Evan Mosey is coming back to Wales for his second season with Cardiff Devils.
American Mosey is the second piece of head coach Andrew Lord’s 2019-20 puzzle as he joins Joey Martin on the Devils roster.
“Evan is one of the fastest skaters we have seen in this league,” says Lord. “It’s a huge plus for us that he can play both forward and defence and do both as well as he does.
“He has an impressive skillset and fitted in right away when he joined us last season, not just on the ice but also in the room.
“Evan has a great personality which made him an instant fans favourite and really lifted the locker room when we needed it most last season.
“We are thrilled to have him back for the upcoming season and will be supporting him and the rest of Team GB at the World Championships in the upcoming weeks.”
Mosey, aged 30, joined Devils in early November last season after a brief stint in Denmark with the Herning Blue Foxes. He played 46 games for Devils in 2018-19 and recorded 25 points (9 goals, 16 assists).
He first came to the UK in the 2014-15 season where he spent two seasons with Nottingham Panthers, winning the conference, Challenge Cup and playoffs trophy before a year in the American League with Rockford IceHogs.
He returned to the Nottingham Panthers for the 2017-18 season.
Mosey holds a British passport and is currently in Slovakia with Team GB, preparing for their opening game at the World Championships on May 11 against Germany.
He was part of the team that won gold at Division One B with Team GB in 2017, but missed out on last year’s tournament because of a broken leg.
Cardiff Devils will host three different European opponents in pre-season action as they build towards the start of the Champions Hockey League at the end of August.
Elite League play-off champions Devils take on teams from Hungary and Slovakia at the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay.
Head coach Andrew Lord and his team play Fehervar from Hungary twice plus HC Banska Bystrica (Slovakia) and MAC Budapest (Hungary).
Fehervar AV19 play in the Erste Bank League (EBEL), finishing fourth in 2018-19. They finished just ahead of Red Bull Salzburg, who Devils faced last season in Champions League ice hockey.
Fehervar are the only EBEL team based in Hungary and this will be the first time in history the two clubs will face each other.
Banska Bystrica won their third consecutive Slovakian Elite League championship and will travel to Cardiff for the second time in the last four years.
Devils hosted the Slovakian Champs for two pre-season games in 2016.
MAC Budapest travel to the UK for two games in August, facing the Sheffield Steelers the night before they travel to Cardiff to take on Devils.
Budapest also play in the Slovakian Tipsort League and this will be the first time the two sides have ever met.
Challenge matches dates:
August
Saturday 10 and Sunday: Cardiff Devils v Fehervar Hungary
Saturday 17: Cardiff Devils V HC Banska Bystrica Slovakia
Sunday 25: Cardiff Devils V MAC Budapest Hungary
Tickets for all pre-season action will go on sale in late May