Stopper Ryan joins the Clan as coach Tripp beefs up Braehead defence Netminder Nie is delighted to sign for ice warriors
Braehead Clan continue to make reinforcements to their squad following the addition of netminder, Ryan Nie.
The 32-year-old joins the club from German DEL2 side Eispiraten Crimmitschau having previously played under new head coach John Tripp while the two were working in Germany.
He replaces Swedish stopper, Michal Zajkowski after he returned to his homeland at the end of last season.
Nie revealed he is delighted to have signed for the Braehead side, and says the move came thanks to helping hand from a couple of familiar Clan faces.
Nie said: “I’ve heard nothing but good things about Braehead Clan and I actually played with Scott Pitt and against Matt Beca, who I reached out to and asked him questions.
“They spoke positively about their time at the club. I was told it’s a winning organisation and they expect to continue that into next year.
“It’s a small world and my parent’s neighbour was originally from Glasgow. I was talking to him about it, so all in all, it seems like a great city and I’m excited for the move.
“I’m really excited for the new campaign and excited for the change. My wife studied abroad a few years ago and visited Scotland and she’s looking forward to going back too.”
The well-travelled goalkeeper has featured in a host of countries, including Kazakhstan, Norway as well as North America.
But it was in Germany alongside Tripp that he settled down, racking up 175 appearances for the side.
Tripp reckons that Nie will go on to forge himself as a fans favourite for the club having been impressed with his displays abroad.
Tripp added: “Ryan’s been one of the top goalies in the German second league for a while now with Crimmitschau. He hasn’t had a lot of success and now he’s keen to turn the page.
“I like his character, and I’m glad to have him on board. He’s a good family man, and he’s played a lot of games and can take 50 shots a game.
“If you ask anyone about him in that league, they would say he kept the team in it a lot in recent years and I expect him to take on a change of mind set and a winning one.
“Once you start with the goalie, you can look at building a defensive core. Ryan’s well tested and I don’t want him to take 50 shots a night, so we want a good supporting cast too.
“The process overall is going well, although it’s going slower than I intended, but there are still so many names out there. We’re cracking away at it and there’s no rush.”