Bison: Waiting game

After weeks of watching players walk out of the door, Basingstoke player-coach Eric Braff is glad to have someone walk in the door.

Brad Cruikshank, Mark Richardson, Matt Miller, Jason Goulet, Curtiss Patr...all left the club when its financial position became even worse.

But the Bison announced on Saturday that two new imports have committed to the club and now it's all a matter of work permits.

If it wasn't for Kevin Reiter's heroics, the last month would have been a even harder one for Braff, who is happy to be making progress.

“It’s tough we have had offers out for a while for other players and it’s frustrating because you get delayed,” Braff said in an interview with skysports.com.

“Some guy says he’s going to come but then he’s not any more. That’s what we’ve been running into, but we’re at the point now where we are just waiting for paperwork at the moment. Hopefully, we can get the work permits done to get them here as soon as possible because we could definitely use the extra bodies.”

The Bison have brought in several younger British players since Planet Ice took control of the team at the end of October and are hoping to have the two new imports in place soon.

Attracting overseas players to Basingstoke has proved difficult because of its publicised financial problems, but Braff has welcomed the change in atmosphere around the club and thanked the new owners for helping out.

“Things have changed but the aspect of new players coming in hasn’t really, yet,” Braff added.

“But that’s got nothing to do with the owners or Planet Ice and that’s just the way it goes sometimes. We’ve definitely seen a change in attitude from the guys, who are happier now. We just need the reinforcements to come in and hopefully that will happen in soon.”

Bison on another planet

The Elite League table doesn't lie.

There is a clear divide between the haves and the have nots.

On one hand there are those with solid financial backing, sponsorship deals and high attendances. And on the other there are the clubs still reeling from the collapse of Zoom airlines, failed agreements and relatively low crowds.

The Basingstoke Bison are clearly in the latter, but at least they won't be heading into the third category, which is reserved for teams not in the Elite League.

After Planet Ice stepped in to save the Herd, Basingstoke player-coach Eric Braff told skysports.com just how desperate things had become for the ailing team in recent days before the takeover.

A statement released on Monday confirmed that Planet Ice have taken control of the Bison, securing the club’s future for at least the remainder of the season.

“Players were coming up three of four times a week asking: “What’s going on – are we even going to make it through the weekend?” Braff told skysports.com.

“The mental side of it takes a toll and having to worry about your pay cheque and getting evicted from your houses is tough because we all had eviction letters.”

Braff, who became player coach following the resignation of Ryan Aldridge earlier this month, knows that there are still a lot of matters to resolve despite the team’s new ownership.

“Planet Ice may have announced that they have taken over, but there’s still going to be a lot of unsettled business for the players and staff,” Braff added.

“It will be an interesting couple of weeks but by mid November we should be a smooth running ship and all of this will be behind us and we can concentrate on playing hockey.”

In addition to the financial worries, Braff’s job has been made even harder following the departure of three key players.

Captain Brad Cruikshank left last week to join the Sheffield Steelers, British forward Mark Richardson has asked to be released from his contract and Canadian defenceman Jason Goulet decided to return home.

Following the initial press release, Braff also confirmed further details regarding the takeover and the position of former owner Tomas Enerston.

“Tomas is now out of the picture completely,” Braff said.

“Planet Ice have taken over and they are here for the year. We’re going to be here for the remainder of the season, which is a huge relief for the players, fans and town of Basingstoke.”