Aulin, Stovin, and the EIHL

You have to love that unbridled celebration that Manchester Storm forward Jared Aulin let loose after scoring an overtime winner against the Belfast Giants back in September. That's the kind of celebration we were used to seeing from Aulin as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, as a Colorado Avalanche, and as a Calgary Dino here in North America, over in Sweden with Orebro, and in Switzerland with Rapperswil-Jona. Aulin, a former guest on The Hockey Show, has always been a solid scoring forward and hard worker no matter where he's gone, but he seems to have found himself a new hockey life in Manchester, England this season!

The Storm, who currently sit in ninth-place in the ten-team EIHL with a 1-7-2-1 record, haven't had the storybook season where Aulin comes in and the fortunes of the team do a full 180-degree turn. Hockey is still a team game that requires everyone to do their part each shift in each game to win hockey games. While they've fallen short in the early-goings of this 2019-20 season, it's fairly clear that Aulin has found a home in Manchester with his inspired play on the ice.

While it seems like their record might indicate a long, hard road ahead, Manchester finds themselves just nine points back of the first-place Sheffield Steelers. They're three points out of a playoff spot, and have only lost a game by more than three goals once this season - a 4-1 setback against the Glasgow Clan this past Sunday. With games against the tenth-place Dundee Stars and the first-place Steelers on November 9 and 10, there's a good chance that they'll grab two points at minimum to put themselves back in the playoff conversation.

To add some fun to the upcoming league games, the Storm downed the Steelers 6-2 on October 18 in the Challenge Cup, and will face those same Steelers this weekend in a second Challenge Cup match. In what appears to be a three-game series between the two clubs, the Storm have a chance to put a real dent in the Steelers' hopes of winning the Challenge Cup while being a thorn in their sides during the regular season. Who said hockey in England wasn't fun?

Aulin, for his part on the Storm, leads the team in points with that overtime goal and eight helpers. The 37 year-old was expected to bring some strong two-way play to the Storm, and he and brother-in-law Layne Ulmer have been showing some solid chemistry as if they were real brothers in leading the team in scoring. Jared, it seems, was looking for a new opportunity this season, and one of the things he was seeking was fun. When the chase to sign on with Manchester presented itself to give him the opportunity to join his brother-in-law on the ice, it made the decision that much easier.

One of the key things for Jared is that he was seeking a good opportunity to not only play hockey, but to become part of a community that supports a team as he had felt in Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden when he played in those locations. As he told Storm TV, "I like to connect and get to know the fans, get to know the people of the city, not just my teammates. I want to feel that where I'm playing, I want to feel at home and get to know the area and people in the area."

Manchester, it seems has embraced their new Canadian forward as Aulin and his teammates look to improve their standing. Aulin, who scored the shootout winner against the Belfast Giants on October 19, is one of a number of players who joined the EIHL this season, and the talent level in the league has shown solid growth as Marc-Olivier Vallerand - a key pickup for Sheffield - leads the league in points with 18 while teammates John Armstrong and Robert Dowd sit second and third, respectively in league scoring. Elgin Pearce, a standout at the University of Calgary, leads the Dundee Stars in goals and points, and former QMJHL standout and Concordia University forward Anthony Beauregard has shone beside Pearce in Dundee. Needless to say, these few examples have already shown that EIHL hockey is better than what it was just five years ago, and players looking for an opportunity should give the league some serious thought.

Speaking of the Dundee Stars, one of the guys who gave it some thought was former Bisons forward Brett Stovin! Stovin, who has two goals and an assist thus far, has been a solid two-way player for Dundee, winning 51.2% of his face-offs and is a -1 on the tenth-place team in the league. Clearly, the game learned by Stovin at the University of Manitoba is helping the Stars this season, and that's a credit to Stovin's dedication to his craft.

Overall, the EIHL is highly-competitive this season thanks to an infusion of talent from all over the world. While no one will ever mistake the EIHL for the AHL at this point, the fact that there are good, young players showcasing their talents throughout Great Britain should prove beneficial for future generations of Great Britain hockey.

Remember that Team Great Britain will play at the 2020 IIHF World Championships thanks to their showing at last year's tournament, their first appearance at the IIHF's top-tier tournament since 1994! Making the EIHL more competitive will only benefit Britain's national squad, and it seems the fans in the stands don't mind the infusion of talent either.

Players like Jared Aulin, Brett Stovin, Layne Ulmer, and Elgin Pearce will make national team players like Brett Perlini of the Nottingham Panthers, Robert Dowd of the Steelers, and Mark Richardson of the Cardiff Devils better on the international stage because they've already pushed their games to new levels thanks to the talent coming into the EIHL. That how you grow the game for an emerging nation on the world stage!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!