Edinburgh Capitals have not been included in the line-up for the 2018-2019 Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) season, it was announced yesterday, meaning that Edinburgh will have no representation in ice hockey’s top league over the next year.
This announcement is following the failed bid of rival Edinburgh club, Murrayfield Racers, to join the EIHL.
Edinburgh Capitals finished a disappointing last in the EIHL last season, racking up only five wins in 56 matches.
Following their poor season, Murrayfield Racers, who were British champions four times between 1969 and 1972, made an audacious bid to replace the Capitals in next year’s EIHL. A battle for ice time at the Murrayfield ice rink played out, resulting in much uncertainty as to what was going to happen regarding a professional ice hockey team in Edinburgh.
The Racers, whose board included legend of the sport, Tony Hand, won that battle and it appeared that they would be the team to be awarded the spot in the EIHL. Their bid failed, with the assumption being that the Capitals would retain their place.
This has not transpired though, with it looking like there will be no Edinburgh team in next season’s EIHL.
A statement from the EIHL clarified the situation, saying:
“Following the decision to reject the application from Murrayfield Racers to join the Elite League in 2018/19, the EIHL Board of Directors will now turn their attention to the future operating structure of the league.
With no ice time contract in place between the Edinburgh Capitals and Murrayfield Ice Rink, the Elite League has no choice but to move forward without the Capitals organisation.
The Board is now considering a number of options relating to participation and format ahead of the next Elite League Board Meeting on May 22nd 2018.
A final decision on the league format for 2018/19 (and subsequent seasons) is expected to be announced shortly after this date.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here