A View From The Chair

#BIGGER BOLDER BETTER!

Who could argue with that?

Well, what a season it has been, so near yet so far. Prior to the start of the season the Nay Sayers had predicted the Barons to be fighting for the scraps in the lower reaches of the league and given the number of experienced player who left the Barons at the end of the 2022-2023 season they may have had a point. How wrong we proved them!

Little did they know that Leepy had other ideas and over the season he recruited a mixture of talented youngsters and experienced players that very quickly gelled into a formidable team.

The standouts for me personally of the new players had been Alex Whyte and Charlie Webb. Alex has been immense on and of the ice and had he not missed 3 months of the season I truly believe we would have won the league. When injuries and suspensions bit Charlie stepped and wasn’t phased by anything that Leepy asked him to do.

We should also not forget the contributions of Jacob Race, Dani Haid, Will Reed, Billy Crofts and Aaron Moody who all played their parts in building a formidable team.

We should also recognise the huge contribution Ben Lee made when he stood in when Graham Laverick was banned, his performance in the game against Hull was outstanding and contributed to the Barons securing 2nd place in the league. Continue reading “View from the Chair” →

Friday evening saw supporters, players, volunteers and sponsors of the EDG Property Solihull Barons gather down at the rink for a great evening of fun and awards and together take a chance to reflect on a tremendous 23/24 season.

Nik Ottosson
Supporters Player of the Year

After another outstanding year it was no surprise to see Nik Ottosson pick up the supporters player of the year. A captain, who leads from the front and is capable of dazzling deplays of skill, this year has seen Nik yet again show his league leading quality.

Richard Crowe
Players’ Player of the Year
Best Defenceman of the Year

Another big winner, Richard Crowe had a standout season for the Barons, leading the defence while also being a very significant threat in the opposition end. A leader, on and off the ice, Richard’s contribution to the team has been clearly valued by team mates and fans alike.

Nik Ottosson
Top Scorer

Nik Ottosson had an outstanding year stats wise leading not only the Barons but the league in goals scored. Couple this to a league leading assists tally and #91 showed himself to arguably be the best player in the Moralee.

Sam Chandler
Team Player of the Year

A new award for this year, the Team Player award, goes to the player showing particularly outstanding commitment to the Barons. This year Phil Lee awarded this to Sam Chandler for his flexibility in meeting the needs of the team on a week to week basis and showing all round professionalism in his approach to the game.

ALEX WHYTE
COACH’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR

An outstanding addition to the Barons this season has been the excellent Alex Whyte, picking up Phil Lee’s coach’s player of the year. Alex Whyte has blended stellar skills and hockey sense with a work ethic and versatility which has made him a key member of the Barons roster.

Max Soden
Steve Perks Award for Young Player of the Year

Young D-man Max Soden had a breakout year, holding down the left hand 1st line d-spot, keeping opposition forwards away from the Barons goal while gradually building his own offensive presence.

Rob Eley Award
Richard Crowe

Richard Crowe picked up his third award of the night with the presentation of the Rob Eley “Spirit of the Barons” award. Supporters were also able to offer Richard their thanks as he takes a year away from Hobs Moat to continue his hockey adventures in Australia.

So with the awards night over the 23/24 season is done and dusted but stay tuned on our socials and web for updates as preparations are already underway for the return of the Barons to Hobs Moat after the Summer.

 

As we close out the 2023/24 season, the Solihull Barons would like to put out a big shout out to all those who ensured we were able to put out such a great squad and some spectacular shows of hockey throughout the past season.

Our Sponsors and Commercial Partners

EDG Property

Air Scaffolding
Avonmead Accountants
Chiel Construction Ltd
Solihull Heating & Bathrooms
Shakespeare Martineau
Q Tooling
R&D Fabrication Ltd
PB Sports
Willies Skate Gear
Nailcote Hall

Our Volunteers

A big shout out must also go to our team of off-ice volunteers which ensure games go-ahead including the committee, nets crew, security and stewarding, merchandise & 50/50, door staff, shirt wash, dj-ing, timing bench staff, goal judges

….and finally….

YOU!!!

OUR FANS WHO HAVE MADE HOBS MOAT LOUD AGAIN!!!!

What an entertaining season for ALL!

Having had to rebuild the roster, following the departure of 6 player’s last season, we knew this season would be tough having lost valuable experience and knowledge, that the 6 players had from years of playing in this league. Predictions around the ice hockey communities and social media had Barons predicted to finish 6th or 7th place overall, we were always up for the challenge to prove this wrong. The team has worked consistently hard and have really come together, there is a good mix of youth and experience with the introduction of the new player age rules, I think our results speak for themselves.

Early season injuries and suspensions saw extra pressure put on the team, from day one but despite this we remained unbeaten at home in our league games. We pushed on to achieve 2nd spot in the league table, only 2 points short of the top spot having beaten the top place team 3 out of 4 meetings in the head-to-head games. Our season went onto finish in the semi-final of the playoffs. It was disappointing not to have reached the final, however our short-benched team, that set out on the ice last weekend put on a fantastic display for all. I really could not have asked for a better performance from them, sadly it was not our day with us losing out to Blackburn 5-4, but no disgrace for the guys.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank assistant coach Davey Graham for all his support in the season, and also a thank you to Rob Eley for his assistance at training throughout the year.

I would also like to say a big thank you to all the sponsors, and the supporters, who undoubtedly always make our games at HMR so exciting with loyal support. Additionally, a huge thank you to all the off-ice support that help behind the scenes in varying ways. We are all part of the team and the players, and staff are very grateful to each and everyone who gives up their time to make the games happen.

Now for some down time to get the batteries recharged!

Enjoy the summer everyone.

Leepy’