After a fantastic season which saw Matt Ginn’s side finish 4th in the Elite League, the Canadian coach has decided to leave the Storm. Replacing the coach sempt to be a hard task for Ryan Finnerty until Mike Flanagan came along. Flanagan will coach in the EIHL for the first time as he looks to add a new flavour to the Manchester side. After previous spells in Austria, Germany and North America, Flanagan will bring lots of experience to the Storm dressing room and be able to use his vast network to assemble his roster for the upcoming season. With all of his current roster being re-signings, let’s take a look at who is staying put in Altrincham for the 2024/2025 season.
As the netminding duo of Evan Weninger and Alexander Oldale have both re-signed back at the Storm for the 2024/2025 season, lots of eyes will turn to the tandem as they made a name for themselves last campaign. As the resident import of the pairing, Weninger will be expected to play a lot of the games again this season as last year he was the only starter for the Storm. In his 2023/2024 campaign, he boasted a huge save percentage of .929% across 47 league appearances. This is very impressive especially for a team who’s defence often led their goalie out to dry. The 27 year old, who was on the EIHL 2nd all star team last season, will be hoping to hit similar form to that of last season with the 2023/2024 campaign being the Canadians best ever season. Also returning is homegrown newbie Alexander Oldale. Oldale, who is just 19, played 9 league games last season when Weninger got injured. After quickly making a name for himself in the fan base, Oldale agreed to a 2 year contract at the Storm which will see him through until 2026. In his 9 starts, Oldale scored a save percentage of .918% and a goals against average of 3.34. This is very impressive for a young netminder who is expected to go on and play for his country one day. Having this duo back together will be crucial for the Storm as you cannot win games without a good goalie set up.
Also rejoining the Storm is defensive partnership CJ Garcia and Chase Harrison. After signing on for the 2024/2025 season, Harrison and Garcia will be looking to improve on their point scoring tallies as the pair scored 20 points between them last campaign. The Canadians both bring a big size presence to the Storm as they aim to shut down teams to capitalise on their mistakes. It is no secret that both Garcia and Harrison will be playing a slightly different role under new head coach Mike Flanagan. Garcia played a more defensive role last season as he scored 8 points in a full 54 game league season. Since going pro, this is the 6’0” Defenseman’s worst point scoring season. Having played in leagues such as Ligue Magnus (France) and the Romanian divisions, Garcia has a wide range of experience around this level and can be a very good defensive player for the Storm. Harrison also doesn’t score much as his 12 points in 53 games last season was a career best in Europe. Harrison has also played in Romania but also has experience in the East Coast Hockey League.
Also rejoining the Storm is defensive partnership CJ Garcia and Chase Harrison. After signing on for the 2024/2025 season, Harrison and Garcia will be looking to improve on their point scoring tallies as the pair scored 20 points between them last campaign. The Canadians both bring a big size presence to the Storm as they aim to shut down teams to capitalise on their mistakes. It is no secret that both Garcia and Harrison will be playing a slightly different role under new head coach Mike Flanagan. Garcia played a more defensive role last season as he scored 8 points in a full 54 game league season. Since going pro, this is the 6’0” Defenseman’s worst point scoring season. Having played in leagues such as Ligue Magnus (France) and the Romanian divisions, Garcia has a wide range of experience around this level and can be a very good defensive player for the Storm. Harrison also doesn’t score much as his 12 points in 53 games last season was a career best in Europe. Harrison has also played in Romania but also has experience in the East Coast Hockey League.
Also returning is 16 year old Connor Lee. Lee played 39 games for the Storm last season after starting his season in Telford. During his 39 games, he scored 2 points earning him a call up to both Great Britain u18 and u20 squads. It is still unknown whether Lee will play a full season with the Storm or if he will be put onto a two way contract with an NIHL team..
Having not announced any new faces yet for the new season, we are yet to know whether new coach Mike Flanagan will change up the style of play which was successful for the Storm last season.
Author of Article: Will Harris
Editor: Will Harris & Calan Yule
Proofread By: Calan Yule
© EIHL News Central
Comments