Andrew Lord faces another major Cardiff Devils selection dilemma in Friday’s Elite League clash with Manchester Storm in Altrincham.
Cardiff’s player-coach must decide which of his import players will sit out the game – and Lord must then take a similar decision for Sunday’s Challenge Cup final against Sheffield Steelers in Cardiff Bay.
Mark Louis, Patrick Bordeleau, Chris Culligan, Guillaume Doucet and Lord himself have all taken turns as Cardiff’s healthy scratch over the past month or so, but there is no obvious candidate at this stage of the season.
Devils have an extra import on their roster and when all 16 are fit Lord has to make a decision. They can only include 14 in any one game, although captain Jake Morissette is currently out with an ankle injury.
Culligan missed the 3-2 win at Edinburgh Capitals because of a minor injury, but it looks certain he will be fit to face Manchester Storm at their rink.
The Canadian forward was in outstanding form when Devils crushed Coventry Blaze 8-0 less than a week ago and Lord has said: “Chris was back to his best and that’s great news for our team.”
Canadian D-man Louis sat out the match at Nottingham when Lord opted to go with a five-man defensive unit, but that won’t happen in Manchester. All four imports – Louis plus Andrew Hotham, Scott Hotham and Gleason Fournier – look certain to start.
David Brine, Sean Bentivoglio and Patrick Asselin will all be selected because they are Devils only players with a European stamp on their passport – and all teams must include three in any one game.
Joey Martin, Layne Ulmer and Joey Haddad are in the sort of form which makes them far too important to the team to be even considered, while Lord’s influence on the ice means he is right to keep playing.
He benched himself not too long ago, but his gritty determination and sheer will-to-win are factors which mean he must play at the most crucial stage of the season.
It would be wrong to leave out 6ft 6ins Patrick Bordeleau, certainly from the cup final on Sunday when Sheffield’s Zach Fitzgerald will be looking to intimidate Devils players, while new American signing Denny Kearney has slotted into team seamlessly and will surely play.
That leaves Culligan and Doucet and it would be incredibly harsh on either of them if they are left out. Culligan has the ability to be Devils most effective player and showed that against Coventry, while Doucet is scoring again and is the best sniper in Elite League when he’s feeing good.
Natural scorers like Doucet need to know they have the confidence of coaches and his all-round game and work ethic make him a player difficult to leave out at any time.
It’s a near impossible puzzle for Lord and there does not appear to be an obvious answer, but, if he gets it right, those same selection worries could prove crucial during the tense run-in towards the end of this season.
Devils are top of Elite League and, arguably, Friday’s League match against Manchester is more important that Sunday’s final.
A win against Storm would move Devils nine points clear at the top with six fixtures to play.
But the cup final clash with Sheffield Steelers will be a huge occasion. It is being played at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay (4pm) and all 3,088 seats have been sold.
The match is also being broadcast live on the giant screen at Cardiff’s Bierkeller.
Lord and his Devils, though, only have Manchester Storm on their minds. They will be followed to Storm’s rink in Altrincham by around 100 supporters for what is a crucial match in the League title chase.