If you are anything like me, it’s unlikely that you’ve ever watched an ice hockey game before coming to Nottingham.
It seems a bit of a niche sport in the UK, really, and along with all those other North American sports – American football, baseball, basketball – a bit alien to what we’re used to here.
Once you’ve settled in the city, though, your perception of the sport will totally change.
Nottingham Panthers are an outstanding club with a history dating back decades, and if you choose to start supporting the club now, you may just witness a return to former glories.
It’s a fascinating time to be introduced, as they’re coming off an underwhelming 2021-22 season when they fell in the first round of the post-season play-offs, meaning they missed out on the silverware they’ve become accustomed to.
Fear not for their chances this year, though.
The Panthers are on a charge in 2022-23, with a new head coach, new squad and relatively new Chief Executive Officer all out to prove themselves to fans at the Motorpoint Arena.
In the boardroom, Omar Pacha is the new appointment as CEO.
The Canadian retired from his playing career to take up the reigns as Dundee Stars’ Head Coach back in 2017, and having learned his trade with the Scottish outfit, he’s been tempted to the East Midlands to put together a top team.
Gary Graham was the choice for his man in the dugout; an American who was most recently with the Omaha Lancers in Nebraska.
With the Lancers competing in the United States Hockey League, a junior division for players aged 16-21, Graham’s experience nurturing emerging talent should be invaluable.
That’s without mentioning his experience coaching the minor league Fort Wayne Komets or the Chinese side ORG Beijing, where he also helped prepare the Chinese national side for their Olympic debut in 2022.
Meanwhile, on the playing side, only five members of the 2021-22 squad remain in defenceman J.C. Brassard, captain Matthew Myers, Canadian Jeremy Welsh and Nottingham-born forwards Jordan Kelsall and Jack Hopkins.
All other recruits are new, with the Panthers scouring the globe and making signings from clubs in the USA, Canada, Germany, Denmark, France, Slovakia, Poland and Austria.
The global reach of ice hockey in this respect is awe-inspiring.
But back to the Panthers, and how will their season pan out?
Well, if their start is anything to go by, there will be a period of adjustment.
An overtime 4-3 win – that I watched with relish – against the Guildford Flames was a nice bit of revenge for the Flames’ playoff victory in their last battle.
There were impressive performances from Brassard and Myers, along with goalscoring debuts for Canadians Adam Brady and Andrew Johnston, American Tanner Sorenson and Brighton-born forward Mike Hammond.
A day later, a 2-1 defeat to the Coventry Blaze dampened the excitement.
Inconsistency may be the early theme of the season, but it will soon need to be ironed out.
The Panthers have never finished outside the top five ever since the Elite Ice Hockey League was born in 2003.
It’s quite some feat, especially as the league has grown from its original eight teams to the present ten, with the level of competition increasing considerably.
Panthers fans will demand more of the same, no matter the circumstances.
It will be acknowledged that a new set-up needs time to bed in, but in the cut-and-thrust world of ice hockey, that is time that few actually get.
The schedule ahead is hectic.
54 games, followed by the playoffs, with Challenge Cup ties thrown into the mix as well, in the space of just eight months.
A big task, then, for the Panthers to reclaim their former glories, but it’ll make for a thrilling season at the Motorpoint.
If you’re yet to experience the excitement of the ice, it’s time to get yer skates on.
Feature Image Credit: Will Hugall.