Todd Kelman has reacted strongly to criticism of his decision to switch three Sunday face-off times to 4pm during the new season.
Devils have won eight trophies since Canadian Kelman took charge of the club, rising from the brink of collapse to regain their position as the most powerful ice hockey club in Britain.
Kelman and Devils have had a number of e-mails criticising the early face-off times and he reacted quickly and decisively.
He says: “The decision is 100 per cent mine.
“Part of my job as managing director is to ensure we are sustainable for years to come.
“I am always focused on the task at hand each year, but I I always refer back to our long-term plan of owning and operating this team for the next 20 years, not for the next two or three.
“A big part of that plan is our fanbase and finding ways to encourage more children to be interested in watching our games live.
“This has always been part of our focus and will continue to be each and every season.”
Kelman makes it clear Devils will never want to play all Sunday home matches at 4pm, but insists the games against Fife (October 21), Belfast (January 20) and Sheffield (March 3) will start earlier.
He says the New Year’s Day match against Guildford Flames was always going to be starting at 4pm.
“The toughest thing to write to a fanbase I love is that some of the emails and direct messages I have received are quite frankly insulting,” says Kelman.
“Long-time Devils fans telling me that I scammed them or lied to them or am stealing money from them is completely over the top. I hate to say this to you, but it’s three games. Three games of which one is not included in your season ticket package anyway, so really it is two games or six per cent of the games you would be attending next season.
“People tell me they want to cancel their season ticket after 10 or 20 or 30 years, people calling me a liar, telling me that I have no clue what I am doing, that I never think about the fans, that I make these decisions out of nowhere and have no idea how to run a team.
“I get the passion, understand the anger, but I can’t accept the insults. I actually don’t care about the personal insults, but please never question this organisation or the group of owners that saved this great club from near extinction.
“We can safely say our track record speaks for itself.
“I am genuinely shocked at any fan that has taken the time to message me insults or questioned my integrity so after the above explanation, if you still feel that two early face-offs are worth walking away from this club that you say you love, just email me directly – tk@cardiffdevils.com – and I will be happy to refund your season ticket.”
Kelman asked the fans council about early face-offs, talked to supporters and sponsors before deciding on early face-offs in three fixtures.
“It was probably 50/50 split between people thinking it would be a good move and people thinking it was a bad one,” he says. “A number of our fans have jobs that require them to work Sundays and they struggle to get to games if the face-off moves to 4pm. This is why there are three of them and not five or six.
“Season tickets cover 32 games, not 33 or 35 or all home games. Ideally, we would have known before the season tickets went on sale about the number of teams in the league (and the number of home games) so we could adjust the season ticket package accordingly, but this wasn’t the case.
“This season, with the league going from 12 to 11 teams, the amount of league games has increased, so we have 30 league games and three Challenge Cup qualifying games, which means at an absolute minimum, the Devils are playing 33 home games.
“At least one game is not going to be part of season tickets and the plan was always to take one of the Sunday at 4pm games as the game not included because we anticipated some people not being able to attend.”
If Devils qualify for the Challenge Cup quarter-finals or semi-finals those home matches will not be part of the season ticket package.
To book individual tickets for any pre-season or CHL games: CLICK HERE or phone 0800 0842 666.
Pre-season tickets are £2 cheaper than the normal ticket prices for 2018-19.
Cardiff Devils fixtures list, including pre-season matches and Champions League group fixtures.
August
Saturday 11: Nottingham Panthers v Cardiff Devils (7pm, pre-season)
Sunday 12: Cardiff Devils v Nottingham Panthers (6pm, pre-season)
Saturday 18: Cardiff Devils v HK Poprad (7pm, pre-season)
Sunday 19: Cardiff Devils v HK Poprad (6pm, pre-season)
Saturday 25: Cardiff Devils v Coventry Blaze (7pm, pre-season)
Sunday 26: Coventry Blaze v Cardiff Devils (5.15pm, pre-season)
Thursday 30: Cardiff Devils v Red Bull Salzburg (7.30pm, Champions League)
September
Saturday 1: Cardiff Devils v SC Bern (7pm, Champions League)
Thursday 6: Red Bull Salzburg v Cardiff Devils (7.30pm, Champions League)
Saturday 8: SC Bern v Cardiff Devils (7.45pm, Champions League)
Sunday 9: Cardiff Devils v Nottingham Panthers (6pm, EL)
Sunday 16: Cardiff Devils v MK Lightning (6pm, CC group C)
Saturday 22: Cardiff Devils v Coventry Blaze (7pm, CC)
Sunday 23: Sheffield Steelers v Cardiff Devils (4pm, EL)
Wednesday 26: Nottingham Panthers v Cardiff Devils (7.30pm, EL)
Saturday 29: Guildford Flames v Cardiff Devils (6pm, CC)
Sunday 30: Cardiff Devils v Glasgow Clan (6pm, EL)
October
Wednesday 3: Dundee Stars v Cardiff Devils (7.30pm, EL)
Saturday 6: Cardiff Devils v Manchester Storm (7pm, EL)
Tuesday 9: Vaxjo Lakers v Cardiff Devils (6.30pm, Champions League)
Saturday 13: Cardiff Devils v Dundee Stars (7pm, EL)
Tuesday 16: Cardiff Devils v Vaxjo Lakers (7.30pm, Champions League)
Sunday 14: MK Lightning v Cardiff Devils (5.15pm, CC)
Saturday 20: Cardiff Devils v Sheffield Steelers (7pm, EL)
Sunday 21: Cardiff Devils v Fife Flyers (4pm, EL)
Saturday 27: Cardiff Devils v Guildford Flames (CC, 7pm)
Sunday 28: Coventry Blaze v Cardiff Devils (CC, 5.15pm)
Wednesday 31: Glasgow Clan v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7.30pm)
November
Saturday 3: Cardiff Devils v Coventry Blaze (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 4: Nottingham Panthers v Cardiff Devils (EL, 4pm)
Wednesday 7: Cardiff Devils v Fife Flyers (EL, 7.30pm)
Saturday 10: MK Lightning v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 11: Cardiff Devils v Belfast Giants (EL, 6pm)
Saturday 17: Cardiff Devils v Nottingham Panthers (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 18: Dundee Stars v Cardiff Devils (EL, 5pm)
Wednesday 21: Cardiff Devils v Fife Flyers (EL, 7pm)
Saturday 24: Manchester Storm v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 25: Cardiff Devils v Milton Keynes (EL, 6pm)
December
Saturday 1: Fife Flyers v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7.15pm)
Sunday 2: Cardiff Devils v Dundee Stars (EL, 6pm)
Wednesday 5: Cardiff Devils v Guildford Flames (EL, 7.30pm)
Saturday 8: Sheffield Steelers v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 9: Belfast Giants v Cardiff Devils (EL, TBC)
Friday 14: Cardiff Devils v Glasgow Clan (EL, 7.30pm)
Saturday 15: Manchester Storm v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Thursday 20: MK Lightning v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7.30pm)
Saturday 22: Cardiff Devils v Dundee Stars (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 23: Guildford Flames v Cardiff Devils (EL, 6pm)
Wednesday 26: Coventry Blaze v CArdiff Devils (EL, 6pm)
Thursday 27: Cardiff Devils v Coventry Blaze (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 30: Guildford Flames v Cardiff Devils (EL, 6pm)
January
Tuesday 1: Cardiff Devils v Guildford Flames (EL, 4pm)
Saturday 5: Cardiff Devils v Manchester Storm (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 6: Fife Flyers v Cardiff Devils (EL, 6.30pm)
Saturday 12: Glasgow Clan v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 13: Cardiff Devils v Nottingham Panthers (EL, 6pm)
Saturday 19: Cardiff Devils v Belfast Giants (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 20: Cardiff Devils v Belfast Giants (EL, 4pm)
Saturday 26: Nottingham Panthers v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 27: Fife Flyers v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
February
Saturday 2: Manchester Storm v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 3: Cardiff Devils v Sheffield Steelers (EL, 4pm)
Saturday 9: Cardiff Devils v Coventry Blaze (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 10: Guildford Flames v Cardiff Devils (EL, 6pm)
Saturday 16: Cardiff Devils v MK Lightning (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 17: MK Lightning v Cardiff Devils (EL, 5.15pm)
Friday 22: Belfast Giants v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Saturday 23: Belfast Giants v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
March
Saturday 2: Coventry Blaze v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 3: Cardiff Devils v Sheffield Steelers (EL, 6pm)
Friday 8: Cardiff Devils v Guildford Flames (EL, 7pm)
Saturday 16: Sheffield Steelers v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 17: Cardiff Devils v Glasgow Clan (EL, 6pm)
Wednesday 20: Glasgow Clan v Cardiff Devils (EL, 7.30pm)
Saturday 23: Cardiff Devils v Manchester Storm (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 24: Dundee Stars v Cardiff Devils (EL, 5pm)
Saturday 30: Cardiff Devils v MK Lightning (EL, 7pm)
Sunday 31: Coventry Blaze v Cardiff Devils (EL, 5.15pm)