Myers back to 'add value' for new Devils campaign

Cardiff-born Matthew Myers made his first Devils debut in 2001

Cardiff Devils get the 2024-25 Elite League season underway at home to Glasgow this weekend with new and old faces in the team - and behind the bench.

This week's surprise return of Cole Sanford just six weeks after leaving for German team ESV Kaufbeuren, will see last season's top scorer line-up along side returning fan favourites Gleason Fournier and Mac Carruth, and eight new signings.

Another returnee to the Devils is Cardiff-born Matthew Myers, now in his fourth spell at the club after being appointed as assistant to Cardiff head coach Pete Russell in July.

Yet, it was not that long ago that becoming a coach and returning to Cardiff would have been the last thing Myers would have expected to happen.

When Myers, 39, was a player, if you asked him about his ambitions to go into coaching he invariably displayed little interest.

“When I was young and as a player I thought once I’ve finished playing, I’ve finished playing and I’m out of it," explained Myers.

“In the last three to five years, you’re in your mid-thirties and you’re always thinking ‘this could be my last’; around then I started to think about it more seriously."

Passion continues

For the 2023-24 season Myers and his wife Nyree were based in the French Alps, rounding-out what has been a remarkable career with Pingouins de Morzine-Avoriaz.

Prior to playing in France’s second tier FFHG Division 1, Myers had won 17 domestic titles with Cardiff Devils and Nottingham Panthers.

“My wife and I were talking last year in France about how we stay in hockey and naturally the next step is coaching if you want to stay in the game," said Myers.

“She advised me to take work experience with Pete [Russell], Euan King, Corey Neilson and Chuck Webber with the [Great Britain] national team before they headed to Czechia for the World Championships.

“I got on the ice with the boys and did a few bits and pieces with them before they went away.

“It was an enjoyable experience, great to be part of the team and around the boys.

“From a coaching side of things, I’d never been in that environment, so I learned a lot.

“Then Pete was looking for an assistant coach [for the Cardiff Devils] and from there conversations started to happen.

“My passion for the game has continued to be there and a move into coaching is the right step."

To any former teammate it would be obvious that Myers has much to offer. His appearance numbers alone are among the highest in the British game.

As well as picking up a trophy for almost as many seasons as he played, Myers was the second player to pass 1000 Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) games and is one of the greatest to have suited-up for Great Britain.

Myers played in five Olympic qualifying torunaments and 19 World Championships for his country.

The ex-forward was part of GB's gold medal-winning campaigns in Belfast (2017), Hungary (2018) and Nottingham (2023), along with three silver medals and a bronze.

By the time he retired from international hockey Myers had 114 caps for his country, putting him four behind the current record holder, Cardiff captain Mark Richardson.

Another unexpected element to Myers taking up a coaching role is the fact he chose Cardiff. In the summer of 2020 the Devils told him he would not be retained for a season that was eventually cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The world got shutdown due to Covid and obviously hockey was part of it," Myers recalled.

“And then I was not required back here, which was really disappointing.

“It’s my hometown team and I thought I’d be finishing my career here and it turned out that wasn’t the case.

“I didn’t want to have Covid call it a day on my time playing, and I’m glad I didn’t."

'It feels like I’ve never really left'

Matthew Myers won back-to-back league titles with Cardiff Devils in 2017 and 2018 followed by consecutive play-off trophies in 2018 and 2019

In 2021 Myers was picked up by Sheffield Steelers for the Elite Series – a four-team competition played behind closed doors to give UK fans domestic hockey and Great Britain players ice-time before the 2021 World Championships, as ice hockey looked to deal with the effect of Covid-19 regulations.

Myers then signed a short-term deal with Nottingham Panthers which saw him stay for two seasons and become club captain.

Myers had also been released by the Devils in 2015, and four years after his last departure his return to the club is as much of a surprise to him as anyone else.

“It’s quite bizarre to be honest, because I truly didn’t think that leaving after the Covid year that there would be a chance that I’d be back in Cardiff," he said.

“When you leave a club multiple times you don’t expect to be coming back again, but it’s professional sport.

“Now it feels like I’ve never really left to be honest.

“I’m starting from scratch, but I’m learning from two great people.

“Pete’s been extremely successful here and in Europe, done amazing things with the national team.

“And Kinger [Euan King] is fantastic with everything he does in hockey.

“My goal is to add value to the team this year and hope that I can help the players develop skills on and off the ice.

“Be confident, be ready to play and ultimately try and win something."

Devils target silverware

After Sheffield’s triple winning season last year, the Devils - along with other teams in the Elite League – over-hauled their squad to ensure they will be able to mount a challenge to the Steelers.

“There are some very, very good players who have arrived in the league this summer and likewise in our team," Myers said.

“We're going to do our best to perform every night and then hopefully the result will be some sort of silverware.

“It’s not going to be easy, but that’s got to be the target.”

Cardiff open their EIHL campaign against Glasgow at the Vindico Arena on Saturday, 14 September (19:00 BST), before visiting Guildford Flames in the Challenge Cup on Sunday, 15 September (18:00 BST)