Roster building continues for Telford Tigers with the announcement of a key member of the squad – starting goalie Martin Clarkson.
The Cardiff-born 21-yearold has spent the past five years playing college hockey in North America, and was previously a regular in the GB junior team.
Coach Tom Watkins said: “I had been considering a number of goalie options, including possibly an import, when Martin’s name came up. I followed up the lead and he got fantastic reviews.
“When I spoke to him, he was really keen to come up to Telford from Cardiff, have a look around and talk it through. I was impressed by how serious he was about coming here to play.
“He has ambitions to be an Elite league starting goalie, and earn a senior GB slot and, without piling the pressure on, those are good goals for a young player to have.”
The net minder will be on a two-way contract with the Cardiff Devils, enabling him to train with the Elite league team during the week, and join Tigers for games at weekends.
Tom added: “Martin will be our No 1, being the starter predominantly through the
year. But the player I am expecting to announce as back-up will certainly push Martin for the slot.
“I do see Martin going on to bigger and better things. Going from the reviews he gets, he should be a real asset to the team.”
Martin himself has done his homework on the Tigers’ recent history and is looking forward to coming to work for UK ice hockey’s first supporters’ trust-owned team.
“I’m really excited about meeting the other players and the fans,” he said. “It sounds like there is a good set-up at Telford and it is great that the fans are putting their trust in us.
“I want to make an impact and play more. I’ve been in the US for five years, which has improved my game a lot, and was in the GB team up until my last year of under-20s.”
More about Telford Tigers can be found at www.telfordtigers.co.uk