

You have signed a good un in Rod Stevens. He will be one of the fastest skaters in the EIHL and has a wicked shot to go with it.

He is very good on the PK and scores quite a few shorthanded goals due to his speed, which will be vital if ZT is adhered to.

I wish he had returned to the Giants this season.

He left the Giants the year the EIHL was formed and IIRC it was due to the standard of play dropping and also for more money.

He may not get as many points as Tess but he will be damn close.

[ted]

We could already have on of our 'Better than Tess' in Corey at least... didnt someone say his points were higher in the AHL or something?

We still have 1 more first line winger to sign (if I hear right) and one more (who will rpbably be Neilly). Our other first liner could be the guy.....

Ill wait and see

[spuzz]

Great signing this guy sounds like a class act can't wait until the season starts now ;D

and Steelers have confirmed the signing of Lehman and Lawrence so no surprise there

[Rich]

mjspurry said:

Great signing this guy sounds like a class act can't wait until the season starts now ;D

and Steelers have confirmed the signing of Lehman and Lawrence so no surprise there

Good, I was getting scared at the thought of facing Gage, especially with Tessier up there

[heja]

Good player by the looks of things, good at the back by the sounds of things, along with blaz letting corey and jan have more chance to go forward

[Helen B]

mjspurry said:

Great signing this guy sounds like a class act can't wait until the season starts now ;D

and Steelers have confirmed the signing of Lehman and Lawrence so no surprise there

Yay Davey ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[dirtyden]

Plenty of experience so far, would now like to see some younger hungrier fiesty players who can put numbers on the board. It's looking good so far.
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

[belak]

"He’s really excited about coming to our team, to Nottingham and he’s aiming to win trophies."



Top signing!

[Helen B]

belak said:

"He’s really excited about coming to our team, to Nottingham and he’s aiming to win trophies."



Top signing!

Well he's obviously signed in the wrong place then

[belak]

helenb said:

belak said:

"He’s really excited about coming to our team, to Nottingham and he’s aiming to win trophies."



Top signing!

Well he's obviously signed in the wrong place then

Yawn

[Rink Rush]

If you type Rod Stevens in to Google the first listing you get is for Britain's No. 1 comedy hypnotist!

[Doughnut]

rinkrush said:

If you type Rod Stevens in to Google the first listing you get is for Britain's No. 1 comedy hypnotist!

In that case we should put an A or a C on his shirt, then when he takes the ref to one side for a quiet word ...




Edit: On second thought, the refs in this country are enough of a joke without the need for a comedy hypnotist

[Shaggy]

I remember Stevens from the ISL days.... this is a GOOD signing!
The man is sheer quality - he is versatile, skilled, fast and committed.

Trawling around on t'interweb, I came across this from when he re-signed for Belfast last time:-

Rocket Rod Returns
26 Jul 2002
Giants' flying winger Rod Stevens is the latest player to re-sign with the reigning Superleague champions and Coach Dave Whistle for one can't wait for the 'Rocket' to return.

"Roddy has what very few other players have in Superleague have, game winning speed. He can change a game with it and when he's not using it to set himself up for a shot on goal he uses it to create offensive opportunities for his linemates," said Whis.

"But he's not a one-dimensional player, because he's so fast he can also cover back and help out his 'D'-men which makes him particularly effective on the penalty kill.

"He can play any of the forward positions — left wing , right wing and centre — and he's very team orientated, he'll play anywhere that benefits the team, all these things make him an invaluable player to have and I'm just like a fan when I see him fly down the ice leaving opponents in his wake, it's a fantastic sight."

The 28-year-old from Murrayville, British Columbia, will be the seventh of the championship winning team to re-sign and the fifth player to return to Northern Ireland for a third season. Last year e finished the club's fifth top points scorer with 18 goals and 21 assists for a very respectable 39 points.

The previous year, club's inaugural season, he finished third with exactly the same number of points, composed of 22 goals and 17 assists, proving his consistency. He will be returning to Belfast with his wife Desiree, who he married earlier this year at Belfast City Hall - the first Giant ever to marry in the province.

If he's still the same - and there's no reason to suspect that he's not (might even have improved) - then it looks like we have a superior first-liner here.

Nice one, Mike Ellis..... and welcome to Nottingham, Rod Stevens!
;D

[NevesMetro]

Giants' flying winger Rod Stevens. He can play any of the forward positions — left wing , right wing and centre...

Thought we'd signed our 1st line centre...... Maybe not???

[Shorty]

Looking forward to him maybe pairing up with Blaz. Those two would melt the ice.

[Shaggy]

nevesmetro said:

Giants' flying winger Rod Stevens. He can play any of the forward positions — left wing , right wing and centre...

Thought we'd signed our 1st line centre...... Maybe not???

As it stands, it appears that we mostly have wingers so far..... so on that basis, Rod could be our first-line centre.

However, I think it could actually depend upon exactly where Mike Ellis decides to play Matt Myers. If Matt is 3rd-line centre, then we're obviously going to need centres for the first and second lines, and I can see Rod Stevens being put up front there. HOWEVER - if Mike has enough confidence in Matt to have him centring the second line, then we could have one of the other Brits (Mopes? - Mr Versatile!) or a 'cheap' import as 3rd-line centre, and then Mike could choose to stick Stevens out on the wing and still go for a dedicated first-line centre.

Of course, I could be talking complete cobblers.... but that's part of the fun!

[NevesMetro]

shaggy said:

nevesmetro said:

Giants' flying winger Rod Stevens. He can play any of the forward positions — left wing , right wing and centre...

Thought we'd signed our 1st line centre...... Maybe not???

As it stands, it appears that we mostly have wingers so far..... so on that basis, Rod could be our first-line centre.

However, I think it could actually depend upon exactly where Mike Ellis decides to play Matt Myers. If Matt is 3rd-line centre, then we're obviously going to need centres for the first and second lines, and I can see Rod Stevens being put up front there. HOWEVER - if Mike has enough confidence in Matt to have him centring the second line, then we could have one of the other Brits (Mopes? - Mr Versatile!) or a 'cheap' import as 3rd-line centre, and then Mike could choose to stick Stevens out on the wing and still go for a dedicated first-line centre.

Of course, I could be talking complete cobblers.... but that's part of the fun!

Well, I hope that we have the two top line centres to sign. Good face-off winners and playmakers. Of course, This could be complete cobblers.... but THAT IS part of the fun! ;D