The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pacha swoops for US hotshot Combs
Kitmart Dundee Stars have signed American forward Charlie Combs for the 2021-2022 Elite League campaign.
The St Louis, Missouri, native made his professional debut with Wichita Thunder last season and scored five points (3G, 2A) in 17 games, after finishing his college career at Michigan State University earlier that year.
The 25-year-old has spent all his career in America, playing in some of the top junior leagues in the US and in the first division of the NCAA.
Combs is a winner of the top goalscorer award in both the British Colombia Hockey League (52 goals, 2016-2017) and Tier 1 Elite Hockey League 18U Division, (30 goals, 2013-2014).
The 5ft 6in left winger was also a United States Hockey League Clark Cup Finalist in 2015-2016 and named to the BCHL First
Team All-Star in 2016-2017. In his career so far, Combs has featured in 441 matches, scored 218 goals, assisted 139 times, and has collected 364 penalty minutes.
Stars general manager and head coach Omar Pacha is excited to have Charlie joining the club, and speaking about his latest signing, he said: “I watched a lot of tape on Charlie over the last few months and he is a real talent.
“When you are building a team, you always want to have some younger guys and first year pros in there and he adds that for us, but the big thing is that Charlie played through last season and got a bit of experience in the ECHL, which is great.
“He is a guy with skill, he has a great shot too and he reads the play really well and we are bringing him in to fulfil that offensive role for us.
“He also has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, too, and that makes him play with some grit, but the major upside for us is that he is a real natural goalscorer and he can bring a lot to the team.
“He is not just a shooter, Charlie can make plays and he is a really good person off the ice too, so I am really happy to get a guy who has that skill and can buy into our system.”
The Stars boss then revealed the role his former player, Anthony Beauregard played in bringing Combs to Dundee.
Pacha explained: “Combs was the number one player that Beau mentioned throughout the recruitment process and when I spoke to him, he highly recommended Charlie.
“They played on the same lines in some games at Wichita and if they are linemates with Beau and come recommended from him, then they are usually a fantastic player.”
Meanwhile, Swedish defenceman Jonas Emmerdahl will return to Fife Flyers for a second season with a mission – to be more of a leader.
The 29-year-old joined Fife in 2019/20, icing 49 times for the club before the season was curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Stockholm-born player spent last season at Swedish third-tier side Ostersunds, making 25 appearances and scoring eight points.
Flyers’ head coach, Todd Dutiaume, said: “I have been impressed with his professionalism on and off the ice.
“He became a key anchor at the back end of our powerplay and we will make some improvements at the back end of the team and that will show off his strengths more.”
Demanding Dutiaume said: “I will be looking for him to be more of a leader this year and be more vocal now that he knows what it takes to win in this league.”