Cardiff Devils refresh roster for 2025-26 season

Brett Perlini (centre) scored four goals, including a hat-trick, in Cardiff Devils' Continental Cup final success

With a new head coach at the helm for the 2025-26 Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) season, Cardiff Devils have also overhauled their squad.

Paul Thompson - who has replaced Peter Russell in charge of the Welsh club - has drafted in nine fresh faces in addition to 14 players kept from last season's roster.

Cardiff finished fourth in the EIHL last season before losing to Nottingham Panthers in the Play-Off final. The club also won their first European trophy, picking up the IIHF Continental Cup in January.

They begin the new campaign in Nottingham on Saturday, 13 September - the first of eight Challenge Cup fixtures - with their opening EIHL game at home to Thompson's former side Coventry Blaze on Saturday, 11 October.

How many players are there on an EIHL roster?

The overall number of players a team can use in one season is 25 players - excluding injured reserve replacements and 'two-way players'.

Clubs can register as many 'two-way players' as they wish but they must be homegrown, under the age of 25 and contracted primarily to an EIH (English Ice Hockey) or SIH (Scottish Ice Hockey) based team competing in a league lower than the EIHL.

A gameday roster can have a maximum of 20 players - 18 skaters and 2 goalies - with no more than 15 non-homegrown players.

All teams must have at least one British goaltender registered to their overall roster.

Cardiff Devils roster for 2025-26

New signings

• Brandon Estes (USA, Defenceman)

• Brodie Kay (Great Britain, Defenceman)

• Tyson Helgesen (Canada, Defenceman)

• Connor Caponi (USA, Forward)

• Cedric Lacroix (Canada, Forward)

• Christian Stoever (USA, Netminder)

• Nolan Yaremko (Canada, Forward)

• Jimmy Oligny (Canada, Defenceman)

• Kristoff Kontos (Canada, Forward)

Returning

• Evan Mosey (USA, Defenceman)

• Gleason Fournier (Canada, Defenceman)

• Ryan Barrow (Canada, Forward)

• Kohen Olischefski (Canada, Forward)

• Josh MacDonald (Canada, Forward)

• Joey Martin (Canada, Forward)

• Sam Duggan (Great Britain, Forward)

• Mark Richardson (Great Britain, Defenceman)

• Ben Davies (Great Britain, Forward)

• Ben Bowns (Great Britain, Netminder)

• Cole Sanford (Canada, Forward)

• Brett Perlini (Great Britain, Forward)

• Riley Brandt (Canada, Forward)

• Bayley Harewood (Great Britain, Forward)

Pre-season games

Saturday, 16 August

Cardiff Devils 5-1 Rapaces de Gap (France)

Sunday, 17 August

Cardiff Devils 5-1 Rapaces de Gap (France)

Sunday, 24 August

Cardiff Devils 2-3 Concordia University (Canada)

Saturday, 30 August

Sheffield Steelers v Cardiff Devils 19:00 BST

Sunday, 31 August

Cardiff Devils v Sheffield Steelers 17:00 BST

Friday, 5 September

Cardiff Devils v Nottingham Panthers 19:00 BST

Saturday, 6 September

Guildford Flames v Cardiff Devils 18:00 BST