Belfast Giants: Ex-players Murphy, Raine and Beskorowany to return for new season
- Published
Beskorowany returns to Giants after car salesman stint in native Canada
Ex-Belfast Giants players Darcy Murphy, Kevin Raine and Tyler Beskorowany are to return to Adam Keefe's roster for the 2021-22 Elite League season.
The trio are the first players signed up by the Giants as they prepare for a long-awaited return to the ice this autumn after 18 months out of action.
"This day has been a long time coming for both the club and the fans," said Giants head coach Adam Keefe.
"We're gearing up to make a big impact when we get back on the ice."
Keefe added: "These signings show we mean business. Darcy, Kevin and Tyler are players of exceptional standing, each with significant on-ice achievements here in Belfast and elsewhere."
Further signings are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, with the fixtures for the new campaign set to be revealed in late July.
Action is scheduled to resume on 25-26 September and run through to the Play-off Finals Weekend on 23-24 April 2022.
There have been no games since March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Darcy Murphy enjoyed a decorated first spell with the Giants in which he helped them win a league title and two Challenge Cups
Key players in Giants successes
Forward Murphy got his first taste of hockey in Belfast when Colgate University took to the ice for the inaugural Friendship Four tournament in 2015.
Citing this formative experience as a catalyst for the move, the free scoring Ontario native arrived in Belfast in 2017 and in his two seasons with the Giants, posted a staggering 83 goals and 77 assists, good for 160 points.
His offensive production and eye for a clutch goal helped the Giants achieve back-to-back Challenge Cup victories in 2017-18 and 2018-19, along with an unforgettable 2018-2019 EIHL Championship.
The first ever Giant to tally 50 goals in a single season, Murphy was also named EIHL Forward of the Year and earned a spot in the EIHL's first All Star Team before his time in Belfast came to an end.
The 28-year-old returns to Belfast after spells in Germany, Switzerland and Poland.
Goaltender Beskorowany has just one season with the Giants under his belt but backstopped the Giants to their League and Cup double in 2018-19.
An EIHL Goaltender of the Year award followed, before a move to HC Banska Bystrica in Slovakia.
Raine's first three years in Belfast produced back-to-back Challenge Cups and a league title.
He earned an assistant captaincy for Keefe's men in 2019-20, before the EIHL season was curtailed early due to the pandemic.