Giants aim for successful 25th anniversary season

Belfast Giants will aim to atone for missing out on silverware last season by having a successful 25th anniversary campaign

The Belfast Giants will drop the puck on their 25th anniversary season, looking to bounce back after a below-par campaign by their very own high standards.

Adam Keefe’s side had gone on an unprecedented run of success over four seasons, two either side of the Covid-19 lockdown, winning eight trophies including three Elite League championships in a row and a Grand Slam in 2023.

Last year they failed to recover from some early season injuries and were out of title contention by just after Christmas.

An impressive run to the end of the season almost saw them keep alive that trophy streak but they lost the play-offs final to the Sheffield Steelers, who completed their own clean sweep of all three trophies.

JJ Piccinich has returned for a second spell with Belfast

Which former Giants have returned for 2024?

Within days of the 2023 season ending, the Giants announced the return of forwards Scott Conway and JJ Piccinich and defenceman Gabe Bast.

Conway has legendary status at the organisation after not only winning a league and Challenge Cup double in his first season in 2021 but following it up with the Grand Slam and going on to be named EIHL forward of the year.

He returns from HK Dukla Trencin after helping the three-time Slovakian champions reach the Extraliga playoffs.

Piccinich, who has spent the past two years with Stjernen in Norway, was a key part of that double winning team alongside Conway in 2021/22 - a season where he won player of the year.

Another Grand Slam winner Best resigns from Canadian side Red Deer Rustlers and all three signings have ignited the Giants fanbase.

They've been joined by Jeff Baum, Ben Lake, Josh Roach, Jackson Whistle, Ciaran Long and Mark Cooper were re-signed along with a burgeoning crop of local players led by Andrew Dickson, Mack Stewart and Carter Hamill.

Bobo Carpenter in pre-season action against Cardiff

Who are the new faces on the roster?

Only two players who signed for the team last season, GB-born defenceman Cameron Pound and Elijah Barriga return.

Barriga signed from Dundee but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Champions Hockey League and missed the entire domestic campaign so he is essentially a ‘new’ signing.

If the Giants are to be successful, a lot will rest on the shoulders of former NHL netminder Tom McCollum who has replaced Tyler Beskorowany.

Along with Jackson Whistle, they will share the goaltending duties.

Hailing from New York, McCollum was drafted 30th overall by National Hockey League (NHL) side, the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, going on to make his debut for the Michigan-based side against the St Louis Blues in March 2011.

He’s spent the past three seasons playing in Innsbruck in Austria and latterly in Germany.

Others to look out for include Bobo Carpenter and Pierre-Olivier Morin.

Carpenter is a Boston College alumni and has played the past three seasons in the minor leagues in the USA with the Florida Everblades and helped them become the first team in ECHL history to win three titles in a row.

From Quebec, Morin arrives from Aalborg Pirates in the Metal Ligaen, having recorded over 180 total points in more than 250 appearances in all competitions across five seasons with the Danish side.

Coach Keefe's season thoughts?

The Giants would love to mark their 25th season with more silverware. There is plenty of optimism among the supporters that is reflected with season tickets at an all-time high.

“They said it wouldn't last and here we are going into the 25th season so I know it's an important one for us as we recognise the anniversary,” said head coach Adam Keefe told BBC Sport NI.

“But also more so than that, we don't like losing and we did too much of it last year so you know Sheffield has come in and set a new standard, a new bar and we're looking to knock that one down and break through and that's the new goal this season.

“Obviously with the likes of Scott Conway and JJ and Bast coming back we know that they've had proven success in this league before and then also the other players that we've added, we're really happy with, so you know now it's just a matter of seeing it together on the ice,” added Keefe.

“The other thing we looked for were winners. You got a guy in Bobo Carpenter who just won the ECHL, a three-peat in Florida. Morin comes from Aalborg who have a history of winning there and being in the Champions League.

"These are guys that know how to win and do the little things that it takes to win and with some of the returning guys and the talent that we have we're very hopeful.”