An Interview With...

Jeff Daniels

A 24 year old Canadian import and leading scorer for the Lancashire Hawks, Jeff Daniels spoke to me yesterday after the Hawks’ important 4 point demolition of the Cardiff Rage. A talented offenceman and good all-round playmaker, Jeff has already scored over 100 points this season, so why are the Hawks losing?

"To be honest with you, a lot of people don’t realise the pressure on a team like ourselves with little money. There are 6 guys on the ice, all with a specific job to do and although the defence has come in for a lot of stick, it is often forwards dropping too far back or coming too far forward that causes the problems."

"We have a whole first line full of British youngsters and they’ve played great but when you’re playing against especially the Southern teams with lots of imports, they’re very difficult to play against." Coming from the Capital City of ice hockey, Toronto, you’d expect the English game to be very different. Jeff began playing at the early age of 5 in leagues called Junior A and B, which is very common for youngsters in Canada. He went on to play throughout his school life and eventually played for the University of Toronto. Last year, he took a break to work and this year, we are graced with his talent at the Arena.

"I like Britain very much and plan to come back next season," replying with a wry smile when asked of the possibility of that lucky team being the Hawks. "Having a ten team league is not so bad but it’s the separation of the teams in terms of money and support which is the key. It would be unfair to mix our league with many of the Superleague teams because in the end, you want good competition and a parody between the leagues is good."

"The spirit of the team is obviously high at the moment after taking valuable points tonight but all the guys get on really well together and we pull through everything. The loss of Adrian (Lomonaco) got us down a bit but I think generally, we’ve been fairly unlucky. We lost 5-4 to Telford earlier in the season and have played really well against the likes of Fife. If a team like Kingston or a Southern team doesn’t take the play-off title, I’ll be surprised.

In 3 weeks, it’s the big awards night for the Hawks, the end of season presentation evening. "There’s a few players who deserve it, Bobby Haig being one of them. He’s held us together this year.” As he dashed off for his well deserved drink, Jeff said "See you again". Hopefully that’s a sign for next season!

Louise Riley was talking to Jeff Daniels, 1st March 1998.