Ice hockey – tough Sol in to beef up Clan

Canadian defenceman Cody Sol is the 11th recruit for Glasgow Clan, sponsored by Aspray Glasgow West.

The six foot six, no-nonsense blue-liner will give the Clan some physical presence and he said: “It’s an exciting opportunity for me after playing in this league (East Coast Hockey League) for nine years.

“I’d heard so much from my friends who have played overseas that I wanted to come over and do it myself.

“It also gives me the chance meet different people and experience different cultures rather than stay in Canada or America.”

He added: “The team looks a good crew the coach is putting together, with some young talents out of college and some experienced guys that I’ve come up against in the past.

“There looks like a good leadership group there already and the group we’re assembling has a lot of skill and can score goals.”

Sol (picture Florida Everblades) is swapping the sunshine-state of Florida for Glasgow to make his British debut after playing in the East Coast Hockey League, for Fort Wayne Komets, Ontario Reign and Colorado Eagles and more recently, with Florida Everblades.

He also played in the OHL with Kitchener Rangers and Saginaw Spirit in his early days and in his nine years in the ECHL saw him average 144 penalty minutes a year.

Malcolm Cameron, Clan’s coach, said Sol will be one of his key players and added: “Cody is a big, veteran defenceman who plays a lot of minutes.

“He has good size, a good shot and works well with the stick and can play on both special teams, in powerplay and in penalty kill.

“He’s also a good leader, on and off the ice, and someone who will undoubtedly stick up for his team-mates as evidenced by his CV.”

He added: “Cody has been a big player, wherever he’s gone and has played for some successful teams in the ECHL.”