Former ENL Dragon Jamie Hayes has signed a 2 way contract with the Cardiff Devils and Swindon Wildcats.

Jamie will play for Swindon in the EPL and will be available to the Devils at all other times.

Forward Hayes, started his playing career in Cardiff at the age of seven and went from strength to strength as he rose up through the ranks of the junior system. Over the years he has represented South West Conference teams and various England squads and last year saw him wear with pride, for the first time, a Great Britain jersey after being selected into the GB under-18 squad.

Jamie gained good experience playing for Swindon in the EPL last season and we are giving him the chance to step up when he is available,” said Brent Pope, Devils General Manager.

Four other players developing within the ranks of Cardiff Junior Ice Hockey Club have also been invited to train with the Devils and they are Jamie Dancey, Michael Hutchings, Ben Davies and Tom Evans. Both Ben and Tom have also had experience of playing in the South West Conference and have represented various England squads to, and the chance for them all now to train at Elite League level is a great experience which will help them all develop their game further.

We are keen to give young Welsh players a chance to show what they can do,” said Brent. “If they show commitment and attitude plus the ability and potential to perform at the higher level then the relationship will prosper. Alex Symonds, who broke through last season, has shown what can be done. We want to open the doors for more young players to train with the Devils and, when possible, we will give them a chance to play with the Elite League players in competition.”

 

CJIHC are confident that the lads will enjoy, but more importantly, learn from their time with the Devils and we hope this opportunity will also make good role models of them so younger players within our club have more home grown talent to look up to, which is what it is all about. We are very proud of all our players but we do wish Jamie Hayes, Jamie Dancey, Michael Hutchings, Ben Davies and Tom Evans all the very best and we hope they have a very successful season.

The full story was featured in the South Wales Echo and can be seen on the IC Wales website. Also log on to the Devils Website to view Devils GM Brent Pope’s article.