Every season, Head Coaches around the EIHL spend countless hours building their team for the following season.

From conversations with the players themselves, their agents, former coaches and teammates, ultimately each coach has a many difficult decisions to make over the course of the summer, and during the season to decide who will make their team, and who doesn’t make the cut.

Not every move will work out, sometimes a player won’t live up to the coaches expectations and in turn the expectations of the fan base, but when it does work out, it can be the difference between lifting trophies, or watching your rivals lift them instead.

While no trophies have been lifted in the 2019/20 season just yet, here’s a look at one new player from each team who has made a huge impact on their new employer after either joining the team over the summer, or as a mid-season acquisition.

Belfast Giants – Bobby Farnham

I imagine unless you’re a Giants fan, you’re not going to like this pick, after all, that’s the way he plays the game, to make you not like him.

But there’s no denying the impact that Farnham has had on the Giants roster, proving to be an incredibly energetic forward who will throw hits and knuckles with the best of them. But it’s not just about his tenacity and his physical play, Farnham is second on the Giants roster for goals right now with 13 on the season, adding 14 assists to his name for a 27-point campaign which is good enough for fifth most on the team.

You might look back at some of his previous seasons in North America and some of the antics, and the penalty minutes and not expect too much from the 31-year-old forward, but he’s well and truly silenced those critics with just simply put, a great season of hockey.

As quickly as he can unsettle you and throw you off your game with a verbal exchange or his physical play, he can also create a play for his team.

While the Giants have brought in some other impact players this year like Brian Ward, Curtis Hamilton and Shane Owen, Farnham is arguably the most eye catching new name to the Giants this season, and one who deserves more respect than he gets for his contributions to the team this year.

Cardiff Devils – Sam Jardine

I will make no apologies for this choice, Sam Jardine since around November time has arguably been one of the most important players on the Cardiff Devils roster and I have made it no secret how much I’ve loved him in a Devils jersey this year.

It is worth mentioning before we dive in, but the arrival of Shaone Morrisonn has also helped Jardine elevate his role in the team, but Jardine has really emerged as a dual threat, proving himself as a very strong defenseman with a lot of desire to create plays from his own zone either with an accurate first pass across the blue line, or by carrying the puck up ice.

In his own end, he’s exceptionally strong, and for a guy not putting up many points, he plays the style of defensive and two-way game that catches your eye when you’re watching a Devils game. With him adding stability to an admittedly already strong back end for the Devils, to me Jardine has come up clutch a lot this season in more ways than just getting on the scoresheet. Smart pinches, good cover recognition and gap control, Jardine can really neutralise an attack, and start one of his own.

Coventry Blaze – C.J. Motte

He may not have started the year in Coventry, but he’s certainly helping them to a potentially great end of the season.

I doubt it’s coincidence that since Motte joined the side in December, no team has been in better form. They’ve dropped just two games in regulation since, lost by more than one goal once and have points in 11 straight games as they have turned into a later challenger for the title.

Motte can be a sixth skater at times, exceptionally confident at playing the puck, and has even been an option to start a rush for the offence with a great outlet pass, something we usually praise defensemen for, not goalies. But when he is guarding the net, he’s up there with the best in the league.

His positioning and movement in net as well have been crucial for the Blaze who enter this weekend in fifth spot in the league, but look really threatening in their quest for a top four finish, and with Mottes heroics in net have really turned the team into one that nobody really wants to face going into the final weeks of the season, and with their run of form, they could turn into a dark horse for playoff glory for the first time since 2015.

Dundee Stars – Kevin Dufour

The Stars have a good history of bringing in impact forwards over the years, and Kevin Dufour is just the latest name to join that list.

He’s lethal on the puck, with 23 goals on the season, possessing a quick shot, quick legs and just a great offensive skillset that has really helped a Stars side that may be out of the playoff spots at the moment, but have had moments this season where they have been among the leading teams in terms of goals for.

Dufour has been a joy to watch this season, setting a career high in goals (23), assists (19) and points (42) in his third full season as a pro, and he’s going to be relied on heavily, along with the likes of another new face in Anthony Beauregard, and returnees like Matt Marquardt and Drydn Dow to help with Dundee’s efforts to make it to the post-season, with the team entering this weekends action out of the playoff spots in ninth position, but just one point away from changing that fate.

Fife Flyers – Tim Crowder

It’s been a tough year for the Fife Flyers, but the addition of Tim Crowder has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise gloomy campaign.

There was very little doubt that Tim Crowder would succeed after his move from Coventry over the summer to join brother Paul in Fife, and he’s lived up to the hype.

Entering the final weeks of the year, Crowder is currently second in team scoring behind Danick Gauthier with 37-points on the year, leading the team with 25-assists to his name.

Fife have admittedly had their struggles this season, and if their fortunes were better than chances are Tim Crowder’s stats would jump out at you a lot more than they do right now, but there is no denying that he’s been an impactful player since joining Fife, and if they’re to mount a push for the playoffs between now and the end of the season, Tim Crowder is going to be a big part of that challenge.

Glasgow Clan – Nolan LaPorte

LaPorte is one of those signings that when he’s announced you don’t quite know what sort of offensive potential he’ll have in this league, but you know he’ll be a fun player to watch.

A sticky forward, LaPorte plays with great toughness every shift, and can hold his own physically with some big bodies around the league.

Add 33-points on a Glasgow Clan side that has had a fair few struggles this season, and LaPorte has proven to be a very solid addition to the roster, and one that I personally look forward to watching whenever he’s out for a shift.

While Glasgow have enjoyed successful spells, and some tough times, LaPorte has been a constant in the Clan roster, putting up 15-goals and 19-assists for 34-points, tied for the most on the team with returning forward Rasmus Bjerrum.

At 27-years-old, he’s entering the prime of his career, and if the Clan keep him around next year, I’m sure he’ll be a big part of their plans moving forward to try and find consistency in 2020/21 to mount a title charge.

Guildford Flames – Jordan Rowley

It’s actually harder than I thought to pick a guy from Guildford for this list, not because nobody deserves it, but because Paul Dixon has done such a good job of keeping a core group together that they don’t actually have that many new guys on their roster.

While the new guys they have brought in have all been good additions, and if Braylon Shmyr had been in the squad longer then he may have been the choice, the one for me is defenseman Jordan Rowley.

He has a great ability to distribute the puck, and in a defensive unit that features the likes of Calle Ackered and Jesse Craige, he’s able to fly under the radar a little bit more because of how well know those two are at the offensive side of the game.

But it’s not just on the puck, creating plays and totalling 20 assists on the year, but he’s also a great player away from the puck as well, really helping the Flames have a very stingy defence that at times this season has been among the league best when it comes to the fewest goals against.

Rowley is just one of many solid additions brought into the Flames set up since they joined the EIHL, and with some many new players doing well, this was probably the hardest one to pick.

Manchester Storm – Jared Aulin

The oldest guy on the list, it’s not going to be often that a guy pushing 40 is going to crack one of these lists, but to be fair it was a toss up between 37-year-old Jared Aulin and 39-year-old Layne Ulmer.

As much as I love Layne Ulmer from his days here in Cardiff, being as great of a person as he was player, for me Jared Aulin has really come in and taken his team by, well by Storm (no pun intended).

He’s been in a near year long battle for the most assists in the league, and with 33 to his name coming into this weekend of action, he’s currently third in that category, and his nine goals also give him a team leading 42-points on the year.

With his experiences in North American and Europe over his career, despite his advanced years it’s not really a surprise that he’s adding another impressive season to his CV.

After splitting time in the NLA and DEL last year, Aulin joined his brother-in-law Ulmer in Ryan Finnerty’s squad and have really helped their team offensively, as the Storm currently sit in a playoff spot but will have to battle for the next few weeks to keep it that way.

Nottingham Panthers – Sam Herr

I so badly wanted to pick Kevin Carr to give the Panthers goalie some love and respect, from what has been a superb season for him, but it’s impossible to not pick the guy leading them on the ice and in the locker room.

Sam Herr has been an absolute sensation to watch this season at 26-years-old, and it’s hard to look past him for the pick for the Panthers, and you wouldn’t be wrong if you said he’s the most impactful new face in the league this year.

He’s got size, he’s got strength, he’s got goals, he’s got assists and he’s got leadership abilities, he’s been one hell of a find for Tim Wallace’s side, and after they had a rough start to the season with a lengthy losing spell, the Panthers have snuck up up both the Cardiff Devils and Sheffield Steelers to mount a late title charge, and you definitely wonder if they would still be where they are without Herr in their squad.

Yes they have other new faces making big impacts like Jake Hansen coming in midway through the year, Kevin Carr throwing his name in the race for Goalie of the Year, but Sam Herr is having an absolutely phenomenal season right now.

Sheffield Steelers – Brendan Connolly

This one was probably one of the most difficult ones to single one guy out to talk about. From guys like Marek Troncinsky, Marc-Olivier Vallerand and a whole host of other new faces in the lineup that have put the dark days of last season well and truly in the past, the one that sticks out for me is Brendan Connolly.

Say what you will about him (most of it probably negative) but when he’s not getting under the skin of opponents or fans, Connolly can flat out play.

He’s the type of player you despise if he’s not wearing your colours for his antics on the ice as an agitating forward who loves nothing better than to provoke a reaction, but if he can do that and be among the league leaders in both penalty minutes and points.

He plays hard, takes it over the edge at times, but nobody can seriously deny his talent which we have seen in our league for the last three-seasons now since he joined the Belfast Giants in 2016.

He’s one point shy of another 50-point season, and he leads his team in points with 23-goals to his name and 26-assists, proving himself once again as a great goalscorer and playmaker, that really makes him a difficult player to defend when he’s on his game.

While his agitating style of play won’t appeal to all, he’s a true competitor who’s willing to do anything to win, and that’s exactly what the Steelers need from him as they look to secure their first league title since the 2015/16 season.

But in all reality, the Steelers were bound to have a bounce back season from last year, and Connolly is one of a lot of new faces this year that have helped the Steelers to the top of the standings once again, and he’ll be one of many that are trying to keep them there for the next few weeks.

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