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Hand heads north for Rich pickings

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With the departure of James Hutchinson from the Manchester Phoenix roster, head coach Tony Hand has moved quickly to sign 19-year old right-winger Matthew Rich to take his place on his third line of forwards.

Glasgow-born Matt Rich always wanted to play hockey so much so that aged sixteen, and having learned the game through the Paisley junior programme, he applied to go to school in Canada firstly in the suburbs of Toronto and then to Regina, Saskatchewan where he graduated high school and played AAA level hockey for the Notre Dame Hounds.

Last season, he returned to his native Scotland after calling the Edinburgh Capitals to see if they had any openings and the Capitals rewarded him with a place on the roster that saw him play 49 games scoring 4 goals and 2 assists while taking just one minor penalty.

Phoenix player coach Tony Hand commented, “Matt was with me last season in Edinburgh and really impressed me with his work ethic and keenness to listen and learn. He’s a real grafter and I’m confident he will slot in really well with Adam (Walker) and Joe (Miller) – I guess with two Scots and a Welshman together, they’ll be nicknamed our celtic line.”

Matthew Rich started this season with the MobilX Newcastle Vipers but was delighted to get the chance to join the Phoenix. “I’m very happy to have the chance to play again for Tony,” he declared adding, “he’s a legend in the game and I learned such a lot from him last year that I can’t wait to get to Manchester. I know the team is playing and training on the road but, that doesn’t bother me – I want to play at the highest level and learning from the likes of Tony can only help me achieve that.”

Ironically, Rich is likely to make his Phoenix debut against the Vipers this coming Sunday when the teams meet in a bmibaby.com Elite League fixture at Deeside Leisure Centre, face off time 7.00pm.