The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Stars’ signing Barriga ‘ticks all the boxes’
Dundee Stars have signed American forward Elijiah Barriga.
The 26-year-old leftwinger joins the Stars from NCAA Division 1 side American International College.
In four years with the Yellow Jackets Barriga won seven championships and totalled 62 points in 107 appearances.
Stars head coach Jeff Mason was delighted with his latest addition to the roster.
He said: “Elijiah comes from a college programme that is certainly a powerhouse in their conference and has been over the last few years.
“AIC have produced a lot of good pros and I had one of Elijiah’s teammates with me in Belfast last season in Jeff Baum.
“From speaking to Barriga’s coach, who is someone I respect very highly and who has created a top-level programme and a winning culture at AIC, he spoke very highly of Elijiah.
“Elijiah came on to my radar a couple years back from a coach who we were familiar with in our recruitment process in Belfast and he recommended that we keep an eye on him and he is certainly someone I have followed.
“He is a durable player as he can play at centre or on the wing, which is important, but he also skates extremely well, is a very smart player and I believe he will be a very good player for us.”
Mason added: “He ticks all the boxes of what I desire in a player and of someone who is very hungry to get their career started.”
After signing his first professional contract, Elijiah said: “I had a few conversations with Jeff and it all seemed pretty good. He seems like a really nice guy and it was a pretty smooth transaction between us and he told me what kind of player I need to be.
“He just talked about living over in Dundee, the fans and the city and it all just sounded like the right place for me.
“Although, what I was really sold on, was how Jeff talked about the team, the people around the team, Dundee as a city and what it is they are trying to build here.
“I am excited but I do not know what to expect as it is my first time playing in Europe, but I think it will be a fun year and I am just going to go out there and try to do my best.”