This year's Hull Stingrays were supposed to be rough, tough and good enough.
Jonathan Bernier, Jake Riddle and Rick Kozak were expected to form the core of a team built around power, size and an eagerness to drop the gloves.
Not for long.
Less than two months into the season all three have moved on, forcing the Rays to adjust and find their identity again.
Enter Konstantin Kalmikov.
Since arriving in Hull, the Ukrainian power-forward has notched five points in three games, breathing new life into the drowning Stingrays. Kalmikov converted his penalty shot in the 4-3 win against Newcastle on Saturday and, together with Matt Reynolds and Lee Mitchell, has quickly given Hull coach Rick Strachan a go-to forward unit.
"They just all gelled together quickly," Strachan told skysports.com
"We've been fortunate to get a guy with stats like Kalmikov. Until he joined us, he hadn't played a proper game since last April. Kalmikov does a lot ofthings right, he's a not a flashy guy who will score a highlight reel goal, but he shoots the puck extremely hard and will create space for his line-mates."
After previously favouring European imports when Hull joined the Elite League, Strachan turned to North America to beef the Rays up. However, with Kalmikov the Rays have a balance of muscle and flair that may tempt Strachan back to Eastern Europe as he tries to find another replacement forward.
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2 comments:
Its been a strange season for the Rays but last night against the Vipers gave me some real hope, especially with Kozaks replacement apparently a "skilled player". Kalmikov has been brilliant thus far, five assists in three.
P.S- Good to see another blogger joining the army of British hockey bloggers.
Sure thing gs. I've linked your Rays blog in, looks like you guys have a competitive team in the making that should take some points off the big boys.
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