SIGNED: Wharton arrives at the Clan
NEXT HOME GAME: The Braehead Clan face the Belfast Giants in an exciting start to the season on Sunday 28th August (6:00pm face-off). Tickets will be available from Monday 1st August via TICKETMASTER, by calling 0844 499 1700 or direct at the Braehead Arena box office.
The intu Braehead Clan are delighted to announce the signing of defenceman Kyle Wharton ahead of the 2016/17 season.
Wharton is a UK passport holder and arrives in Glasgow with a wealth of experience from around the world, moving to Braehead from Japanese club Nikko Icebucks, who play in the Asia League.
Kyle will carry out an MBA with the club’s partners at the University West of Scotland during his time with the Clan.
Clan head coach Ryan Finnerty highlighted the attributes the 30-year-old has and what he brings to his team for the looming campaign.
“Kyle is a solid player,” Finnerty said. “Whether you notice him or not, we don’t have one dimensional offensive defenceman. We have guys that are solid in all three zones.
“With a ton of offence, what we have in Kyle is a good puck moving D-man with good speed, good transition and what we’re looking for.
“He’s an incredible skater, with great speed, high skill, can play in any situation and brings great size at six foot three inches and will be expected to play big minutes and a key role for us.
“We had looked at him for a while and talked to him quite a lot over the course of the summer so it’s great to get the deal tied up.”
Wharton’s career has taken him from North America to Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark and Japan before he comes to the UK.
His arrival signals the third new face in the defensive lines for the 2016/17 and although retirements has meant changes in the team, Finnerty is confident the new players will step up.
He added: “It’s tough to measure one set of defenceman against others from time here, but you’re missing Jamie Fritsch and Nathan MacIver – the sort of guys that you can’t replace like-for-like.
“As good as they were on the ice, there were great guys off it and we just need to find the pieces to put the team together again.
“We’re confident guys like Kyle will come in and fill the role, but the players we lost are not easy to replace. However the new guys will provide something different and will be as valuable.”
Wharton will wear the #72 jersey and joins Jay Rosehill, Matt Beca, Jeff Ulmer, Trevor Hendrikx, Gary Russell, Scott Aarssen, Cody Carlson, Zach Sullivan, Matt Keith, Bari McKenzie, Matt Haywood, Alex Leavitt, Daniel Ahsberg, Corey Cowick, Scott Pitt, Craig Peacock and Callum Boyd on the roster.
