Chalmers and Domish give Blaze hope

The Coventry Blaze have signed defenseman Steven Chalmers on a permanent contract after the Scotsman impressed in pre-season matches.

Having originally signed on a two-way contract with Telford of the EPL, Chalmers has opted to spend the season back at the Elite League level after playing the previous two seasons with Dundee (2011-12) and Braehead (2010-11).

Coach Paul Thompson said, “He joined up with us for pre-season and I was really impressed with how he played. He is a smart player and someone we can look to develop.” Chalmers was also quoted as saying, “It was a very hard choice to leave Tigers, but I’ve had some good offers from the Elite League, and after talking them through with my family, I felt it was too good to turn down. I would like to thank Tom Watkins and everyone at the club (Telford) for their help and understanding, and wish the guys all the best for the season.”

The Blaze were understandably desperate to obtain some extra staff for the roster with Mike Danton still unavailable due to visa issues and both Russ Cowley and Jerramie Domish on the injured list, leaving the Blaze with just four senior defenseman for the next few weeks. Whilst Cowley would appear to be out for around four weeks, Domish has received some good news after a scan on his injury and is now expected to only be sitting in the stands for around six weeks, much less than the original three months expected. This is important for the club as they head into a vital stretch of games against Erhardt conference opposition, starting this weekend with a double header against Sheffield.