Paisley Pirates

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Paisley Pirates Ice Hockey Club
City Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland
League Scottish National League
Founded 1946
Home arena Braehead Arena
Capacity: 4500
Ice size: 200ft x 100ft
Colours Black, Red, & White
Owner(s) Board
Head coach Scotland Ian Turley
Captain Scotland John Downes
Website
http://www.paisleypirates.org/

The Paisley Pirates were founded in 1946 and are one of the oldest ice hockey clubs in Scotland and the UK (the oldest being the Fife Flyers). The Pirates were the epitome of the game in Scotland during the 1950s. In season 1953-4 they won the Autumn Cup, the Scottish Cup and the Canada Cup.

Their success brought them to the British National League, but local supporters could ill afford to travel to Southern England and gradually support waned. Both Pirates' junior team, Paisley Wildcats, followed by the Pirates themselves were dissolved. The Paisley Mohawks replaced them, but could not generate the enthusiasm of the Pirates. Paisley Buddies were delighted when the Pirates were relaunched in the 1990s with the opening of the new ice rink and started living up to past glories by winning Scottish Division One in their inaugural season. The following season Pirates joined British League Division One and after more league reconstruction a few seasons later joined British National League which was the start of tougher times for the Pirates, where they regularly finished out of play-off contention and close to the foot of the table. Former Aviemore Blues tough-guy/coach, Stirling Wright, was brought in from Swindon in the 1999-2000 season. Local players, Bobby Chalmers, James Clarke, and O'Niell from the Pirates were selected to play for the GB junior team. Wright continued to play the home grown players more than the imports and this resulted in the imports pushing for Wright to resign. Wright met with the owner Allan Maxwell and resigned in February when he refused to reduce the playing time of the British/Scottish players. He was asked to return the next week but headed back to America. The team would not improve and the production dropped even more with many of the players leaving the club. With the costs of travel to the south of England, the Pirates could not afford to continue play in the British National League so in 2002 the club made the decision to transfer to the Scottish National League where they continue to play.

During season 2006/7, the Pirates almost had to fold due to a problem with their home ice at Paisley's Lagoon centre. However, a late move to the nearby Braehead Arena secured their survival. In an eventful season, they secured the Scottish Spring Cup, beating Dundee Tigers in the final.

After many ups and downs over the years the club was taken over by a group of supporters in 2010. The club was withdrawn from the (now defunct) SPHL during the 2009/10 season by the clubs then owner. The club joined the SNL Scottish National League for the 2010/11 season and will continue in that league for the 2011/12 season.

2011-2012 Roster

Netminders
Number Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
1 Scotland Kevin Kinney L 2011 Paisley, Scotland
29 Scotland Leigh McHatton L 2010 Fife, Scotland
35 Scotland Scott Blackwell L 2011 Ayr, Scotland
Defencemen
Number Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
6 Scotland Jack Burns 2011 Ayr, Scotland
10 Scotland Calum Blair 2010 Glasgow, Scotland
16 Scotland Ian Turley (P/C) Glasgow, Scotland
18 Scotland Ross Jordan 2010 Glasgow, Scotland
20 Scotland Keith Riddoch 2011 Aberdeen, Scotland
21 Scotland Chris Conaboy Paisley, Scotland
27 Scotland Chris Turley Glasgow, Scotland
30 Scotland Martin Guy 2010 Glasgow, Scotland
31 Scotland Mark Hassan Paisley, Scotland
Forwards
Number Player Shoots Position Acquired Place of Birth
4 Scotland Gareth Stephen R 2010 Glasgow, Scotland
7 Scotland Chris Wilson 2011 Paisley, Scotland
8 Scotland Stuart McCaig L Paisley, Scotland
9 Scotland James Clark R 2010 Paisley, Scotland
11 Scotland George Murray R 2009 Paisley, Scotland
14 Scotland John Churchill L 2010 Glasgow, Scotland
17 Scotland Darren Kinney R 2010 Paisley, Scotland
19 Scotland Richard Thorp R 2010 Dumfries, Scotland
39 Scotland John Downes (C) R Dundee, Scotland
40 Scotland Andrew Murphy R 2010 Ayr, Scotland
53 Scotland Callum Wallace L 2011 Paisley, Scotland
81 Scotland David Orr R 2011 Paisley, Scotland
91 Scotland Graham McCamley R 2011 Glasgow, Scotland
Staff
Number Player Position Acquired Place of Birth
-- Scotland Ian Turley Head Coach 1998 Paisley, Scotland
-- Scotland Assistant Coach , Scotland
-- Scotland Jason Barr Manager Glasgow, Scotland
-- Scotland Ian Turley (Snr) Equip. Manager Glasgow, Scotland

External links

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