The last few days have seen the rumour mill almost at breaking point with talk of mistreatment of players, employees of the club resigning, un-communist distribution of post-game pizzas and of course the gossip with the furthest reaching potential consequences, the withdrawal of a second tier senior side for next season.
We have also seen a vast improvement in our British recruiting policy of late. Yes, our hand was rather forced with the switch to the Elite and the movement of Lynch, Dunbar, Wilson and Hough into full or semi retirement but we were quick to sign up Garside and Rich after spells in North America, Kyle Horne's after his personal situation resulted in his move back to Scotland and the capture of Bowie after Paisley's troubles of last season will hopefully continue to pay off
for many more seasons to come.
The only players who broke through from the SNL squad to the senior team before the 05-06 season were Neil Hay and Danny Mac. That's an average of one player every three and a half years.
So having said all of that, why is the SNL team so important? It comes down to two reasons: the importance of Brit players in the EIHL and the benefits of the SNL as part of a player’s development.
As my colleague ably pointed out on the official Capitals forum, the main aim of the SNL team is not to sweep the board in the four competitions, as we did in the 2001-2002 season, but “blooding the youngsters in a competitive environment and giving them plenty of ice time”.
The SNL is a key stage in progressing junior players into Elite players. The SNL sees promising Murrayfield teenagers icing against grown men, many of whom with BNL experience, for the first time; icing in games with hundreds of fans watching; being introduced to a more professional set up and demanding schedule. The step up from u19 (or u20 from next season) to Elite is huge. Without an SNL team all of these important developmental steps are lost and the slow introduction from junior hockey to a national professional level disappears immediately.
The SNL also gives a chance for all of the Caps’ Brits to get far more competitive ice time than any of the other team’s domestic contingent. Keeping the third liners match fit and sharp when they are not logging that much time on the ice for the top team.
The role of British players in the EIHL should not be underestimated. The sheer volume of available imports means that very little separates the imported section of the different Elite club's line-ups. The difference between teams competing for the championship often comes down to the strength in depth, which due to the import restrictions translates directly into the quality of the British players at a club's disposal.
Fans are quick to blame injuries to key players as a reason for a disappointing season but you don't need to scan through decades of data to realise that the man hours lost to injury varies fairly little between teams. When imports are sidelined for a lengthy spell a new man if often brought in as cover, but when the player is only sitting out a couple of weeks that tenth forward needs to step in and play a part.
What coaches require and expect of a third line has undergone serious change since the debut of the Elite League. No longer are Mookie, Laurie D and Hough sent out to give Saul and Kaye a breather. The advantage of being able to play a Tait, Longstaff or Clarke on the top two lines was soon noticed and British players are increasingly requested to put up decent numbers, make plays, put the puck in the net and not just be a third wheel on an imported one-two punch.
The increase in the import limit has ironically seen Beattie, McPherson and Dalgliesh gain decent ice time alongside non-Murrayfield trained youth Bowie, Garside and Rich. More were set to follow: Daly, Christie and Glasgow for starters, but those three have gone to, or are strongly rumoured to be heading toward, Fife's SNL team while McPherson was snapped up by Milton Keynes and Beattie's future remains undecided.
The talented youth of Murrayfield Ice Hockey Club are heading to the exit doors in serious numbers already, the withdrawal of a second tier senior team will surely increase the migration and have a serious impact on the Elite Capitals ability to move off the bottom of the table.
