Fife Flyers: ‘we are playing for our jobs. This is our livelihood’ – LeBlanc
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Team captain Olivier LeBlanc was on autograph duty after Saturday’s game, along with fellow blue liner Noah Delmas. It’s all part of the job, regardless of losing streaks.
LeBlanc admits his first season in UK hockey has not gone the way he anticipated when he signed in summer.
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Hide Ad“It is tough and has been like that for a while now,” he said. “I don’t think anyone here has been on a team that has only won two games by Christmas and New Year. A lot of things have happened and we have to find the positives and keep going. I have been captain on a few teams but not really dealt with anything like this before. It is challenging.” The arrival of two new imports, Kieran Craig and Charles-Antoine Paiment, added new faces to a dressing-room that had witnessed a number of departures, including the remaining Kazakhs and Canadian Drake Pilon in a difficult December month.


“When you see a lot of changes happening it is not easy to just turn out and skate. There is a lot of uncertainty, but you still have to come and play and aim to win - so it always great to see new faces in the room. You need bodies to play this game. These guys coming in helped.”
And that depth is key to helping guys stay healthy, and, hopefully, spark a return to winning ways.
“No-one wants to lose a game of hockey,” said LeBlanc. “If people think that then it’s just not true. We want to win, and everyone on the team is playing for their jobs. People think it is just about results on a match night, but you are also playing for your contract. This is our livelihood.”
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Hide AdLike coach Johnny Curran, LeBlanc points to the positives as building blocks to a hopefully better finish to the season - more shots on goal, more chances - as well as accepting the need to eliminate mistakes from individual performances.
“Against Coventry 42 shots on goal, but mistakes cost us. That game could easily have gone another way, so we limit those mistakes, play our game the way we can and it is bound to go in the end.
“When you are icing just 14 guys then it is even tougher. Every team has had those nights Cardiff Devils were down for a while, but we have been down like that the whole season. They played five defence and three lines. We do that all the time!.
“A win would raise spirits for everyone, and we do see signs of hope. Part of my role along with the guys on the leadership team is to help keep things going. It’s a tough situation but everyone knows we have to keep going.”
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