Braehead Clan have confirmed the signing of netminder Ryan Nie from German DEL2 side Eispiraten Crimmitschau.
The 32-year-old played under new Clan coach John Tripp during his time in Germany and he says he sought out the views of two men very familiar with the Elite League in recent times as he weighed up his move to Glasgow.
“I’ve heard nothing but good things about Braehead Clan and I actually played with Scott Pitt and against Matt Beca, who I reached out to and asked questions to,” said Nie.
“They spoke positively about their time at the club. I was told it’s a winning organisation and they expect to continue that into next year.
“It’s a small world and my parent’s neighbour was originally from Glasgow and I was talking to him about it so it seems like a great city and I’m excited for the move.
“I’m really excited for the new campaign and excited for the change. My wife studied abroad a few years ago and visited Scotland and she’s looking forward to going back too.”
Nie has spent the last three and a half years at Crimmitschau, as well spells in Kazakhstan, Norway and North America.
He played over 175 games for the German side in his time there, latterly under the new Clan coach, who has persuaded him to make the move to Scotland.
He said: “Ryan’s been one of the top goalies in the German second league for a while now with Crimmitschau. He hasn’t had a lot of success and now he’s keen to turn the page.
“I like his character and I’m glad to have him on board. He’s a good family man and he’s played a lot of games and can take 50 shots a game.
“If you ask anyone about him in that league, they would say he kept the team in it a lot in recent years and I expect him to take on a change of mindset and a winning one.
“Once you start with the goalie, you can look at building a defensive core. Ryan’s well tested and I don’t want him to take 50 shots a night, so we want a good supporting cast too.
“The process overall is going well, although it’s going slower than I intended, but there are still so many names out there. We’re cracking away at it and there’s no rush.”
(Image permission: Wolfgang Wukasch)
