British ice hockey champions Cardiff Devils are going for gold again.
There is a vibrancy and belief in the way head coach Andrew Lord is recruiting his team for 2017-18 in a quest to ensure the Welsh club are again the dominant team in Elite League.
Devils will announce two brand new Devils signings today and they will also put tickets for all pre-season and European Champions League fixtures on sale.
Managing director Todd Kelman revealed plans for today on the club’s official website.
He talked about an ‘exciting Devils Friday’ and, via twitter, revealed that supporters will ‘go mental’ over the two signings being announced today.
Kelman’s Friday plan of action reads:
10am: We are announcing a brand new Devil
Noon: Tickets for all pre-season and Champions Hockey League Games go on sale via the club’s official website at cardiffdevils.com, in person at the Cardiff Bay officers or over the phone on 0800 0842 666
2pm: We will announce another brand new Devil
Dai-sport will also announce the new signings at 10am and noon.
The two new players will take confirmed signings to 11 and there are plenty more to come in before the first fixtures in mid-August.
Players who have signed for Devils 2017-18: Andrew Lord, Gleason Fournier, Matthew Myers, Sean Bentivoglio, Craig Moore, Joey Martin, Joey Haddad, Mark Richardson and Ben Bowns.
Devils early fixtures:
August
Saturday 12 Aladdin Cup v Nottingham Panthers (away, 7pm)
Sunday 13 Exhibition match v Nottingham Panthers (home, 6pm)
Saturday 19 Aladdin Cup v Braehead Clan (home, 7pm)
Sunday 20 Exhibition match v Krefeld Penguins (home, 6pm)
Sunday 20 Aladdin Cup, Nottingham Panthers v Braehead Clan (Nottingham, 4pm)
Cardiff Devils will travel to Switzerland and the Czech Republic for their first two Champions Hockey League matches.
They take on HC Davos away on Thursday, August 24 and then travel to take on Czech team Bili Tygri Liberec two days later.
The first home match for Devils in CHL Group E is against Liberec on Thursday, August 31.
Davos travel to South Wales on Sunday, September 3, while Swedish team Vaxjo Lakers are at Ice Arena Wales on Tuesday, October 3.
Devils complete their group matches when they travel for the return in Sweden eight days later.
The top two teams in the group progress to the next round of the CHL.
Cardiff Devils Champions Hockey League group fixtures
August
Thursday 24: HC Davos v Cardiff Devils (7.45pm CEST)
Saturday 26: Bili Tygri Liberec v Cardiff Devils (3.30pm CEST)
Thursday 31: Cardiff Devils – Bili Tygri Liberec (7pm UK time, 8pm CEST)
September
Sunday 3: Cardiff Devils – HC Davos (6pm UK time, 7pm CEST)
October
Tuesday 3: Cardiff Devils – Vaxjo Lakers (7pm UK time, 8pm CEST)
Wednesday 11: Vaxjo Lakers – Cardiff Devils (7pm CEST)