Best Ever Players in the EIHL?

Hello everyone another week has come and gone and the Steelers are still top of the league. Will we be in this position this time next week? Who knows as it’s a huge weekend with the top two teams Sheffield and Cardiff will battle it out Saturday and Sunday for a crucial four points. However today I will focus on something Adam Calder said last week. Calder praised former Blaze team mate Dan Carlson as the best player to ever play for the Blaze. Well in all honesty this is a statement I agree with. For me Carlson is a player that has represented that club tremendously and is a big reason for their success over the years. Not to mention he is one of the best two way players in our league. So this got me thinking about other teams and who their best players were.

Belfast Giants: Well Belfast have had some cracking players on some cracking teams over the years and have acquired several trophies as a result. I almost went for Jason Ruff. A man who I admired very much as a player and would have loved to have seen as a Steeler. I have however chosen Theo Fleury. Normally I wouldn't have gone for a player that just spent a single season with a team but in Fleury's case I make an exception. He hit 74 points in just 34 games highlighting his outstanding talent. As far as I can remember he is one of only two players to captain an NHL team and play in over here. A legendary figure who I may have only seen play once but feel privileged to have done so.

Braehead Clan: Now naturally this was a tough choice as there is only this years team to go on. Do you go for the best defence man on the team Jon Landry? Or do you pick the team leading scorer and captain Brendan Cook? I go with neither although they would both be worthy. I pick player-coach Bruce Richardson. Bruce is the kind of player who every team would like to have. He is tough, gritty and leads by example out on the ice. Not to mention he can contribute offensively which he has done this year with 45 points putting him second on the team.

Cardiff Devils: Wow a team with such great history. It could be several players Brebant, Sacratini, Ware, Voth, Stone. The list is full of players who it could be and for various reasons but I go with one man who I feel is a cut above the rest, Steve Thornton. Thornton played four and a bit seasons in Cardiff and he played in the days of the Superleague when our sport was at its highest standard in this country. He played for several teams in this country and was a top player on all of them but for me he was the go to guy in Cardiff during his time there. He was on the team the last time they won the league and won many trophies during an illustrious career.

Dundee Stars: Dundee have had an indifferent first Elite League season but to find their best ever player you need to go back to the old BNL when Dundee were in their hay day. I give you the Great One of British Hockey – Tony Hand. Hand is a candidate for best ever player on any team he played for but in the case of the Dundee Stars he is the best there is and maybe the best player they ever will have.

Edinburgh Capitals: The Caps have always had some good offensive players. In recent years names like Lou Dickenson, Gregor Slak and Simon Lambert come to mind but whether you base it on his domination in the eighties and nineties or the couple of years he played for them in the noughties Tony Hand is the man that comes to mind every time. He is the biggest home grown legend in the British game.

Hull Stingrays: Hmm a very tough choice. A franchise that has had very little success. Only a handful of players that other teams envy. So who to choose? Well my money is on former Stingrays captain Jeff Glowa. 309 points in 298 games for the club make him the all time points leader. He was a player that stuck with the club through good and bad. The kind of guy who would make you feel proud to be a Stingrays fan.

Newcastle Vipers: This is perhaps the hardest call to make as i right this. The fact is i know without Rob Wilson the Vipers would not exist. He played for them, he coached them and he put his own money into them but does it make him the best ever player for that team? I'm not sure it does. I will go however with the other big Newcastle legend David Longstaff. I remember when Lobby was in Sheffield where he blossomed and everyone knew he was special. Perhaps not the most exciting player the Vipers have ever had but their all time leading scorer and all time games played leader added to the fact he captained them for several years makes him the best Viper ever in my mind. He was also the man who lifted the Playoff Championship in 06 the Vipers biggest success.

Nottingham Panthers: The Panthers have more history than any Club in this country. They have had some awesome players over the years. Derek Laxdal is perhaps my favourite Panther of all time but he is not the best Panther ever. The best Panther ever is a title I give to 2 players. The reason for this is that one player is the player I regard as the best Panther ever. The other is a man who never played for Nottingham in my lifetime. I give you Paul Adey and Victor Zamick. Paul Adey 411 games 1104 points. He is the second all time leading scorer in Nottingham and a player I remember fondly as he won a Grand Slam in Sheffield. If I remember rightly he won a Benson and Hedges Cup and a Playoff Championship with the Panthers. Victor Zamick is the all time leader in points for Nottingham and played from 1947-1956 with 516 games and 1202 points. He is also one of the few people in this world that can say he won the British League as a Panther and that makes him Legendary.

Sheffield Steelers: The most successful team of the last twenty years have had some tremendous players speedy and skilful. Tough and talented that's how the best players in our game can be described but the best ever Steeler had god on his side. I give you Kenny Priestlay. A player that wowed fans all around the country. Only fourth on our all time points list with 300 from 166 games but a grand slam winner who's shirt the club retired several years ago. He played with Nemeth and Hand. He played with Lemieux and Jagr. We had no one better. Kenny Priestlay was Simply The Best!

http://www.britishicehockey.co.uk/blogs/james-broughton/best-ever-players-400.html

Being a Devils fan only since the beginning of the Elite League the pool of players I have to choose from is a lot smaller. I have only seen Steve Thornton as a Giant and tbh, he was declining then and prone to doing silly things. He sticked someone in the face and I think it was because he couldn't do what he used to anymore.

The best Devils player I have seen is Craig Weller, as a guy coming off the back of two years in the NHL his skill level is obviously immense. At times he glides past opposition as if they are not there.

But, he has only been here a few months so I don't feel that I should pick him. My choice is Vezio Sacratini, he was the perfect wind up merchant. Just watching the opposition getting more and more worked up by him was entertaining enough, but add in his skill levels and you have a very entertaining player.