Cardiff Devils head coach Jarrod Skalde 'so excited' for first Elite League campaign
- Published
Cardiff Devils: Coach and players 'ready to go' for new domestic campaign
Cardiff Devils head coach Jarrod Skalde says he is "so excited" to begin his first Elite League campaign.
Devils return to competitive domestic action on Saturday at home to Guildford Flames in the Challenge Cup, before starting their Elite League campaign at Sheffield Steelers the following day.
They won all four warm-up matches and beat Lausanne HC in Europe.
"We're ready to go, we're excited, it's for real now," said Skalde, who was appointed head coach almost a year ago.
"We've accomplished what we wanted to in pre-season and now it's about carrying that momentum forward.
"There's so much energy in this building, our players will feed off it. Moving into the regular season I'm so excited to get behind that bench.
"We want to win trophies, that's been mandated since I got the job, that's part of the reason I wanted the job, there's an expectation to win."
Despite Devils' perfect record in their warm-up matches, against Nottingham Panthers and Manchester Storm, the team was forced to deal with a "surreal and odd" start to their Champions Hockey League (CHL) campaign.
On the day of their opening match against Adler Mannheim, it was announced that Skalde, assistant coach Neil Francis and two players had tested positive for Covid-19 and would be missing.
Former assistant coach Jamie Elson and the club's managing director Todd Kelman took charge of the opening two games, including the Lausanne win.
Cardiff Devils' Cole Sanford celebrates scoring in the 4-1 win against Lausanne
"I was doing virtual meetings from my apartment, pre-game meetings with the players on powerplays and penalty kills," said Skalde.
"I was so happy for Todd, we went over a bunch of stuff before the weekend on line combinations and what guys I wanted on the ice in certain situations.
"I was watching at home, calling between periods, when Cole Sanford scored that first goal [against Lausanne] and you could see the momentum changing, it was so exciting, it was pure elation."
Those early challenges faced by the new-look Devils roster are ones Skalde believes will have a significant positive impact for the team going forward.
"When we were going through me not being here and asking guys to do more than they're accustomed to do, I told Todd that was the best bonding experience they could have had, you couldn't pay for that," added Skalde.
"They had to come together quickly and that's carried over, the players enjoy coming to the rink and being in each other's company."
'Great to put that jersey back on'
Ben Davies scored Team GB's famous overtime goal against France at the 2019 World Championships
Among the new faces this season is a familiar one to long-term Devils fans, as the club welcome back Cardiff-born Ben Davies for the 2021-22 season.
The 30-year-old joined Devils' youth team in 2003, working his way up before making his first-team debut in 2007.
Davies spent seven years playing for the senior team before moving to Braehead Clan and subsequently Guildford Flames.
But now Davies is targeting more success with his childhood team.
"It's been a long time coming with lockdown but I'm very happy to be back in Cardiff and it was great to put the jersey back on," said Davies.
"It's been good to have the CHL to start, it's given us good preparation with the league starting this weekend.
"The boys have the tempo flowing, we had two tough games against Nottingham but we seemed to hit the ground running.
"And the same with Manchester, we got the four wins and we're looking forward to the weekend.
"Our target is to go out every game and win, we'll take each one as it comes, there are a few cup games mixed in but we go into every one to win."
Ben Davies had a brief spell in Virginia, USA playing for Norfolk Admirals in the ECHL
Seven years have past since Davies' last Elite League showing in a Cardiff Devils jersey and the club has changed significantly during that period.
Devils are now under new ownership, with a new stadium, new coach and greater expectations than they had back in 2014, and Davies says the team's improvement over recent years is thoroughly deserved.
"When I was here last there was different ownership, a lot has changed and it's very professional," said Davies.
"Now it's the way Cardiff deserves, the fans too and it's good to see.
"The standard has definitely improved, the style of hockey has improved as well.
"The reputation of the league and British hockey is being pushed forward, people are looking at ice hockey in Britain a lot different now to how they did five or 10 years ago."