Fans of Elite League teams.
The elephant in the room is that the majority of imports use the Elite League as a springboard for their hockey career or to combine the sport they love along with furthering their education.
There is little of the way of ‘loyalty’ shown by players or clubs for that matter, so here we are.
The Belfast Giants have found out to their cost this summer with Blair Riley, Darcy Murphy, Tyler Beskorowany and Kyle Baun all pursuing moves outside of the UK for next season.
With no language barrier to contend with and excellent learning institutions to chose from in various fields, the UK is an excellent first option for many North American players choosing to seek pastures new.
With this in mind and the nature of the hockey climate in the United Kingdom, it’s been baffling to watch some of the negative reaction toward the new deal signed by Andrew Lord to remain Head Coach of the Cardiff Devils.
Cardiff Devils Press Release:
The most successful head coach in Devils history will return for a 6th season in charge for 2019/20 after agreeing to a new deal earlier this week.
The deal is a 5-year agreement that gives [Andrew] Lord the option to move onto another league if the right opportunity comes up with a window after the season to pursue opportunities that may present themselves.
There is a specific time frame every off-season that means he cannot leave past a certain deadline date. The date is set late enough to give him time to look into coaching opportunities in other leagues but early enough to ensure the Devils will have plenty of time to find a coach if he does decide to leave. This option will take affect after this upcoming season.
The deal includes an ownership stake in the team that is triggered if he stays for another 2 years in Cardiff.
https://www.cardiffdevils.com/news/lord1/
There was no real pressure on Cardiff to release any of these details but they have been vilified in some quarters for what the majority of hockey fans would like to see from their club – honesty and transparency when it comes to contracts.
Why shouldn’t Andrew Lord have ambitions to coach at a higher level and have an open and honest agreement with his current team where all parties know where they stand?
To my mind that’s the perfect situation in a league whre player and coach turnover is particularly prevelant.
Under the Vancouver native’s stewardship and the new management group, everyone associated with Cardiff has enjoyed a fruitful period in their history.
During his 5 years in charge, Lord has led the Cardiff Devils to two League Championships, a pair of Challenge Cup victories, three Conference titles and back to back Playoff Championships.
I’m certain he’s fielded inquiries from elsewhere but the fit would have to be right and Lord has time on his side to achieve whatever coaching ambitions he holds at just 34 years of age.
Cardiff Devils Managing Director Todd Kelman explained the agreement with his long-term coach:
“Andrew Lord has been head coach here in Cardiff since our ownership group took over in the summer of 2014 and we have seen a 5-year period of success on and off the ice.
“If I could have Andrew Lord working with me for the next 20 years, I would happily do that. He brings passion, detail and motivation every day to the rink and that hasn’t changed since the day he took the job.
“We wanted to lock him in long term but also be fair and give an ambitious young coach the window to advance if the right opportunity comes up.
UK Hockey Blog 