Vallerand Returns

[smbmetal]

Even at 34 he’s still probably a point per game player and certainly has an eye for goal.

I wouldn’t have been disappointed if he didn’t return, but he should make other players accountable and will lead from the front. 3rd line for me.

At least Simms will be pleased as I’m sure he’ll just talk about how good the “Eddies will be”.

[Jayboy]

In balance I am on the side of this being a good signing..for now especially if he signed for the second line/middle 6...
Valley knows where the net is for sure, I see no reason why he won't put up the number again,with maybe something to prove to himself, the team and the fans. He clearly wants to play for us and is a great ingredient in the room as a motivator for the rest of the team, especially for the new guys coming in that haven't bought into our to philosophy yet...
With the retirement of Jono too, I see Valley as a dam good candidate for captain or certainly one of the A's

[Morpheous]

In balance I am on the side of this being a good signing..for now especially if he signed for the second line/middle 6...
Valley knows where the net is for sure, I see no reason why he won't put up the number again,with maybe something to prove to himself, the team and the fans. He clearly wants to play for us and is a great ingredient in the room as a motivator for the rest of the team, especially for the new guys coming in that haven't bought into our to philosophy yet...
With the retirement of Jono too, I see Valley as a dam good candidate for captain or certainly one of the A's

Agree with this fully.

[ginger]

In EIHL points per game, I think he's second only to Conway. Given injury and illness last year, and a huge amount of bad luck (remember him hitting a ridiculous amount of posts/crossbars), I think this is a good signing. You definitely need a core to build around - we have 3 Brit forwards, plus 2 import forwards returning (suspect Ciampini might make that 3). We then have 1 returning Brit d, and rumours suggest Petgrave will also be back. So we keep 6 forwards, 2 D and a starting NM from last year. That's still a big turnover of players to refresh the team.

As for announcements etc, it's social media. Everything is driven by buzz/hype that turns in to clicks/eyes on the brand. It's why newspaper headlines are sensational - drive clicks and advertising revenue. Ultimately, this is good use of social media so not sure why we wouldn't do things like this

[Doom]

My worry is that to date I've not seen anything which makes me think Aaron Fox is trying something a bit different. There's still plenty of players to be recruited, but regardless of what our coaching staff think, we were a long way behind Belfast and therefore need to make up a lot of ground and doing the same as before won't achieve that.

Vallerand was a very good player, but so was Brendan Connolly. With all players age and injury eventually catches up with them and clearly Vally was struggling last season. Maybe with a good pre season and clear of injury/illness he will be able to get back close to his previous form, but as with Connolly last season, it's another big risk and so far Fox's 'risky' recruitments generally haven't paid off.

I guess I'm hoping that Belfast do lose Conway and as a result aren't quite the same team and at the same time we can improve a little to bridge the gap, because another season of failure won't cut it with our supporters.

Hopefully the only remaining returnees are Petgrave and Nevalainen, because as a defensive pairing I thought they worked very well together. I wouldn't be gutted with Ciampini, but it would start to feel like we're going to be Dad's Army again.....Don't panic Captain Fox!

Anyway, welcome back Marco, at least you want to be here and let's hope you have a bit more puck luck this coming season.

Regards

Doom

[Tom Moore]

Depends which Vallerand we get back really. Don't want last year's at all, will happily take 19/20 or 21/22 version.

[BontSteeler]

Welcome home Marco, I'm looking forward to him proving alot of people wrong.

I'm putting it out there now - he'll be our top points producer this season.

[ekt]

He wouldnt be the top of my shopping list butwhen he plays well he is a useful addition, lets hope we have more proven goalscorers/snipers on the way, because its all starting to look a little samey again.

Probably in a minority on here (but not in the arena in general) I would welcome a return for Petgrave.

[ginger]

My worry is that to date I've not seen anything which makes me think Aaron Fox is trying something a bit different. There's still plenty of players to be recruited, but regardless of what our coaching staff think, we were a long way behind Belfast and therefore need to make up a lot of ground and doing the same as before won't achieve that.

Vallerand was a very good player, but so was Brendan Connolly. With all players age and injury eventually catches up with them and clearly Vally was struggling last season. Maybe with a good pre season and clear of injury/illness he will be able to get back close to his previous form, but as with Connolly last season, it's another big risk and so far Fox's 'risky' recruitments generally haven't paid off.

I guess I'm hoping that Belfast do lose Conway and as a result aren't quite the same team and at the same time we can improve a little to bridge the gap, because another season of failure won't cut it with our supporters.

Hopefully the only remaining returnees are Petgrave and Nevalainen, because as a defensive pairing I thought they worked very well together. I wouldn't be gutted with Ciampini, but it would start to feel like we're going to be Dad's Army again.....Don't panic Captain Fox!

Anyway, welcome back Marco, at least you want to be here and let's hope you have a bit more puck luck this coming season.

Regards

Doom

To say we were miles behind Belfast I think is an exaggeration. 7 points over the course of the league. I'm not saying they weren't a better team, but let's be realistic - that's 4 games if we can change from losses to wins and we win the league. That to me isn't miles behind.

Accept age etc is a thing, but Vallerand is not coming off a major injury like Connolly at 37. It was niggling injuries and illnesses and he's 34. Given the shape guys are in these days I don't see it as anywhere near the risk we took on Connolly.

[Jimmy o]

My worry is that to date I've not seen anything which makes me think Aaron Fox is trying something a bit different. There's still plenty of players to be recruited, but regardless of what our coaching staff think, we were a long way behind Belfast and therefore need to make up a lot of ground and doing the same as before won't achieve that.

Vallerand was a very good player, but so was Brendan Connolly. With all players age and injury eventually catches up with them and clearly Vally was struggling last season. Maybe with a good pre season and clear of injury/illness he will be able to get back close to his previous form, but as with Connolly last season, it's another big risk and so far Fox's 'risky' recruitments generally haven't paid off.

I guess I'm hoping that Belfast do lose Conway and as a result aren't quite the same team and at the same time we can improve a little to bridge the gap, because another season of failure won't cut it with our supporters.

Hopefully the only remaining returnees are Petgrave and Nevalainen, because as a defensive pairing I thought they worked very well together. I wouldn't be gutted with Ciampini, but it would start to feel like we're going to be Dad's Army again.....Don't panic Captain Fox!

Anyway, welcome back Marco, at least you want to be here and let's hope you have a bit more puck luck this coming season.

Regards

Doom

To say we were miles behind Belfast I think is an exaggeration. 7 points over the course of the league. I'm not saying they weren't a better team, but let's be realistic - that's 4 games if we can change from losses to wins and we win the league. That to me isn't miles behind.

Accept age etc is a thing, but Vallerand is not coming off a major injury like Connolly at 37. It was niggling injuries and illnesses and he's 34. Given the shape guys are in these days I don't see it as anywhere near the risk we took on Connolly.

7 points at the end of the season but I think we need to factor in the poor start Belfast had and the squad changes they made - it's fair to say they really weren't the same team in the second half of season. I'd be interested to see the points difference between the teams for just the second half of the season as it would give a more realistic picture, and I suspect we were a long way short...