Fife Flyers’ new defenceman arrived in Kirkcaldy on Saturday morning after flying from Montreal to Newark near New York and then picking-up a trans-Atlantic jet to Edinburgh, arriving at 7am.
Simon Despres then jumped on the team bus en-route to the club’s Elite League fixture at high-flying Sheffield Steelers.
Fife will assess his fitness pre-game and hope he can ice. Despres will then travel back overnight with his new team-mates, catch a few hours sleep and then, hopefully, play against Cardiff Devils on Sunday at Kirkcaldy.
A debut in the tough double-header against two of the Elie League heavyweights is one thing, but throw in a long flight and two bus trips then that is a tough schedule even for an experienced ice hockey player who has logged air miles during a lengthy career.
For the record, the league bottom-markers ice at Sheffield at 19.00 and entertain Devils on Sunday (17.00), the Welsh combine’s third game in three nights having stopped off at Glasgow Clan on Friday (19.30) and Dundee Stars on Saturday (19.00).
Sheffield are third in the ten-strong table with 15 points from ten games and Devils are second, a point behind pace-setting, Nottingham Panthers, with 15 points from nine starts. They have a game in hand over the men from the Lace City.
The games should not faze the 34-year-old blue liner who has previously iced for Nottingham Panthers and Clan, but travel could take its toll.
Looking at form, Sheffield edged Guildford Flames 4-3 after overtime at the Utilita Arena in Yorkshire on Wednesday, Mitchell Balmas scoring the game-winner, and Aaron Fox, Sheffield’s coach, loved the effort of his men. He added: “We were on it.”
Fox felt his squad were unlucky to be 1-0 down at the end of the first session and 3-3 at the final whistle in regulation time. The American said: “It was a good bounce back for us.”
Sheffield needed the win as the Yorkshire combine were thumped 4-0 at The House of Steel by Cardiff Devils on Sunday.
Fife went down 4-1 at Coventry Blaze and have failed to win in 14 games and the newcomer is up for the challenge to turn Fife’s fortunes around.
Despres was a former Round One, 30th overall, round draft pick with Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 before making 222 appearances in the NHL with Penguins and Anaheim Ducks.
The 6ft 4in, Canadian-born player registered 50 points from seven goals and 43 assists in the world’s top league.
Quebec-born Despres has also iced in the American Hockey League (AHL) for San Diego Gulls and Laval Rockets as well as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, as he is well travelled with experience in numerous top leagues in Europe.
So far this term, Despres has played nine games with Saint-Hyacinthe Batallion in the Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey, a semi-professional league in Quebec and he stressed: “I’m embracing the challenge of turning this boat around.”
Jamie Russell, Fife’s head coach, believes it should be a seamless transition for the experienced player as he knows the league and he added: “We’ll assess Simon when he gets here but, if all goes to play, we will pick him up from the flight and he’ll be with us in Sheffield.”
WELCOME: Jamie Russell (left) welcomes Simon to Kirkcaldy. Picture courtesy of Fife Flyers
