The Cardiff Devils finally have their Andrew Lord replacement, with Team Great Britain head coach Pete Russell unveiled as the new bench-boss at Ice Arena Wales on Friday [12 May].
While the Devils have enjoyed plenty of postseason success lately, Jarrod Skalde and Brodie Dupont both delivered more regular-season spills than thrills.
Decline – in other words – has been Cardiff’s theme since Lord left for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in 2020.
The Devils performed respectably, winning back-to-back playoff titles, but they have been lapped by the Adam Keefe-coached Belfast Giants.
Keefe has built a dynasty in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, with the Giants sweeping their domestic rivals aside to win a historic treble in 2022-23.
And that is why the Devils needed Ayr-born Russell.
The Elite League title isn’t won in the summer months, but it can certainly be lost in them – as demonstrated by the latest iteration of the Nottingham Panthers. Omar Pacha appointed the wrong head coach, who subsequently the recruited wrong players. Result – profound mediocrity, with or without Gary Graham behind the bench.
Championships are impossible to win in May, June, or July – but they can easily be lost by naïve front offices and rookie coaches. With Russell at the helm in Cardiff, the Devils are an entirely different proposition – one capable of sticking it to Keefe’s Giants.
Pete Russell promises to imprint ‘identity’ on Cardiff Devils
It is no coincidence that the 48-year-old has enjoyed success in almost every role he has taken, headlined by his unprecedented work at the helm of Team GB.
Russell, over the course of a few productive seasons, transformed an ailing programme into a legitimate ‘best-of-the-rest’ player on the international stage.
When he took the top job, Team GB shared a World Championship division with Estonia, the Netherlands, and Croatia. Next term, they will face the likes of Canada, the United States, and Finland. Hockey wonderland, in other words, is where Russell has taken the national squad.
And he could yet take the Devils there too.
“I am delighted on many fronts and in many ways,” he said of his appointment. “It feels like home already, after meeting with Todd [Kelman] and Franny [Neil Francis] this week. Something just felt right.”
Pete Russell, now of the Cardiff Devils (Image: Imago / Eibner)
Russell knows his way around the club circuit and landed a domestic title as recently as last month, guiding the Ravensburg Towerstars to silverware in Germany’s second division. He is a former DEL2 Coach of the Year – an accolade that propelled him to a brief and unsuccessful stint in the top flight.
Nor will he be stunned by the realities of the Elite League, with his national team work tying him to the competition and its rotating cast of players.
“When I was an up-and-coming young coach, my goal was to manage a historic club and try to make an impact,” Russell said of his transition to the Elite League outfit.
“My approach is always transparent. My job to convince the people here to set this club on fire with excitement, create some passion, and set the vision. We must control our own identity and ingrain our control. We must come together as one to be the club we all want to be [and] have patience and belief in the process.”
Russell understands where the Devils ‘must’ improve – namely ‘vision’, ‘identity’, and ‘process’ – but question marks still linger in Cardiff.
Where will he recruit players from? And how will he retool his homegrown core to challenge the Giants?
Underrated in the whole equation is the appointment of Team GB goalie whisperer Euan King – who has worked absolute wonders for Ben Bowns on international rinks. If they are re-united behind the same defensive structure as the national team, win thievery will return to Cardiff.
With Russell behind the bench, the Devils have booked their place in the title fight. It is now down to the journeyman coach to build a roster comparable to Keefe’s. Game on.
