New look Wildcats ready for Lightning

RYAN Aldridge says that he is excited at the prospect of seeing Aaron Nell and Tomasz Malasinski icing together.

The Swindon Wildcats attacking pair join forces for the first time tonight as the club take on Milton Keynes Lightning in a challenge match at the Link Centre.

While Cats have only been training together since the weekend, Aldridge has been delighted with what he has seen.

“What is exciting me the most is Aaron and Tomasz playing together,” the head coach told the Advertiser.

“I got to see them on the ice as pair for the first time on Sunday.

“And the two practices that we have had since then I have been really pleased.

“We all know what Jan (Kostal) and Henri (Sandvik) can do as a pair so to have Aaron and Tomasz as well is exciting.”

Wildcats fans will also get to see new import Kenton Smith in action for the first time since joining the club over the summer, while Callum Buglass has also been impressing the head coach since arriving from Elite League side Cardiff Devils on a dual registration.

“What I have seen so far from everybody has been great,” Aldridge said.

“The way that the guys have skated so far has been really pleasing.

“We had a session on Sunday and we have also had training on Monday and Tuesday.

“For some of the guys it was the first time that they had been on the ice all summer.”

While Cats will be hoping to discover that winning feeling as early as possible, Aldridge is more concerned about the performance levels.

“We’ll be looking at a couple of things in the match and looking at how we work together – it is a practice match,” the Wildcats chief said.

“All the new guys have fitted in well, Tomasz arrived on Friday, while Kenton came in Sunday.”