Fife Flyers push on with recruitment plans amid uncertainty over new season

Fife Flyers are pushing ahead with team building despite uncertainty over the 2020-21 ice hockey season.

And head coach, Todd Dutiaume, admits there are no assurances the puck will even drop after the coronavirus pandemic.

The sport is in limbo as bans on mass gatherings remain in place - and there is no definite timetable to kick-start the new season.

That uncertainty is impacting on all teams’ recruitment plans.

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In his first summer update with Fife Flyers TV, Dutiaume said: “Recruiting is going on right now. “It probably stopped for a month and a half just because there were more important things to prioritise, but we are speaking to guys to see what they are thinking.”

He admitted the response was mixed.

“Some guys are very reluctant to come into this situation,” he said, “Players go into a hockey season knowing they will get 30-33 weeks of wages. We don’t know if that will be compressed, and, if so, that has a significant impact on them.

“But there are guys willing to sign - a lot of guys looking to get a shirt and a job next season. Employment is important especially after this, but these are uncertain times.

“I’m hard pressed to really be re-assured there will be a hockey season coming up this year.”

Flyers’ long-serving head coach admitted the lack of a starting date and extent of the schedule made it difficult to finalise contracts - a first for all involved in the sport.

“Not in my lifetime have I seen a hockey season cancelled from youth team right up,” he said. “To not have that closure last season, regardless of what it looked like, left things unfinished.

“On the day of lockdown we were on the bus going to Coventry. I’m not sure everyone recognised the scale or acceleration of the situation, but fortunately,the league made a smart decision and we got turned around just other side of the Forth Bridge and sent back home.

“It didn’t really sink in until it was all hands on deck to get the guys home before the airport shut. Everyone chipped in and we got them to airport as quickly and safely as possible. A lot of guys were concerned they were going to be cut off from their families.”

Off the ice, former Flyer Chad Smith, who left the team mid season to ice with Glasgow Clan, has dropped out of the EIHL to join Murrayfield Racers next season.

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