General Manager Todd Kelman announced today that the LBM Belfast Giants have signed 27 year old Canadian forward Jeffrey Szwez. Szwez comes to Belfast after spending last season in Philadelphia with the Phantoms in the American Hockey League where he scored 12 goals in 69 games. The 6’3” winger has spent most of the last five years of his professional career in the American Hockey League, the top affiliate league of the NHL.

— belfastgiants.com, 18 October 2009

Szwez from what you read, what you hear and the stats you see will be the ideal guy to replace George Awada. He is big, strong, can hit hard, has a nose for goal and can drop the gloves. All the sort of qualities Awada brought to the Giants team before he went down for the rest of the season with injury. You could even go as far as to call Szwez a poor man’s Paxton Schulte and if that proves to be the case then we’re in for a treat of a player.

Read More»

With George Awada now confirmed to be gone for the year and with coach Steve Thornton rumored to be playing hurt temporarily in his place, the Giants have gone out and filled the big void left by George by adding power forward Bobby Robins. The name won’t be unfamiliar to Giants fans considering just last season he scored 29 goals and 64 points in 59 games.

Read More»

With the usual ‘financial problems’ talks doing the rounds at this time of year the Giants have got conspiracy theorists everywhere jumping at obvious conclusions by signing Davy Phillips’ brother Kevin as his replacement after he left the team to play in the AHL. There is talk that somewhere in some conspiracy safe house somewhere in the outskirts of Belfast people are pointing fingers at Steve Thornton saying he signed Kevin Phillips simply to save the Giants from having to buy a new jersey and crests it with someone else’s name. Kevin Phillips can just wear the one bought for his brother.

Other fans are raising concerns about the Giants’ defensive depth this coming season but I have neither the time nor the energy to get into such a speculative debate just yet. We’re still in mid-July have still a month and a half before the team take to the ice in anger.

The signings are coming thick and fast now by Steve Thornton with Canadian Pat Bateman being the latest to join up. He signs on as a player and also a student with the University of Ulster through the Giants Scholarship Programme. The 26-year old spent last season in the ECHL with Gwinnett Gladiators and is a product of the NCAA system with Michigan University.

Read More»

I say this each year when the Giants sign on Graeme Walton or one of the local players, but I cannot believe he is heading onto his 7th season. Back in 03-04 when he made his nerve filled debut for the Giants I barely expected him to see out that season never mind be here at the end of the decade. Wally has played 346 games for the Giants in his career now and that is good for 3rd in the all-time list. Amazing.

Also being announced was another new signing and another new British one at that. Goaltender Stephen Murphy. He replaces Stevie Lyle who last week chose to sign in Cardiff despite having a year left on his Giants contract . . . whether he was released or walked remains to be seen but the Giants were quick off the mark to replace him with a fellow Brit.

Read More»

Ah ha. For the first time since the days of Mel Angelstad the Giants will be starting with an out-and-out enforcer in the ranks. Sean McMorrow, the self declared new sheriff in town, has been recruited as the latest police man on the Giants squad and going by the size of the man and the penalty minutes he has racked up over a glittering career of pugilism, he could very well be as tough as they come. Suffice to say he racked up a meager 527 penalty minutes in one season alone a few years back.

There have been rumors of McMorrow signing for a few years now but it never came to pass but finally the Giants top brass have got their man. It should spell the end of the rumours of what will happen to Jason Rushton as I seriously cannot see him returning now that McMorrow is in the fold. The guy is loaded with minor league experience from the NHL’s top affiliate league the AHL to the fighting league of Quebec the LNAH. He even cracked the show for a single game on 22 March 2003.

Read More»

Tom Walsh’s dreams of cracking the NHL might be behind him now but for one lost dream stems the realisation of another . . . Tom Walsh will not only get to play for the Belfast Giants, but he will also be studying at the University of Ulster.

The 26-year old defenseman is the first import signing by Steve Thornton this off season. Here is what the G-Org had to say about it. . . . Read More»

With a new Brit signed up last week it was time to continue putting together the British core of the team and Thronton did that by bringing back his best two British players from last years team; Colin Shields and Dave Phillips. Signing on Shields was a formality given that last year he inked a two year deal, though with Lyle leaving his two year contract to sign in Cardiff this past weekend, nothing in British hockey is literally a formality.

Read More»

With Thornton back as coach and with Shields and Lyle on two year contracts all the was left to set the off season in full motion was some new players. A few days ago, we finally got one. Craig Peacock a 20-year old forward from the EPL will be joining up. A highly talented young player, Peacock will be looking to shine with the Giants after a short spell at the EIHL level with Basingstoke last year.

While Manchester City rock the footballing world by closing in on the signing of Kaka, the Belfast Giants have shook the hockey world by signing one Jason Rushton. The headline on the Giants official website proclaimed that the Giants had signed a ‘Showman’. Within hours of the announcement the message board on KotG was crammed with posts coming in so fast that the reading eye could hardly keep up. Oh, nothing raises the debating juices quite like a new signing — especially when he comes to play with his fists. Read More»