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| Joey Coulter with Rhys Edwards and Kyle Carruth at Hull – photo by David Edwards |
Widnes Wild NIHL team player coach Joey Coulter has re-joined his home town team Solway Sharks on a short term basis.
Under EIHA regulations, teams are allowed to sign players from other clubs – so long as they don’t play in the same division - on an emergency basis for up to 3 games. As Solway Sharks now play in the NIHL National Division, which is a league higher than the Moralee Division where the Wild play, the move is allowed.
The rules are different for players who are under the age of 23 as they are allowed to enter into formal season-long 2-way agreements, again between teams in different divisions, that allow for them to play for more than one club at a time with the aim of giving them extra ice time and helping with their overall development.
The Wild’s Kyle Carruth is the beneficiary of such an arrangement and he is able to turn out for Widnes when he is not required by the Sharks, who are his parent club.
With another Widnes player, Rhys Edwards, on a 2-way deal with National Division Hull Seahawks, he found himself up against Wild team-mates Coulter and Carruth in a second tier match at Hull Arena, in which the Seahawks beat the Sharks 6-3.
Talking about his temporary spell with Solway, Coulter said: “I know it seems like a bit of an odd move, coaching staff playing for another team but it’s more a favour than anything else. We have a great connection with Solway, they’ve blessed us with a trio of young and very talented players, Martin and Jamie have given me plenty of support on the coaching side of the game, so when the offer came to give something back I couldn’t decline. It’s only a short term basis, and won’t interfere with any of the scheduling at Widnes.”
“I obviously have my own selfish reasons as well, helping my hometown club and playing the game we all love with some of my best mates. Widnes still has my full focus, we work around the clock behind the scenes on improving performances but on my one night off during the week I might as well add some more hockey. A lot of the ideas I’ve been implementing over here stem from my playing days at Solway, I’m hoping to pick up some more good habits whilst I’m there and bring them back to the Wild.”
