Russell aims to take Fife Flyers to new heights
Fife Flyers have named their new coach. He's Canadian Jamie Russell and the instructions from bosses are simple: 'Build a winning team.'
The 58-year-old, who has never coached in Britain, has also been told to energise the locker room and take the Kirkcaldy club to new heights.
Flyers say the Kamloops-born playcaller has a wealth of coaching experience spread across North American college leagues, the rough-tough East Coast Hockey League and in the Slovak Extraliga.
His most recent appointment was in the Alps Hockey League with Rittner Buam who faced off against the Cardiff Devils in the third round group stage of the 2024/25 IIHF Continental Cup.
Rittner Buam also won the Italian Supercup Championship last season and Russell said: 'The new ownership group has been outstanding in developing a vision to return the Flyers to a level of pride and excellence.
'Max Birbraer is a legend in the Elite League (EIHL), and his leadership will guide us to new heights.'
Russell added: 'We are building a roster that will reflect the values you will find in the community of Kirkcaldy. We will attack games with an unyielding work ethic and passion.
'You will see players that have pride in pulling on the Flyers sweater and we intend to make the Fife Ice Arena one of the most challenging places to play in the league.'
The home team will, he declared, be known for its speed, grit and relentless style of hockey.
Max Birbraer (correct), the club's general manager (GM), revealed that from the first conversation with Russell he felt they were on the same page, not only about how hockey should be played, but the type of team we would like to build in Fife.
The Kazakhastan-born Israel international forward added: 'We both felt that this is a tremendous opportunity of having a blank canvas where we can put our own stamp on. 'The fact that Jamie has successfully undergone a full re-build process several times in his extensive career holds huge value as that's exactly what is happening here in the Kingdom of Fife.
'As an associate GM, coach Russell has the creative power of putting together a team which reflects the identity of what truly is a hockey town, hard work, passion, fearlessness, they are just some of the building blocks of our new identity.
'We are planning to balance this with skill and entertainment which we think is a winning formula in terms of giving our diehard supporters the match night experience they deserve.
'During the due diligence process, one common theme kept coming through, Jamie is a true leader.'
Birbraer had a message for the club's success-hungry fans: 'Get behind this team and fly together.'
FLASHBACK: Action v Coventry last season courtesy of Fife Flyers
Like this:
Like
Related
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Max Verstappen's blunt comment on F1 ban says it all after George Russell U-turn
Max Verstappen is one penalty point away from incurring a Formula 1 race ban ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, following his collision with George Russell in Barcelona Max Verstappen said it would "not be the end of the world" if he were banned from taking part in a Formula 1 race. That's despite his title defence already looking difficult with the Red Bull racer 49 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri. Verstappen has 11 penalty points on his racing licence, having been given three last time out at the Spanish Grand Prix. That, alongside a 10-second time penalty, was his punishment for driving into George Russell towards the end of the Barcelona race. It means he is one more penalty point away from becoming only the second F1 driver to be banned under the current system, after Kevin Magnussen last year. Not that he appears to be too concerned about the prospect of being forced to sit out a race. Asked if he felt being so close to a ban in might change the way he and others will battle on track at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, Verstappen said: "It's there, right? There's nothing that you can do about it. "So we just focus ahead and try to do the best that we can every single time. It's not changing my approach – I cannot speak for others. If you look at it in general, missing a race is not ideal, but it's not the end of the world." Russell said in the aftermath of that Barcelona incident that he felt Verstappen had deliberately driven into his Mercedes. Speaking in Montreal, the Brit said he had changed his view on that, but showed little sympathy for his Red Bull rival's predicament. He said: "If [Verstappen] gets to 12 points, [a ban] wouldn't be unjust. At the end of the day, that's why the penalty points are there. If you keep driving recklessly you will accumulate points, and get punished with a race ban. You've got it in your own hands and it doesn't go without risk. "He was trying to run me off the road. I don't think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. He wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it. Again, it wasn't going to scare me, it was just all a bit surprising." Verstappen issued a statement the morning after the Barcelona race in which he admitted he was wrong to have collided with Russell. That social media post did not include an apology, though Russell says he is not after one and was simply surprised to see Verstappen shoulder the blame. "I'm not looking for an apology. His actions cost him and they benefited me, so I should be almost thanking him. Obviously, I'd be feeling very differently if it took me out of the race. But it is good to see that he took accountability. I was a bit surprised about that."
North Wales Chronicle
8 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
George Russell believes a ban for Max Verstappen would be justified
Verstappen is one point away from being forced to sit out a race following his collision with Russell at the last round in Spain where he accelerated into the British driver. Verstappen issued a veiled apology for the coming together which relegated him from fifth to 10th and sees him head into this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix 49 points off the championship pace. Speaking in Montreal, Mercedes' Russell, who finished fourth in Barcelona, said: 'If he (Verstappen) gets to 12 points it (a ban) wouldn't be unjust. 'At the end of the day, that's why the penalty points are there. If you keep driving recklessly you will accumulate points, and get punished with a race ban. You've got it in your own hands and it doesn't go without risk. 'He was trying to run me off the road. I don't think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. He wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it. Again, it wasn't going to scare me, it was just all a bit surprising. 'I'm not looking for an apology. His actions cost him and they benefited me. So I should be almost thanking him. Obviously I'd be feeling very differently if it took me out of the race. But it is good to see that he took accountability. I was a bit surprised about that.' The flashpoint marked another controversial chapter in Verstappen's career following run-ins last year with Lando Norris and multiple clashes with Lewis Hamilton in their title duel four years ago. But when asked if he believes a ban would change Verstappen's aggressive approach, Russell continued: 'I don't think so. 'It depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? When you are going for a championship, it's slightly different. That's why I believe he wasn't intentionally trying to crash into me. He was just trying to get his elbows out and show who's boss. 'But he got it wrong. Jos (Verstappen's father) is the boss. I'm going to continue racing exactly the same way because at the end of the day that's what I did last week and I benefited from it.' In the moments after the race, Verstappen sarcastically offered Russell a tissue when he was informed of the Mercedes man's criticism. 'That was quite funny to be fair and I did have a giggle about that,' continued Russell, who watched Carlos Alcaraz defeat Jannik Sinner in last Sunday's French Open final at Roland Garros. 'We bumped into each other at the airport on Sunday morning when I was going to Roland Garros. 'To be honest, I totally forgot about Barcelona because he was there with his newborn, and we were at the security machine. He just had a quick chat and then he was busy folding the pram down to put it through the machine.' Oscar Piastri won in Spain and holds a 10-point championship lead over McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.
Leader Live
8 hours ago
- Leader Live
George Russell believes a ban for Max Verstappen would be justified
Verstappen is one point away from being forced to sit out a race following his collision with Russell at the last round in Spain where he accelerated into the British driver. Verstappen issued a veiled apology for the coming together which relegated him from fifth to 10th and sees him head into this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix 49 points off the championship pace. Speaking in Montreal, Mercedes' Russell, who finished fourth in Barcelona, said: 'If he (Verstappen) gets to 12 points it (a ban) wouldn't be unjust. 'At the end of the day, that's why the penalty points are there. If you keep driving recklessly you will accumulate points, and get punished with a race ban. You've got it in your own hands and it doesn't go without risk. 'He was trying to run me off the road. I don't think he was trying to intentionally crash into me. He wanted to just sort of scare me a bit, but he just misjudged it. Again, it wasn't going to scare me, it was just all a bit surprising. 'I'm not looking for an apology. His actions cost him and they benefited me. So I should be almost thanking him. Obviously I'd be feeling very differently if it took me out of the race. But it is good to see that he took accountability. I was a bit surprised about that.' The flashpoint marked another controversial chapter in Verstappen's career following run-ins last year with Lando Norris and multiple clashes with Lewis Hamilton in their title duel four years ago. But when asked if he believes a ban would change Verstappen's aggressive approach, Russell continued: 'I don't think so. 'It depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? When you are going for a championship, it's slightly different. That's why I believe he wasn't intentionally trying to crash into me. He was just trying to get his elbows out and show who's boss. 'But he got it wrong. Jos (Verstappen's father) is the boss. I'm going to continue racing exactly the same way because at the end of the day that's what I did last week and I benefited from it.' In the moments after the race, Verstappen sarcastically offered Russell a tissue when he was informed of the Mercedes man's criticism. 'That was quite funny to be fair and I did have a giggle about that,' continued Russell, who watched Carlos Alcaraz defeat Jannik Sinner in last Sunday's French Open final at Roland Garros. 'We bumped into each other at the airport on Sunday morning when I was going to Roland Garros. 'To be honest, I totally forgot about Barcelona because he was there with his newborn, and we were at the security machine. He just had a quick chat and then he was busy folding the pram down to put it through the machine.' Oscar Piastri won in Spain and holds a 10-point championship lead over McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.
