Follow the Herd

Nicholas Chinn. Our Nicky. Cardiff born, bred and trained, Nicky Chinn was the Devils marque Brit for many seasons (even if he did abandon us for Sheffield). With big hits and a physical style, he did what many Brits failed to do and got a regular place in ISL rosters.

With the 25th Anniversary coming up upon us ever rapidly, we caught up with a true legend of the Devils (we thought so much that we included him in our Mount Puckmore). Still playing after 23 years and currently icing as the Captain of the Basingstoke Bison, Nicky speaks. Remember to have your say too.

Who do you think is the best forward you have played on a line with and against?
Played with-Steve Moria, Legend. The style of player i wanted to be without the afro,oops.

Against- Brebant, no body liked him but he had it all. Would sell his Mother to win a game.

In all your years playing, what is your favourite memory?
Has to be going to the Calgary Flames training camp and being apart of that kind of organisation. Everyone should experience something like that. Should have stayed but i was badly advised at the time.

If you had to pick one part of your game you would improve, what would it be and why?
I'd have liked to have been a bit faster. Would have helped me to run over more D men.

What drove you to get to the top British leagues when others as talented fell by the wayside?
Somebody told me that i wouldn't make it (no names), I love a challenge and proving people wrong.Then just hard work and being able to ajust your style of game to suit the league. That and the fact i hate to lose.

The EPL is an alien concept to many Devils fans. Can you give an overview of the league, and the quality of the competition.
Its similar to the old Heineken days I guess. Not as systematic as the Elite. Players need to be able to hold onto the puck a bit, more enjoyable to watch & play(personal opinion). The standard is high and all the teams are very close, the difference is the quality Brits a Team has.

How big is quality difference between EIHL and the EPL?
Its just a different game. The Elite is faster, more systems and more physical. Obviously you have some better players because the budgets are higher. You get what you pay for with Imports. I think a lot of people would be surprised. If you played with the same amount of imports in a crossover league, there wouldn't be a lot in it.

Where should the British leagues focus their future development plans?
In the Junior system. We need some investment in the sport but everything starts with youth. More Ice rinks is a no brainer, you cant do anything without them. Unfortunately its a minority sport and help isnt easy to get.

Does the UK have a strong enough grass roots system with a high enough level of coaching to develop young players?
I think it does it just doesnt have the support or funding. Ive seen plenty of talent in the EPl and below, the problem is no decent bridging gap between junior and senior Hockey. Kids see this and wisely concentrate of getting a secure job. Hockey is to much of a gamble, just look at me Im a prime example.

Do British players do enough to push themselves to make the top grade leagues or is there too much of a comfort level due to wages that are paid to top Brits?
I don't think there's a comfort level at all. Brits earn more in the EPL because there worth more. All the Elite league has done is limit the amount of opportunities for Brits and its always been the case. A team would rather take the same standard Import than the Brit and thats because of the people that ended up running and being influential in the League. Jobs for the boys is how it always looked to me. It happened in Germany, the National Team was being effected so they did something about it.

When you were younger did the ISL kill off British hockey to the British players and therefore disengaged the local fans supporting local players?
The game definitely became more impersonal through the ISL. Player stopped engaging with the fans,no homegrown Brits in some teams, no going up to the bar for a chat. It just became to professional to quickly and that link with the fans broke down. I was lucky enough tp play infront of 17,000 at the MEN arena, that will never happen again sadly.

What should GB hockey do to improve?
The only thing GB can do is limit the Imports and create a better bridging system for players to jump from junior to senior hockey. Obviously funding is an issue and that would help tremendously but we have enough people who know the game now, but we need to do it sooner rather than later or the future is bleak. If you look at the GB team, there's still a lot of guys playing that started a long time ago. Help is needed.

OK - every hockey player seems to want to be one once they retire... so why a fireman?
The Fireman thing just kind of happened. I thought I was nearing the end of my career, the missus went back to Uni to study so I had to get a real job. To be honest it was just the first thing that came up that I thought id be half decent at, and that was 6 years ago.

Will you ever retire, or are you planning on dying in your skates (after posting another 50 point season)?
The beauty about my situation now is the fact that I know I cant go on forever. Because of this you realise how much you love playing and how lucky you've been to able to do this for 20+ years, so I'm just going to keep going as long as i can. I dont think the body will hold out as long as Mr Moria but Ive played a different game than him and its starting to break. I'm stil fit so why not keep going.