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!!

We all know that our coach Ed Courtney will bow out at the end of the season and leave the Giants for pastures new. The upcoming games (at least two, at the most four) will be the last of Courtenay’s professional career and he is looking to leave the sport a winner.

Courtenay’s career is a storied one. He has came through the junior systems, worked his way up to the NHL and seen everything there is to see in the minor league circuit. That trail took him to the British Super league, back to America and finally to the Giants where he will make his final stand as a player over the next week. MORE »

So after a terrible start to the year and a 16-game winning streak that pulled them from bottom to top, the Giants have gone back into free fall of late. A new losing streak has seen the boys slide down to forth place thanks to a huge Panthers win against the Bison last night. The Giants are now set to finish outside the top two places in the league for only the third time in their eight year history. The last time they finished forth was under Rob Stewart back in 2003-2004 - The first year of the Elite League - and Stewart duly lost his job. MORE »

There’s strong rumours going around the Ed Courtenay is playing hurt. Rumours strong enough that it is pretty much common knowledge. He’s been sitting out of games, keeping himself on the bench and up until Thursday night not even taking a regular shift. The problem with this is that it is showing throughout the rest of the team. With Ed Courtenay playing hurt - The Belfast Giants play hurt.

You don’t need to have a keen eye to notice the kind of game Courtenay brings to the ice. He has the vision on the ice that most players in the league can only dream of and it feeds off on his line-mates. I’ve blogged about this a number of times over the season about Ed and his line mates - no matter who he has paired himself wth the player has got the goals and looked like one of the best in the league… MORE »

Is it just me or are the Giants fans eating some kind of mind bending drug that I am not yet aware of? I mean some of the things our GM Todd Kelman has had to respond to lately, to quell the panic, are quite ludicrous. I am seriously questioning the reasoning of the hockey knowledge among our fan base more and more by the day. Thankfully however, when I talk to fellow fans that I know, my faith is restored in our fans, so I therefore ask; who are these idiotic people, where are they hiding and who is feeding them?

“I received loads of emails, phone calls and written letters over the last few days on this subject. Some of them were in support of Ed, some were questioning his commitment, some were just rants that made no sense at all. I read and listened to them all, which is why I am writing this response.
–Todd Kelman, February 15, 2008

We win 16-games in a row and then after a few slip up’s people are seriously questioning the commitment of our coach just because he is leaving? Killer should not have to come out and appease the fan’s every other week when some people start to panic that something, anything, could be going wrong.

As Todd clearly said, and a lot of us already knew, Ed was going to be leaving at the end of the year. Does that mean that suddenly now that it’s become public knowledge that he’s going to bomb the season?

Ed Courtenay is a winner, he is a professional and he is a respected hockey player. He has put up huge numbers this season - potentially record breaking numbers - he has lead us from bottom of the league into respectability. He has made the right changes when we have been poor and not been afraid to let players go who have not been up to scratch.

If Ed Courtenay was not committed to the cause, whether he is leaving or not, would he not have just quit when the going got tough back in September? I feel the man is not going to be allowed to go quietly into the night unless he brings us the playoff championship back to the Odyssey.

Seriously, who finds it beneficial to rant to our General Manager like some have felt it necessary to do so?

‘Beware one and all, Ed Courtenay is really the anti-Giant and is leaving at the end of the season!! He is taking us all down with him. Jump ship while you can!! Todd, how can you let something like this happen?’

Man, have I just woke up in some alternative reality?

Calm down, don’t panic, talk to the sane - hear what they have to say - All is still well and Courtenay is still onboard, steering our ship.

As I said a few days ago and I will say again - Ed Courtenay has done us a favour. Unlike the year when Tony Hand decided to walk away - he kept the organisation hanging on, wondering and waiting before rejecting a contract and leaving us searching at the last minute for a coach to build a team in a month. (Thankfully that all worked out perfectly, but it could easily have been oh so different).

This time we have a General Manager who has all the time in the world to find the right replacement for a man who has been a great coach - and that is due in part to Ed being up front with the club from the start.

I just hope some others finally wake up and send Courtenay off with the credit he deserves.

“When the cow is down, the butchers are plenty”

I’m not sure who said that, but I heard it for the first time about another hockey team somewhere else in the world at some point during our 16-game winning streak and for some reason I instantly thought of the Giants fans. I remember saying to someone, “I dread the moment this streak ends, someone or something is going to be a fall guy . . . There will be hell to pay. In Belfast nobody is satisfied”. A good thing or a bad thing aside, it is the bare facts. MORE »

Ed Courtenay is scoring for fun right now and has just turend 40 years of age this week. He’s playing like a man almost half his age and but for the slower speed in his wheels you would certainly pass his play as that of a 25-year old. Courtenay has been the dominant points leader in the Giants team this season and anybody who has played on a line with him has scored for fun.

Even the young Leigh Jamieson has 10 goals so far this season. Normally a third line player with the Giants, Jamo can credit his most productive season yet to playing on a line with Ed Courtenay and Pete Campbell. Just take a look at Scott Cameron. He was scoring over a point per game along with Ryan smith on Courtenay’s line until Ed split the line up, sent Smith packing, and put Cameron on a line with Awada and Lewis. Cameron has struggled in front of goal since then, though that’s not to take away from the fine work he has still put in - he is continuing to have a terriffic year. MORE »