Why Import Numbers In British Ice Hockey Should Be Reduced
The constant annual increase in (imported) players in the British Elite Ice Hockey League is causing problems for the game. This is all because our treasured local players are not getting to train or play with the professional teams because they’re not able to compete with foreign talent. Also, imported players have a huge impact on local clubs and the communities around them. We cannot afford for our local players to not be able to play for their local pro team. For example, the Fife Flyers have traditionally been filled with the finest Scottish and British players. Now they’re not. Ice Hockey is important to Fife and Kirkcaldy because of the hockey tradition and community that has
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The teams used a lot more home grown talent. In the 1980s and 1990s 5, the Fife flyers team was full of Scottish players who were playing at the highest level. A good example of a player who managed to develop through the ranks to the top team was Scott Plews. My team’s assistant coach, now 41 and coaching my Fife Falcons team, ‘Plewsey’, played his first game for Fife Flyers in 1990 when he was only 14 years old. He was not the best player on the team in the start but managed to develop into a Scottish ice hockey legend. He would not likely have been able to develop as well or as fast as he did when he was given the opportunity to play and bring himself on. Comparing this to now, if Fife Flyers put a 14 year old, 5ft 7 player on the ice, he would get destroyed. No matter how good this player could be in juniors, he would not be able to compete or be useful at today’s top level. In Plewsey’s Rookie year, 1990, there were only three imported players, meaning there would be minimum of twenty Scottish players on each team. This was ideal for the development of the home-grown talent, fewer imports means more ice time for the Brits, training time, experience and development. Exactly what we need these