SIGNING: Crooks checks in with Clan
The Glasgow Clan, sponsored by Aspray Glasgow West, are delighted to announce the signing of Canadian forward Jamie Crooks.
The 29-year-old will be familiar to the fans of the club after spending two years at EIHL rivals Guildford Flames between 2018 and 2020.
And after a year out of the game because of the coronavirus pandemic, Crooks is pleased to be looking forward to the normality of a season again and admits it might have been a different story.
“I’m pretty excited to be coming,” he said. “It’s been about a year and a half since I played so I helping to coach where I live for a spell before we got shut down again.
“I actually wasn’t sure if I was going to play again, but I’ve missed it so much and I know I’ve still got some years in me.
“It definitely crossed my mind and as much as I enjoyed the coaching, I still feel I have something to offer on the ice.
“I had a good chat with the coach, who sounds like a really good guy and I liked what he had to say. He’s bringing in some good signings too which is excited.
“I also enjoyed played in Glasgow when I was with Guildford, so talking with Ben Davies and Linden Springer, who lives near me, they spoke very positively of their experience.”
Crooks arrived in UK three years ago from the University of Alberta, where he spent five years and played in 150 appearances, scoring 75 times and adding 54 assists for a points tally of 129.
He joined Paul Dixon’s side and helped them to the Challenge Cup Final, where they lost to Belfast Giants, but also reached the play-off finals weekend.
When he left Surrey in March 2020, because of lockdown, he had played in 121 games, with 40 goals and 31 assists to show for his Elite League efforts.
Head coach Malcolm Cameron summed up what Crooks can bring to the team in simple terms.
“Jamie Crooks is a goalscorer, pure and simple,” he said. “He has a good hard shot, a good release and if he gets within 15-20 feet of the net, he’s going to bury it.
“He has a real good knack of finding space and has been successful in North America and has done well in the Elite League so we’re glad to have him on board.”
Crooks is the 13th name on the Clan roster for the 2021/22 season, where he joins Shane Starrett, Colin Campbell, Rodney Southam, Matt Haywood, Jordan McLaughlin, Mathieu Roy, Medric Mercier, Nolan LaPorte, Colton Yellow Horn, Jordan Buesa, Cody Sol and Mikko Vainonen in the team.
He’ll wear the #19 jersey for the club in new season.
