Blaze add Preece to goalie ranks

Coventry Blaze have added Welsh netminder Brython Preece to their roster for the 2017/18 Elite League season.

The 19-year-old will spend his first year as a professional as back-up to Canadian Kevin Nastiuk.

Preece began his career with the Cardiff Devils’ academy, before moving to North America in 2014 to continue his hockey development.

Blaze boss Danny Stewart said: “Brython is an up-and-coming British goalie that has spent some time overseas improving his game.

“We brought him in this summer to have a look at him and he impressed us very quickly. He has great size at 6’5” and moves a lot better than we had expected.

“This is a great opportunity for him to learn the daily routines as a pro, taking shots daily from guys at this level and continuing to develop his game.

“His coach last season spoke very highly of him and we believe he has a lot of upside going forward.”

Preece added: “Ontario Hockey Academy was a great set-up, providing the opportunity to play prep hockey and gain my high school diploma with a GPA of 3.7.

“Utah then offered me the chance to play junior, whilst allowing me one-to-one time with Steve Switzer, a goalie development coach.

“It was a great experience travelling to different parts of the US and Canada to play the game I love.

“But now, I’m looking to step-up to a higher level and Coventry offered the best programme for me to develop.”

(Image permission: Mark Mauno)