Guildford sign young prospect goalie

Liam Hughes has signed for the Guildford Flames after spending nine seasons in his native North America.

The Kelowna born netminder has played across his home continent in search of a side.

Background: Liam Hughes

He had his first real break in the professional world playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds where he iced 65 times.

From here he bounced around featuring for multiple teams including Winnipeg Ice where he skated 32 times.

In this time the 6ft 3in goalie had a Goals Against Average of 2.53 and averaged a .914 save percentage.

In the seasons leading up to his move to Guildford he made eight appearances for the University of Manitoba.

A 3.73 GAA and .891 save percentage rounded out his time there before making three appearances for Fort Wayne Komets.

A similarly impressive 2.97 GAA and .890 save percentage in these three games attracted the Flames’ attention.

Guildford had been on the search for a third player to skate between the pipes and Hughes is their man.

Coach’s Reaction

Head Coach Paul Dixon said of the signing: “With the transfer deadline coming up, we know we have to finish the season with 3 goalies on the roster.

“Having spoken with Liam he is definitely enthusiastic about the chance to come in here and show himself, and we are looking forward to meeting him and getting him on the ice.

“With any luck we might be able to do that this coming weekend if all the final paperwork can be secured.”

If he was to make an appearance it would be against either Dundee Stars (February 26^th) or Nottingham Panthers (February 27^th).

Guildford come off the back of a huge 8-2 win over the Glasgow Clan and will be looking to collect more points this weekend.

What do you think of the signing, one for the future? Let us know on Twitter @BritIceHockey.