Riley set to face former team
Devils' forward faces Giants for the first time this season
Cardiff vs. Belfast doesn’t really need much more of an introduction. Over the past few seasons, the teams have been involved in league, cup and playoff battles making Blair Riley’s switch from Giants to Devils this offseason all the more interesting.
This weekend he comes up against his former team for the first time. “I’m all settled here, it was a fairly quick transition especially with the group that the Devils already had. Everyone was already very familiar with each other, and I think there were only five of us coming in new to the team – but we slid in well,” began Riley, who spent three seasons in Belfast. “We followed the lead of the players that have been here with Head Coach Lord and had success, trying to bring our own things to the team. Playing such a lot of games early on, including the CHL, meant it all came together pretty quickly.”
As a league champion with Belfast, Riley also helped Cardiff into qualification for this season’s Champions Hockey League. “This was my first experience of the CHL, and it was pretty special to play against some of the top-level teams. Obviously, it wasn’t just about showing up but also how we competed with them and got some results. In the end, it was kind of unfortunate for us how things played out early: we got our wins on home ice, but the other games were split throughout the table. We knew it that we’d have a tough couple of games with Frölunda, but we gave them a rood run. for a few periods at home until their speed and skill took over,” he explained. “However, I think we showed ourselves a lot better than a 9-2 scoreline, especially for 40 minutes. Ultimately for them to have had a good month of SHL competition and then face us after they’d got rolling again was always going to be an extremely tough task.”
He continued: “I’m proud of how we showed ourselves. We did ourselves a good service and also the league – as did Belfast in their games as well.”
Much was made of Riley’s move to Cardiff, but how did it come about? “Todd Kelman reached out after the season, gave me an offer, and explained the situation in Cardiff. Obviously I was familiar with the team and the way they operate in general; they’re a highly competitive team that’s been in the running for all the trophies since I arrived in this league. There’s a lot of continuity here with ‘Lordo’ being here for some time, and I knew a couple of the players that would be coming here to play. I was just ready for a new opportunity, and I’m happy with the decision,” revealed the forward. “It’s been a good move, and to be honest it wasn’t an easy decision at the time, certainly not one I took lightly after a good three years in Belfast. We had some special moments and I made some great friends. I’m proud of the accomplishments we had there, but at the same time was ready to try something new.”
Having been involved in some intense battles with Cardiff for different trophies, was it then a little bizarre to suddenly be in the locker room with players who, for several seasons, had been the greatest competition to his team? “I guess in one sense it was, but I think I had a healthy dose of respect for their team and players. They were always competitive games, were feisty and physical but when you look back and reflect, I think us & Belfast at the time were mirror images of each other” remarked Riley. “We both play a physical brand of hockey with a high compete level, and I think the coaches’ styles are very similar, and both are similar run organisations as Todd was at both in the front office – so there is a little familiarity there which kind of helped me along. But when you get in the same locker room as other players, everything in the past is water under the bridge, you’re all pulling the same rope to work towards a common goal for the new season.”
Finally, what about this weekend? “I’m looking forward to playing Belfast, it was one of the first games I looked for when the schedule was revealed. Given the way the games between the teams have been these past three years you know they’ll be fiercely competitive and have a fairly big bearing on how the standings will play out. It’s been 12 weeks of the season and we haven’t seen them yet, so I think for both teams it’ll be a good measuring stick of where we are. When the weekend is done, I look forward to catching up with a few guys that I haven’t seen for a while” concluded the 34-year-old.
