Fife Flyers’ new head coach, Jamie Russell, faces his first competitive match in charge on Saturday, and has tried to pack a lot of information into a short space of time, and he hopes his new-look team can take it in.
The Kirkcaldy club travel to Dundee on Saturday (7pm) when they square-up to arch rivals, Stars, at the Dundee Ice Arena. They host Dundee at The Fife Ice Arena on Sunday (5pm).
The Canadian-born coach said the squad have worked on systems, penalty kill, transition play and other aspects of their game, but admitted that will be a challenge for the squad to take everything on board quickly.
The 59-year-old, who has worked in North America and Europe, said: “It is not as if we had a core of players of perhaps a few players from last year and they knew how to play. Nobody knows each other.
“These guys are all new and the pressure for us is learning how we want to play, the style of play, how to learn to be comfortable with our system, and learn that quickly. You cannot play this game with one foot on the gas and one foot off it.”
He added: “It will take time for our system of play to become second-nature, but we are working on it.”
The players have been in the Kirkcaldy area for over a week and the playcaller believes they have acclimatised well.
Gym sessions have boosted fitness the players have worked on over the summer months but he said: “We are trying to learn so much in a short time. It is a challenge, but one we want to take on.”
Fans of the Fife-based Elite League team are anxious to get a glimpse of their new-look side, and the Rosslyn Street faithful are keen for success after suffering last term, finishing bottom of the ten-strong division with only 12 points from 54 games, winning only three games in regulation time and scoring 117 goals and letting in 305.
FIFE FLASHBACK: Flyers v Belfast last season. Picture courtesy of the Elite League
