Mosey is our modern day Monteith

It was backstage at Murrayfield, post-game, amid the hubbub of a team packing up and fans heading home, that Todd Dutiaume first drew a direct lineage from Russell Monteith to Charlie Mosey.

From try-out to tagged next to a record breaking powerplay goalscorer is some development for Mosey, who is fast becoming one of the true finds of the summer in the EIHL.

The 26-year old from Minnesota has probably had to spend a bit of time in Flyers’ record books researching the story of Monty, the man who took Fred Perlini’s powerplay record of 26 goals, and broke it, fittingly, as Flyers clinched the title against Slough Jets.

He then went on to break it over and over again; until he declared at 38 strikes.

It’s a figure that stands today, some 17 years on, and will probably never be matched, let alone broken.

Monty, a native of Toronto, was one of the most unassuming guys ever to step into Flyers’ dressing-room.

He came to the UK out of Union College – the same alma mater as the club’s former BNL-era defenceman, Bill Moody - and on the back of two solid seasons with Mobil Mysticks in the ECHL.

By his own admission he wasn’t a powerplay expert.

Not bad for someone who smashed the record in his debut season in Fife in 1999/2000.

Monteith was simply unbeatable in the corners, impossible to outwit front of net, and his sheer physical strength on the puck came with a zen-like calm which rarely saw him visit the penalty box, regardless of how much defencemen hacked away at him.

He also had incredible awareness.

One night when a puck was lobbed down the ice, all eyes rose to the roof – except Monty’s. He was following its arc and was already heading towards the landing point before anyone else had turned.

He went with the shot every time, figuring his movement made it harder for defencemen to cover.

And with typical modest he admitted to being ‘’pretty good’’ at finding good position front of net.

Todd Dutiaume, head coach, played alongside Monty and saw up close just good he was.

“He was incredibly hard to get the puck off on the boards. He went to the dirty areas, and he became an instant fan favourite,” he said.

And he sees parallels with Mosey, some 15 years on.

Dutiaume described the forward as “a beast along the boards” - so was Monteith.

On Sunday against Braehead, Mosey was simply unstoppable as he drove the play forward, and every time he went into the corners, he came out with the puck glued to the end of his stick.

“Charlie is reflective of a lot of players who have been successful in Flyers history,” Dutiaume added.

“He’s probably a better skater (than Monteith), just because players are bigger and faster nowadays.

“He’s finding an offensive touch, probably because he’s allowed to be in those situations, but he’s not getting away from his bread and butter, and what makes him a key player for us.”