First players depart as Fife Flyers begin summer of work behind scenes
Fife Flyers’ long summer recess started in earnest this week with the first players packing up and heading home.
The club wrapped a tough 2025-26 campaign with a fine four-point weekend and two overtime wins which drew a bumper 2000-plus crowd to Fife Ice Arena, and saw a big travelling support give them a standing ovation in Dundee on Sunday.
The first skaters departed midweek, but not everyone is leaving too soon.
Garet Hunt, Milan Lucic and Simon Despres are taking part in the NHL Alumni games at Murrayfield Ice Rink with three games between April 20 and 27, and several others are enjoying some down time before departing.
Behind the scenes, work on season ticket packages is underway, and there is a desire to get signing news out quickly - but everything depends on the green light from the ownership group.
Michael Courts, who stepped up as interim coach following the departure of Jamie Russell, is keen to return, while Hunt has made no secret of how much he has loved his time in Kirkcaldy and wants to come back.
Courts joined the players on the ice after both weekend games, and admitted the ovation from the fans was moving;
“That was something that will live with me for a long time,” he said. “It was hard not to get choked up.”
He described the whole season as a rollercoaster, but stressed: “In the room it has been amazing all year - I never saw an issue where people fell out, despite all the crazy rumours that went round. There is a lot of heart and character in this team and it was there all season.
”Things didn’t go the way we hoped, and that created a lot of doubt, but the ownership stepped up and did what they needed to do, and our guys turned up every night and played their hardest every night.”
“We will have a season next year where we rebuild, come back stronger and better.”
Courts also revealed that Sunday’s overtime match winner, Johan Porsberger, only kitted up to ensure the bench had some depth having missed more than six weeks out through injury. With Jeremy Masella ruled out, along with several players, he asked the Swedish forward to simply sit on the bench to ensure it met minimum numbers.
“He got strapped up and did some shifts with the third line, and did a fantastic job. Come overtime, I‘d used the other guys and threw him back on and he came up with a fairytale finish.”