Bison beef up their defence (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Bison beef up their defence

8:00am Saturday 11th August 2012 in Ice Hockey By Graham Merry

BASINGSTOKE Bison have well and truly beefed up their defence with the signing of Czech giant Tomas Fojtik.

The new boy stands 6ft 5in, weighs in at 250lbs and is certain to prove to be a presence on the Bison’s blue line.

The 28-year-old, a native of Koprivnice in the Czech Republic, is heading to Britain for the first time, having played the last two years in France for Montpellier and Reims.

During that time he picked up 22 points from 42 games as well as amassing 62 minutes in penalties.

The new defenceman has also had spells in Sweden, Slovakia and Italy along with two seasons in North America, where he played for Fresno Falcons in the tough East Coast Hockey League and Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League.

Bison boss Doug Sheppard feels he has another great addition to the team and said: “I have never seen him play, but I did speak to his coach when he played in the East Coast League.

“He told me he skates really well for a big man, has a good shot on the powerplay and plays a good physical game “He is also a left hander and I think the British game is going to suit him more than France, so for me he is a great fit for the team.”

Fojtik is excited and looking forward to his first season in Britain and standing at 6ft 5in he will be hard to miss.

He will slot into a five-man defensive unit along with Brits Kurt Reynolds, Alex Symonds, Zach Sullivan and Carl Graham.

The signing of Fojtik leaves the Herd with just one more signing to make ahead of the forthcoming season, which will be an import forward.