“To these players,” says Ed Courtenay, gesturing towards his team coach, “this is the NHL.”

Remember Ed Courtenay? How could you forget. He was our stick tossing, high scoring, play making on/off player coach for three years. He was a line-mate to Theo Fleury, one of the most devastating duo’s ever to play together in British Hockey history. Yep, how ever could you forget. Well, he is still playing, still toiling out there on the minor-pro-bush-league circuit, a mercenary, a soldier of fortune, a one time NHLer now playing at a level below the British Elite League. Courtenay is in it for the money and for the love of the game and Ollie Williams of the BBC ran an excellent article on Courtenay’s journey from the NHL to Altrincham where he continues his playing career alongside the man he replaced as coach at the Giants, Tony Hand.

“As much as I wanted to get to 20 years, I was ready in year 17. But the job market out there is not the easiest, is it? Out there in the real world. And if you do have a job, you’re not giving it up to get on the dole. So it worked out for both of us: the team and myself.

— Ed Courtenay, Oct ‘09

It has only been on sale a little over 24-hours but is already the number one best seller at amazon.ca. Theo Fleury’s tell all book is flying off the shelves and yesterday I went and picked myself up a copy. I’ve only really got into the first few dozen pages so will write some further review upon finishing my read, but already I can see how hard hitting and heavy a read it is going to be.

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Reporting this is hardly reporting considering the news broke almost a week ago but I figured I’d mention it in passing anyway, if only for record sake.

Theo didn’t make the Calgary Flames NHL team. He was cut in the final few days of camp after putting up four points in four games as well as a shootout winner. It wasn’t enough for the Flames management who were only going to sign Theo if he could play on the top two lines. It appears he couldn’t in their eyes. Theo addressed this at the start of the week and decided he would call it a day on his NHL career and comeback attempt but was happy to have been given the shot, to have proven to himself he could hold his own in the NHL, to pull on the Flames jersey again and to go out of the NHL on his terms and with class.

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Theo Fleury is continue with his hopes of returning all the way back to the top of the hockey world after a four-year absence by attending the Calgary Flames training camp, the team were he started his NHL career and won his one and only Stanley Cup ring twenty years ago. Reports suggest he turned up to camp in the best shape of his life proven by the fact he had a Vo2 reading of 60 and an 8% body fat count. When he took to the ice the Calgary players seen what the Giants fans knew from a few years back, Theo still had the hands for the game as he impressed all before him. Read More»

Giants single season legend Theo Fleury is coming back to hockey and at the highest level. That news hit the press last month but today Theo was officially reinstated to the NHL by commissioner Gary Betteman and can now go about trying out for a team who might be interested in his services. Read More»

If you are thinking that headline might mean a comeback to the Belfast Giants then I am sorry to disappoint. No Theo is thinking of going one step further … to make a comeback to the NHL. It may seem ridiculous and Theo has said this once or twice before but all media reports seem to suggest that this time it could indeed be for real. Theo has said he has been working out a lot and feels he is at NHL level and has already wrote to the NHL to apply for reinstatement. Currently he is suspended indefinitely because of his substance abuse problems in the past, which he is now well and truly over — Theo has been sober for four years and has found God. But at 41-years of age a comeback to any elite level sport is hard … it’s hard enough maintaining elite level play at 41 never mind coming back after so many years away. So why do it, and can he do it?

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Amid all the fighting and the debating about the morals of it, one thing that has been overlooked is the return of Ed Courtenay onto the Odyssey ice. Ed Courtenay was a great player for the Giants in his time here and the coach that lead us to our second ever league championship and for that I’ll always be grateful as a fan. I wasn’t at the game last night but watching the highlights video on the post below it was great to see him on the ice again.

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Last year Carlyle entertained us all with his physical play and fighting ability. He proved himself to be one of, if not thee, toughest guy in the league and on a number of occasions beat down some of the leagues top fighter. The big man became a hit in the Odyssey and I for one recalled how much I loved it back in January. I know I wasn’t alone in hoping he would return this year, especially after his strong performance (one of few in the squad) during the short playoffs run.

The bad news now however is that he has signed for rivals Coventry Blaze and he will be hitting and fighting our new stars. Read More»

I have a little section on this site dedicated to the legends of the Belfast Giants. In order to be part of this exclusive group you have to be no longer playing for Belfast and you have to have been a star in your time here and a player people are going to really remember ten years down the line. The latest member — Ed Courtenay

Maybe I’m wrong but I believe all the ones on the list deserve to be there and I know I for sure will remember them ten years from now. Courtenay who spent his time here as player/coach, was never too far away from the top of the scoring charts in the league and was never to far away from the correct end of the table as a coach. Sure things started badly last season but Ed turned it around as the Giants gained — if anything — some respectability.
Anyway, that isn’t what Ed will be remembered for in his time in Belfast, it is more likely to be things like:

The Playmaking
The stick throwing
The League title
The Ed/Theo combo
The two playoff final four appearances

There’s no doubt Ed has left his footprints on the Giants history and that is why, now that he has moved on and retired, that he finds himself being added to the exclusive group. I put him in there — there really was no need for a vote.

If you do believe there is someone in there that doesn’t deserve to be there or there is someone missing from the list that should be there feel free to leave a comment. I cannot guarantee it will be taken into consideration however!!

It appears that veteran Giants blue liner Roman Gavalier is leaving town for pastures new. Roman has signed for MHK VTRJ Kezmarok in what I assume must be his homeland Slovakia. Gavalier will go down as one of the all-time best Giants defensemen and a true fan favorite. The Slovak joined the Giants in the 2004-2005 season before leaving to play the following year in Poland. He returned yet again in the 2006-2007 season where he played right through until this past season. Read More»