Club captain Andy Smith has become the final piece of the jigsaw for the Invicta Dynamos as they complete their roster for the new season.

The team’s all time highest points’ scorer and Players’ Player of the Year penned a deal for 2012/13 that will see him spend a ninth consecutive season in Gillingham.

Since first pulling on a Dynamos jersey in 2004/05, prolific forward Andy Smith has become the team’s talisman with his impressive record of goals and assists year on year quickly making him the club’s all time highest points’ scorer. At the start of 2011/12, the skater agreed a contract for an eighth term in Kent before going on to record 50 goals and 42 assists for the side he would captain throughout the campaign.

His impressive 92 point haul from 47 outings saw only ‘import’ forward and line-mate Ryan Ellis outscore him and took his overall tally in Dynamos colour beyond the 700 mark. Now the lethal Smith heads into a ninth season having featured 293 times for his home town club, scoring exactly 400 goals and grabbing 363 assists in the process for an emphatic 763 points. He will be looking to add to that tally as he leads a new look side from the front once again when the puck drops in early September.

Speaking on the return of captain Andy Smith and the completion of his 2012/13 roster, Head Coach Kevin Parrish revealed that he was delighted the prolific forward was staying put for another season and that he saw the 27 year old being as influential as ever.

Parrish said, “We may have announced Andy’s re-signing last but, as a coach, he is always the first name you want to pin down for another season when the campaign draws to a close. Every year when he pens a new deal we describe him as a major capture, a top player in this league and the club’s talisman and it is a credit to his attitude and ability that we are still saying this nine years into his time in Gillingham. His record in Kent speaks for itself and I am delighted he will be looking to add to it in 2012/13”.

Parrish then revealed that Smith would continue in the role of captain given to him just a year ago when he added, “Andy was an excellent leader last term in difficult circumstances so I have asked him to carry on with the role. He had a tricky first year donning the ‘C’, given our early season off ice issues, but he handled it well and, with everything sorted and ready to go for the new season, he can concentrate on leading his team on the ice this time around.

“As a player he has been with the club for nearly a decade, knows the setup inside out and will do whatever it takes to make the Dynamos successful. I can think of no-one else better suited to the role and I look forward to having him steering the side from the front when the new campaign gets underway”.

Club captain Andy Smith will continue to wear his number 26 jersey and will be supported by alternate captains Jack Tarczycki and Nicky Lewis throughout the 2012/13 season.

With the squad now fully completed, attention now turns to pre-season preparations with the countdown to the new campaign standing at just over a fortnight.

Picture supplied by David Trevallion