One word: STUUUUUU!!

Posted on 31 July 2012

The Cardiff Devils are thrilled to welcome back Captain Stuart Macrae who has signed for his third consecutive season in South Wales.

Macrae was the heartbeat of the club last season; leading the team in points and finishing 7^th overall in league scoring. MacRae’s work rate is second to none and he challenged his teammates and coach to match his attitude towards the game.

Head Coach Gerad Adams could not hide his excitement with this signing

‘At times last year Stu carried our team. He played so many minutes in each game and still produced with quality at both ends of the ice. He made each player on our team better. I can’t wait to work with Stu as our captain again. He is a true leader and we are delighted he has come back.’

Since graduating in his first season (from Cardiff Business School with his MBA), Macrae, at the end of last year, was contemplating joining fellow graduates Jon Pelle and Scott Matzka in starting a career outside of hockey but couldn't resist the opportunity to come back and play for the Devils. The affable Nova Scotia native says ‘I’ve been keeping track of the progress of the Devils in summer and had been in contact a few times. With the team they have put together I thought it would be a great chance to bring back a trophy to Cardiff. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and getting started in a month.’

Following speculation that the Devils would start with less than the quota of 11 imports this season, Chief Executive Paul Ragan was quick to confirm the Devils would run with 11 via his Twitter account. Adams and Bench Coach Neil Francis have both thanked Ragan for his support of their plans as they look to build a powerful contender in the new Southern Conference.

The business of the Devils continues apace as the season draws closer. 611 Season ticket holders to committed with the lowest ST prices in the EIHL era. Devils are now assessing ticket pricing strategies for the coming season to ensure finances remain solid. Other ideas are being explored, including mini Season Tickets and layered pricing.

Whilst no change will take place to Season Ticket prices (giving any last minute decision makers the same huge savings) it is likely the club will increase ticket prices from the all-time EIHL low they reached last season and Adams knows that in order to compete these kind of decision need to be made.

‘This decision to raise prices is looking likely and I support the decisions of the club’ he says. ‘Paul Ragan has allowed me to go the extra mile to bring the quality imports we already have and now guys like Macrae to the Team. I thank him for his continued support and commitment to bringing a trophy home to South Wales. The Club have worked extremely hard on sponsorship over the summer and we need to know that our two main sources of income - sponsorship and ticket revenue – are in a sound place to provide for the team.’

With only one remaining import to sign the Devils coaching staff are close to signing the final spot. Francis says, “Stu is a huge part of this Club and demonstrated that with his consistently high-quality performances last year. All the guys signed up so far, both new and returnees, have been asking about Stu’s situation on a weekly basis so there will be lots of happy team-mates this morning – that just shows how important he is to the team.

With one spot left we have a final offer out on an offensive defenseman that is both robust and defensively responsible. We are looking for this guy to add a scoring option from back as well as be the guy to lead our powerplay, which can make all the difference in the closely fought games that we often lost out on last year. We are crossing our fingers on this one as he would be a great compliment to the exciting roster we have signed up so far.”