Everyone Active Raiders coach expects impact from new import

Coy Prevost is due to arrive in the UK on Friday morning to join the gold and blue ranks, joining fellow Canadians Adam Laishram and Riley MacRae on the Romford club’s roster.

And Easton is looking forward to seeing what the 26-year-old from British Columbia can offer, having started the 2023-24 season with the Knoxville Ice Bears in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) in the USA.

“Unfortunately we just couldn’t wait any longer for Zach Bennett’s biometrics to come back,” said Easton, referring to the defenceman the club had been trying to bring over for some weeks.

“With Coy wanting to get back playing as soon as possible and us needing that third import as soon as possible it was a perfect fit.

“Imports have to be impact players in this league. We have that with Laish [Adam Laishram] and Riley [MacRae] – and from watching a lot of video on Coy we can expect the same.”

Ice Bears head coach Brent Clarke, speaking at the time of Prevost’s arrival in Knoxville, said: “Coy’s a versatile player who can play forward or defence. He’ll be a bit of a switchblade for us. He’s a very offensive player.”

Prevost played his minor hockey in BC, as a forward and defenceman, before scoring 73 points in 85 league and play-off games for the Kimberley Dynamiters in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL), helping them to win the title in 2015.

He made one major junior league appearance in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for Saskatoon Blades, before spending three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) – a Junior A competition.

And after tallying 66 goals, 80 assists and 263 penalty minutes in 176 appearances – mostly for Canmore Eagles, before a short spell with Fort McMurray Oil Barons – Prevost played briefly for the Windsor Aces and then studied at the University of Windsor, where one of his teammates was Ryan Shaw, who was set to play for Raiders in 2022-23, but returned home to take up a job with the police force.

Prevost went on to score 17 points in 29 games for the Evansville Thunderbolts after leaving university, before splitting last season between the Siksika Buffaloes (4-2-5-7) in the Ranchland Hockey League, Adelaide Adrenaline (15-7-15-22) in the Australian Ice Hockey League and Abu Dhabi Storms (11-6-20-26) in the UAE.

New Bristol import Brennan Feasey was among his teammates once again in the UAE, having also shared a changing room with the 29-year-old in Windsor and Evansville. 

“Coy describes his game as an “extreme playmaker” which we need from the back,” added Easton.

“Someone to play with confidence on the puck to transition our defence to offence quickly and efficiently.

“A highly offensive defender, big body, skates extremely well and will carry the puck well.”

Raiders are set to visit MK Lightning on Saturday, before hosting a return at Romford’s Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre on Sunday (5.15pm).