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Brebant praises his local players

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Manchester Phoenix head coach Rick Brebant reflected upon last weekends’ results and the part played so far this season by his locally trained players. “You know what,” he said, “right now, I can’t praise these guys too highly. The Elite League mandate was to give the locally trained players a chance - we’ve done that and they haven’t let us down.”

Before the season began, many sceptics saw the use of local players as nothing more than a marketing gimmick and Brebant poured scorn on that train of thought. “Sure, I can see why some people would think that way, but as a club we had and still have every intention of giving our local guys as much ice time as possible.” Brebant added, “To be fair, a couple of weeks ago I was a little concerned that going into the second half of the season, the younger players might not be able to up their play much further as the push for the playoff positions intensifies. I was wrong and this weekend has proved to me that they can hold their own.”

“Marc Lovell has done magnificently all season and is very coachable, he’s a good listener and has a very good work ethic. Jason Hewitt has got better and better as the season has wore on and he is a very relaxed young man.” Laughing, Brebant added, “I’m not sure if he realises he’s playing at as high a level as he is.” Continuing his assessment Brebant noted, “Mark Thomas has got stronger in recent weeks. He started on defence and then we moved him to a forward position and it took him a little time to adjust, but he’s done it and done it well. Aaron Davies has joined us from Flintshire and he too has risen well to the challenge. In goal, Dave Clancy has supported our Number One Jayme Platt very well indeed – I can’t fault him and he is one of the jokers in the locker room.”

Confirming that Brian Worrall has been released to play the remainder of the season with the Flintshire Freeze, Brebant commented, “Brian was the smallest of the local players and that restricted his ice time. He will benefit from regular play with the Freeze and if he continues to work on the gymnasium plan we gave him at the start of the year and can add a little more weight