The Guildford Flames’ reputation for savvy recruitment and shrewd roster construction is well-deserved, with head coach Paul Dixon known for his ability to lure underrated talents to Surrey – Ethan Strang is the latest example.
The 23-year-old forward, in the midst of his rookie professional season, has made a flying start to life in the Elite League, potting nine goals in his first twelve appearances for the Flames.
Strang, a product of Grant MacEwan University, continued his scoring form last weekend, lifting Guildford to back-to-back wins over the Manchester Storm and Dundee Stars.
With the Flames surging to second in the regular-season standings, the Canadian spoke with britishicehockey.co.uk on Monday [18 November].
Here is every word he said.
You joined the Guildford Flames out of the East Coast [Hockey League] over the summer – why did you decide to come to the Elite League and Guildford, specifically?
Every hockey player has the same kind of summer, I guess. We’re just training every day and waiting for a phone call from a team to sign with. For me, this is my first full season of professional hockey after a short stint playing in South Carolina, so it was easy to make the decision to come to Guildford. I knew they had some interest in me and my advisors mentioned that Paul [Dixon] is a really good coach. I’ve always wanted to play overseas and knowing that I had the chance to play under a coach like Paul was a big factor and helped to make it an easy decision.
Guildford is a pretty cool place to place – you’ve got London right there, which is beautiful. It was a pretty easy decision to come to Guildford and it’s been exciting so far.
Before you made the decision, did you run it by any of your former teammates?
No – but my coach in school played at the University of Alberta with our captain, Brett Ferguson, and we spoke about how much of a great guy Fergie is. Especially as a younger guy, that’s huge because you look for that kind of guidance from the older guys in the room. Hearing about Fergie from my school coach made the decision a lot easier.
Ethan Strang, Guildford Flames (Image: John Uwins)
You were playing in USports less than a year ago – how has this year been for you, personally?
It’s been really good. It’s been a huge adjustment, but I think USports is downplayed a lot, especially when you compare it to the NCAA in the US. There are a lot of good players in USports and there are quite a few of them who ended up playing here in the Elite League. After the season finished at university, I had the feeling that I was ready to make the jump to playing professionally and it was a snap decision when South Carolina offered me a roster spot.
I was heading back to Edmonton after reading break, going back on forth on the phone with my dad about whether it was time to leave school. It was a pretty straightforward decision to do that, I’ve wanted that opportunity all of my life. After that time in South Carolina, it’s been awesome to come here to Guildford.
You’re off to a brilliant start in the Elite League, with ten points in twelve appearances. How have you found the adjustment to playing for the Flames?
It’s a lot different from playing in USports because I’m playing against guys who are a lot older than me. I’ve always been driven to be a professional hockey player, that’s what I’ve always aimed for, so it’s been exciting to make that step to play against quality opponents, who have real poise for the game. I love scoring goals more than anyone, having the opportunity to do that for the team is great and hopefully it continues that way.
The Flames won back-to-back last weekend – that must’ve been satisfying…
Yeah, that was big for us. I’m not really a big observer of the standings and the stats, but I know that we’ll end up where we want to be if we keep winning games. Taking four points at the weekend was huge for us and it means we’re sitting in the top two now. Looking forward, it gives you confidence going into Belfast on Friday, hopefully we can keep on snagging points from those big dogs.
How is the mood in the camp ahead of your trip to face the Belfast Giants on Friday?
Belfast is another top team. They’ve always been one of those big dogs in this league and winning those games builds confidence in the group that we can win against any team. Going into Belfast on a travel day, we’re excited. I’ve heard that their rink and everything they’ve got there is pretty nice, so it’s easy to get up for those games. When you’re confident as a group, everyone starts playing above themselves and that’s when something special starts happening.
Ethan Strang, Guildford Flames (Image: John Uwins)
Ethan Strang on Guildford Flames’ title hopes
Lastly, what are you hoping to achieve this season?
I would say that everyone has pretty similar goals. I’m not really too familiar with the Challenge Cup, and we’re eliminated from there now, but I think everyone aspires to win those other two trophies. If we keep winning, it’ll give us a good chance to do that. I know everyone will have different goals in terms of personal stats because we all want to play our part in helping the team be successful, but it doesn’t really matter if we’re winning. We just want to win those other two trophies that are up for grabs.
