Phillips is a Giant again
The Stena Line Belfast Giants are pleased to announce the signing of David Phillips to a two year contract bringing the Great Britain International back to the Giants after three seasons away from Belfast.
Phillips was last seen in a Giants jersey in 2008/09 when he was a part of the double championship winning team that won the British Knock Out Cup and the Challenge Cup in the same season.
Since then, Phillips has played two seasons in North America first in the American Hockey League mostly with the Rockford IceHogs, the top affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks as well as a season spent mostly in the East Coast Hockey League. Last season, Phillips split time between the Elite League’s Coventry Blaze and Sonderjskye in the top league in Denmark. In 51 games, Phillips notched 5 goals and 21 assists for 26 points.
Phillips is 6 foot 3 inches tall, weighs 210 lbs (15 stone) and is a solid defensive defenseman. Most recently, he was on the top defensive unit for the Great Britain National Team in Slovenia where Giants Head Coach Doug Christiansen was very impressed with his play.
“Davey has all the tools. He is big, skates well, has good hands and wants to get better. I am not looking for him to be our top offensive d-man but he will play significant minutes for the Giants next season. I expect him to play a smart simple game and be a big part of our defensive core.
“Last season he was under a lot of pressure to be the top d-man in Coventry. He will not have that same pressure in Belfast. I expect him to be big part of why we win, not the sole reason why we win. My goal is for him to be a better player next March than he is in September. I am excited to work with him and help develop him.”
The Giants originally brought Phillips to Belfast from the Hull Stingrays and General Manager Todd Kelman knows what he is capable of doing for the Giants next season.
“When Davey came to us in 2008, he was only 21 years old and very raw. Over the course of the season, I saw him go from our 5th defenseman in the depth chart to the top defenseman on the team. He was our best penalty killer, he scored some huge goals for us and played his way into being our go to guy on defense in every situation.
“I am extremely excited to get Davey back, he was a real fan favorite in Belfast when he was here the first time around and I know our supporters will be excited to have him back in a Giants jersey once again.”
Phillips will wear the number 13, the same number he wore when he won two titles with the Belfast Giants during the 2008/09 season.
