EPL: Phoenix complete roster (From The Bolton News)

EPL: Phoenix complete roster

8:13am Tuesday 18th August 2009

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ICE HOCKEY: Having already signed larger-than-life Andre Payette, Manchester Phoenix head coach Tony Hand has now completed his roster building for the 2009-10 EPL season with the news than Swedish defenceman Andre Mattsson will join the club's blueline.

Born in Port-au-Prince on the Caribbean island of Haiti, Andre Mattsson was adopted by a Swedish family and left the sunshine and surf for Scandinavia aged just five months. A naturalized Swede, Andre took to ice hockey as a youngster and has carved out a career as a solid, dependable and gritty stay-at-home defenceman.

Speaking from his home about an hour from the Swedish capital Stockholm, Mattsson said: "My game is primarily as a defensive defenceman. I try to make the smart move, forcing opposition forwards into areas where they’re not so comfortable and I play the body to try and gain possession of the puck.

"It’s then about making the simple play to set the transition going and then trying to support the forwards. I am looking to contribute a bit more offensively and I’m looking to develop that side of my game when the time is right to jump up into the play.

Mattsson, who turned 29 last week, stands six feet tall and tips the scales to just over the 200lb mark. A left shot defenceman, he developed through the AIK Stockholm club, playing over 100 games in the Swedish Elitserien for AIK and Djurgarden and almost 200 in the Allsvenskan second tier. For the last three seasons he has iced for Comet IK in the Norwegian Elite League.

Phoenix player coach Tony Hand said: "I am very pleased to have found a player of Andres’ calibre to come and complete the roster. He’s got good size, plays a strong physical game and with experience of the top level in both Sweden and Norway, I have high hopes for him.

"Everyone we’ve spoken to about him has given us excellent references and reports and I think he’ll bring a whole new look to our blueline. He’s an intelligent guy and our links with the University of Bolton have helped secure his signing as he’s keen to follow up his previous education in Economics by taking a course in Accountancy."

"The squad is now finalized and I am very pleased with the way we look on paper. The training sessions and pre-season games against Sheffield will help me confirm the line combinations I’ve got in mind and then come the 19th of September, we embark on what I’m sure will be an highly entertaining and interesting first season in the English Premier League."

The official unveiling of the new season Phoenix team shirts will be this Thursday, 20th August at the Britannia Hotel, Manchester, starting at 7.30pm.

New signings Andre Payette and Ben Wood, will be on hand to both model the new designs, answer fans questions and autograph memorabilia.

Phoenix have also confirmed that the fixture schedule for the club's first season in the English Premier League has now been confirmed and can be viewed on the clubs official website at www.manchesterphoenix.co.uk

Phoenix will play 6 regular season home games on Saturdays and 21 on Sundays, meaning there are no midweek home games in Altrincham this season. A club official said: "Whilst we were not belligerent in any way, we asked the EPL to do their utmost to avoid us having to play any midweek games at home and we are delighted they’ve managed to achieve this for us. Not having to play home games on midweek nights is big help to us in terms of the business planning."

One upshot of the accommodation of only weekend home fixtures is two ‘double-header weekends’ – one on the road away to Guildford and Bracknell in late January, and a two-game home weekend against Sheffield and Bracknell in mid-March.

"Double headers, particularly the away ones, give the supporters the chance for a weekend away and knowing our fans, they’ll travel in hordes to Guildford and Bracknell to make it a real party atmosphere on the road with the Phoenix."

Phoenix GM Andy Costigan added: "The way things have worked out, we’ll play 14 of our 27 home games before Christmas, take a weekend off and then play the 13 remaining games from the New Year, giving us a really good split of games over the two halves of the season."

Manchester Phoenix play a pre-season challenge game against Sheffield Scimitars on Sunday September 13 (faceoff 5.30), before starting their home EPL campaign on Sunday September 20 at 5.30pm against Swindon Wildcats. The games are in the Altrincham Ice Dome.

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