Fife Flyers have confirmed the signing of two defencemen. Canadian Adam Holwell and Finnish blue-liner Aleksi Makela (pictured) will make their debuts in the Elite League.
New coach Tom Coolen feels they arrive with the experience he needs to help build a competitive team.
Holwell arrives from East Coast Hockey League side Newfoundland Growlers where he played 17 games last season after switching from St Francis Xavier University and he is a 6ft-tall, left-shooting defenceman.
Among his other teams are Moncton Wildcats and Acadie-Bathurst Titan.
The 26-year-old confirmed this will be his first time outside North America and he told fans: “My best quality is the ability to take control of the game with clean breakout passes and jumping into the rush.”
Coolen said Holwell is a skilled, Memorial Cup-winning defenceman who can be used in all situations.
Mäkelä was selected by National Hockey League club, Dallas Stars, in the seventh round, 182 overall, in the 2013 entry draft and is a 30-year-old is 5ft 11in tall. He played several seasons for Kärpät, the most successful Finnish ice hockey team in the 21st century, and he has iced in three Champions Hockey League campaigns, playing 15 games.
Makela spent last season at top-flight Italian team Ritten/Renon playing 38 games in the Alps hockey league and said: “I can battle in front of the net and in corners and I am able to open up the game to the forwards and also join the rushes.
“For me, this is a new challenge and this is also a new adventure for me, my wife and our dog.”
Coolen said: “Aleksi brings 250 games from the highest level of Finnish hockey to Kirkcaldy. He was a SMLiga champion with Karpat and played for the European Champions League winner.”
PICTURE: Courtesy of Fife Flyers and taken by Jarno Hietanen
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