Paisley Pirates are gearing up for new season
Club has room for potential new signings
Paisley Pirates are back on the ice after enjoying a long summer break.
And few could complain about the Pirates putting their feet up following their SNL Championship success which saw them lift the League trophy away back in February.
Coach Ian Turley admits that it does feel like a long time since his side last took to the ice in anger.
He said: “Yes, it seems an awful long time ago since we celebrated winning that particular trophy.
“But that’s maybe not such a bad thing, as while we will be defending league champions that will count for nothing this season, apart from maybe encouraging opponents to try and down us.
“It’s time to forget about what we did and concentrate on what we need to be doing this season.”
Turley has been in the business of piecing together his squad over the summer, and he revealed that he is excited about how things are shaping up.
He added: “We had a good trial come training session last week which let us look at a few guys as well as those who were with us last year, and there’s still time for anyone wanting to try out for us as we’ve got another session on Friday.
“All potential players need to do is let us know that they want to come along.”
He continued: “We’ve also had a few foreign players in contact with us looking to try out so we’ll see what happens on that front over the next wee while, if any of them follow up their initial enquiries.
“Like I say, there’s still time for potential new signings to come to a trial/practice and let us see what they’ve got, but I wouldn’t want them to be waiting too much longer before getting on the ice.”
And the business hasn’t stopped there, with Turley making some new additions off the ice as well.
He said: “We’ve also made an important off-ice appointment by bringing on board one of our main sponsors, Steven Gardner from Cold Blooded Sports, as equipment manager and he’ll be on the bench with us on match nights.
“It’s important to have someone in that position who is an expert in his field and in that context we couldn’t have anyone better than Steven, who as a recreational hockey player and someone who retails equipment as his real job, certainly ticks all the boxes in that respect.
“We’re delighted to have him with us and it’s just one more illustration of the fact that while the Paisley Pirates might be an amateur club, anyone coming to play with us will be joining one of the most professional organisations around.”