Glasgow Clan head coach Malcolm Cameron reckons his team is not the usual kind of team he recruits.
The roster is set as the days and weeks count down until the first game, a pre-season encounter with Dundee Stars on Wednesday 3rd November.
And Cameron reflected on his recruitment and gave some insight how it all came together from his point of view.
“(The team) really come together a lot faster than I expected to,” Cameron admits. “Once I took the job, I had agents I’d dealt with the in the past reach out to me and they had the players I wanted to have.
“The last piece was getting Dyson Stevenson and he’s someone I’ve have had for five years, someone I can trust, who is a leader and a captain for me. He’s the ultimate team-mate.
Glasgow Clan will return to action in early November against Dundee Stars (PHOTO: Derek Black)
“I actually expected him to get an AHL contract. Had it not been for Covid, he certainly would have been there, but we lucked out and I was happy to get him in at the last minute.
“The team is ticking all the boxes. We have speed, we have experience, we have youth, we’re aggressive and we’re tough.
“This is a different team to what I’ve worked with in the past. It’s not a typical Malcolm Cameron team. Usually I would have 50% skill and 50% what I call sandpaper – a hard working player. With coming on late, a lot of the atypical skilled players were off the market.
“That’s not to say we don’t have skill in our ranks. We certainly do in guys like Nolan LaPorte, math Roy, Jamie Crooks and guys like that, but they also bring a gritty side to the game as well.
“But we went out early and got Shane Starett as the goalie. He was right at the top of my list and I was happy that I didn’t have to go to number two or three on that list.”
The future of Braehead Arena has meant Clan are starting their season later than the rest of the Elite League (PHOTO: Glasgow Clan)
The season is about to begin for the rest of the Elite League teams, with the remaining nine all taking part in the Challenge Cup.
Malcolm admits he’s been looking at the players involved with the Clan’s rivals, but is only focussed on one thing.
“I’ve been keeping an eye of everyone’s roster and I’ll watch over what’s going on, but I’m a great believer of taking care of your own yard first,” he added.
“If you’re happy and confident in the team you’ve built, you let the other teams worry about you.
“I can’t wait to get everyone over and start working with them to see the fruits of your labour. Time seems to zip by earlier in the summer, now it just seems to be crawling along.”
