Hemmings joins the growing Herd (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Hemmings joins the growing Herd

1:10pm Thursday 18th June 2009

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THE Basingstoke Bison have added another forward to their roster, signing British youngster Andy Hemmings from local rivals the Bracknell Bees.

Hemmings, who will turn 21 in August, began his career at the Guildford Flames, claiming an English Premier League winners’ medal in 2005/06, before switching to the Bees at the start of the 2007/08 season.

He has scored 24 goals and contributed 33 assists in 179 EPL regular and post-season games, finding the net five times last season, with 11 assists.

Bison player/coach Steve Moria is delighted with his latest acquisition and thinks that there is more to come from the young right-hander.

“Andy is a young forward with plenty of potential,” Moria said.

“He is a good skater and will be an important member of the team.

“He is a good all-round player who has not reached his full potential yet. He was one of the top young players in the country and hopefully can now excel in the senior ranks.

“I see him playing in the third line but we will see how it goes. I like to mix things up a lot and the way the lines go out will depend a lot on how people perform.”

Moria is hoping to announce another signing, an import defenceman, at the Meet Joe Ciccarello Night, which is to take place at Q’s Bar, Planet Ice tonight, starting at 7.30pm.

If he is able to complete that deal, Moria would have just one spot left to fill with more than two months to go until the start of the season.

“I am very pleased with the way that recruitment has gone,” he said.

“Basingstoke is essentially a new team meaning that we had to get 17 new players |in.

“We were fortunate that Kurt Reynolds decided to stay but all of the others are coming from other clubs. That is not always easy but it has gone well.

“I think we will do well in the league. We have a good, strong squad with a mix of young players and veterans.

“We might not be the biggest but we have a big surface so a lot will come down to having a good skating team.”

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