The Cardiff Devils have released Mark Richardson from his contract to allow him to play in Germany for the 2020-21 season.
The Cardiff Devils have released Mark Richardson from his contract to allow him to play in Germany for the 2020-21 season.
Richardson has signed a contract with EC Bad Nauheim of the DEL2 in Germany. This is a one year agreement and the Devils look forward to having Richardson back in the line-up for the 2021-22 season.
Richardson is the longest serving Devil on the current roster. This would have been his 14th season as a Devil.
“This situation is just like Joey Martin taking a year out from the Devils,” explained Managing Director Todd Kelman, “so we aren’t treating this as a sad goodbye.”
“Mark is contracted for next season already and he will be back in Cardiff for the 2021-22 season, but with the uncertainty surrounding our start date and the DEL2 being able to offer something now, he had to take it.”
“Mark is one of the hardest working individuals I have ever worked with and I would put him in the top 5 defencemen in this league for sure. He continues to get better every season and that is because he is dedicated to his craft. He works to improve every year, all summer long, all season long.”
“He is going to a very solid team with a good reputation. I am pleased he was able to get a job at this point because rosters are almost all filled by now. We all wish him the best of luck this season in Germany."
Richardson has built a reputation as one of the most consistent and most reliable players in topflight hockey in the UK. In his Devils career, Richardson has played 801 times with a total of 88 goals, 264 assists for 352 points.
He has been an assistant captain with the GB National Team for the past 7 seasons and was part of the back to back Gold Medal winning teams in 2017 & 2018. Richardson was also an integral part of the GB team that survived relegation from World Championships top division in 2019.
He has played nearly all of his professional career in the UK, playing for the Bracknell Bees, Basingstoke Bison, Nottingham Panthers and the Cardiff Devils. Richardson had a brief stint in Kazakhstan in the 2012-13 season before returning to the Devils midway through the year.
