The Invicta Dynamos have announced the signing of defenceman Alistair Band from the Bristol Pitbulls.
The skater becomes the second blue liner to join the ENIHL South Division 1 side this week following the permanent acquisition of Peter Beerling.
21 year old Alistair Band rose through the ranks in North London with Haringey and made his first ENIHL berth at Alexandra Palace during the 2005/06 campaign. The defenceman remained with the Greyhounds until then switching to the Lee Valley Lions for 2007/08, but he would return to his former side the following year before stepping up to the EPL in 2009/10.
The Sydney born Band iced 40 times in the league above for the Romford Raiders before transferring to the Australian Ice Hockey League to appear 19 times for the Canberra Knights. He would return to the UK for the beginning of 2010/11 and he penned a contract with Richie Hargreaves in Bristol ahead of 34 appearances and 11 points for the Frogmore Street based side.
At the start of the new campaign, Band then agreed on a second spell with the Pitbulls, but now the physical defenceman will switch the West Country for Kent as he arrives at the Silver Blades Ice Rink Gillingham to play for the Dynamos.
Speaking on the capture of blue liner Alistair Band, Head Coach Kevin Parrish revealed he was pleased to have the hard hitting skater amongst his ranks and suggested the 21 year old would add much needed depth to his squad.
Parrish said, “Given the injuries we’ve had, and the players that have left, we were desperately in need of more numbers at the back and I’m delighted Ali has agreed to join us. He is a strong, tall unit who also brings a physical presence to the ice and I think, given what we currently need at the Dynamos, he fits the bill perfectly”.
The Head Coach then went on to explain why the signing of Band has been one of his top priorities when he added, “I think Ali will fit into the squad seamlessly. Despite his young age he has plenty of experience, both at this level and above, and he has the attitude I’m looking for from my players both on and off of the ice. He will do whatever it takes to win, play strong, physical hockey and will look out for his teammates when required so we look forward to having him in the line-up”.
New defenceman Alistair Band is unlikely to feature for the Dynamos this weekend, as the team host the Wightlink Raiders on Saturday before travelling to Oxford to face the Stars the following evening, but should be available for selection in the near future.
Picture supplied by flyfifer.co.uk