Signing Number Six For Elite League Champions Cardiff Devils

Ben Bowns has committed to Devils for 2017-18 and says: “There is no club I want to play for in the UK besides Cardiff.”

Yorkshireman Bowns, 26, is back for a fourth season in South Wales, a sixth signing for head coach Andrew Lord.

Joey Martin, Joey Haddad, Mark Richardson, Craig Moore and Lord himself are the other five and Devils are in advanced talks with players who may return and new recruits.

Devils have a core of 11 players who were on the Cardiff roster during all three seasons under Lord and the other 10 are Bowns, Martin, Andrew Hotham, Haddad, Richardson, Jake Morissette, Chris Culligan, Josh Batch, Chris Jones and Luke Piggott.

Forwards Jones and Piggott are expected to move on because of the new ruling restricting Elite League clubs to five British players aged over-23, while Batch, Myers and back-up Thomas Murdy are all likely to return and fill those slots along with Bowns and Richardson.

Elite League Champion, netminder of the year and gold medal winner Bowns has backstopped Devils to the Challenge Cup title twice and their first league title in 20 years en route to the Devils most successful season in the Elite League era.

For the second successive season Bowns was voted netminder of the year by coaches and general managers around the Elite League after posting a 2.42 goals against average, a 90.8% save percentage and winning 42 games for the Devils during 2016-17.

“I didn’t think I had a good first half and I know I can be better over the course of the season,” says Bowns.

“We had a great year, we are used to winning and want to do more of it.  That play-off final loss still hurts and I would love to be able to win a that championship with Devils.

“There is no club I want to play for in the UK besides Cardiff. This team, management, coach and owners have looked after me and helped me improve as a player.

“Wales is home and we are very happy here.”

Bowns followed up the three titles (League, Challenge Cup and Conference) he won with the Devils by leading Team GB to a World Championship gold medal and promotion in Belfast.

“That gold medal was amazing and to do it on home ice was special,” he says. “It is hard to describe what winning for your national team feels like. It is so different than a league title, but again so memorable.”

The new season for Devils starts in August when they compete in the Aladdin Cup.

Devils will go for their first trophy in August when they play Braehead Clan and Nottingham Panthers in the Aladdin Cup.

The three Elite League sides face-off in the tournament ahead of the new domestic season.

Braehead won the Aladdin Cup last year thanks to a 5-2 win over Panthers, but the competition has been changed to a round robin format for 2017-18.

Glasgow-based Clan bidding for their fifth consecutive triumph in the cup this summer.

Aladdin Cup fixtures:

August

Saturday 12: Nottingham Panthers v Cardiff Devils (7pm)

Saturday 19: Cardiff Devils v Braehead Clan (7pm)

Sunday 20: Nottingham Panthers v Braehead Clan (4pm)

Other pre-season

Sunday 13: Cardiff Devils v Nottingham Panthers (6pm)

Sunday 20: Cardiff Devils v Krefeld Penguins (6pm)