Steven Lynch, Edinburgh Capitals Head Coach, has announced the signing of Ben Coughtrie for the upcoming 2022-23 Scottish National League campaign. 22 year old Ben Coughtrie played with Solway Sharks in the NIHL 1 last season.
Defenceman Ben was part of the recent treble winning Solway Sharks team that lifted the NIHL National and NIHL North Championships, along with the Play Off trophy. Ben was also on the Solway Sharks team that won the SNL title in the 2019-20 season.
Growing up in the North Ayrshire Junior system would see Ben progress into the SNL with North Ayrshire Wild back in 2016-17. The following year he would split his time between North Ayr and Solway Sharks gaining valuable experience. Since 2017-18 Ben has been part of the Solway Sharks roster at U20, SNL and NIHL levels. He was also a Scottish Internationalist at U15, U17 and U19.
Coughtrie sees this as a new challenge for him and he was excited to talk about it. “As soon as Lynchy contacted me I was immediately interested. I love Edinburgh as a city. I want to enjoy my hockey again and with the huge fan following the Caps have I couldn’t say no. I can’t wait to get the season going as it’s a fresh start for me and I feel I can offer a lot to the team. On a personal note for this season, I hope to get game time under my belt and improve and work hard every shift. For the team this season, after winning the treble at NIHL, I want to win everything. With the team Lynchy is putting together and the amazing fan base I have no doubts we can do just that this season.”
Head Coach Steven Lynch commented on getting Ben signed up, “I’m delighted that Ben has chosen to join the Capitals. He is a player I have known for many years through the SIH National Program having represented Scotland at U15, U17 & U19 and always impressed me as a junior player. He has spent the last 3 years playing in the NIHL which is a higher level and at 22, we will be looking for him to log a lot of minutes for us, provide stability to our blue line and look to take the next step in his career by becoming a senior player in the dressing room.”
More signings will follow very shortly.
