Fife Flyers push paperwork through as new import lands in Kirkcaldy

Charles-Antoine Paiement has arrived in Kirkcaldy and is the club’s final signing of the season - one of two extra moves they were allowed to make after the Elite League’s standards committee stepped in for a second time to help bail the team out.

That came after the last two of Flyers’ four Kazakhs said they wanted to go home after failing to settle into British ice hockey at a time when Drake Pilon also quit the club, and key imports Olivier LeBlanc and Phelix Martineau were out injured.

Flyers have already added Kieran Craig to the line-up, and now he has been joined by 25 year old Paiement, a native of Queb. He turned pro at the start of 2024 with Trois-Rivières Lions in the ECHL after starting out in the Quebec Junior Hockey set up with Collège Lionel-Groulx Nordiques and his home town team, St Jérome Panthers where he recorded 111 points in 96 games.

He joined Concordia University during the pandemic which restricted his playing time with the Stingers. Over his four years in the USports league he played 54 games returning 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points where he also played alongside Martineau.

Johnny Curran, interim coach, described him as “a fast, competitive and skilled winger.” adding: “We’re extremely happy to be bringing in a player of his calibre this time of the year. We’re looking forward to him joining us for the back half of the season.”

Paiement is in line to make his debut against Coventry Blaze in the first league game of 2025 at Fife Ice Arena on Saturday, and experience his first road trip 24 hours later as the team makes the long journey to face Guildford Flames.

The arrival of a new skater will help to raise morale among what the coach and GM, Todd Dutiaume. Have both described as a “fragile” team which has endured the toughest of December months which took the club to the very brink. The club has yet to say if Martineau, who has missed the last five games through injury, will make it to the line-up this weekend. He was last listed as ‘day to day.’