Edinburgh Capitals are delighted to announce the new signing of highly experienced, Canadian import Defenceman, James Isaacs.
James arrives at the club having played in just under 400 Elite League games in the UK. The 34-year-old blueliner first came to these shores back in 2013-14 when he signed with Dundee Stars mid-season.
He spent the following year as a Star before moving to Coventry Blaze in 2015-16. A summer playing hockey in Australia with Melbourne Mustangs then saw him return to Scotland this time to sign with the Fife Flyers.
Kirkcaldy would be home for the next five seasons from 2016-2022. In that spell, he became the top non-homegrown player to have made the most EIHL appearances for the Flyers.
Last season saw James ice in the SPHL with Evansville Thunderbolts. He had previously played in the same league away back in 2011-13 with Mississippi Surge. He also spent a couple of years playing in the ECHL before arriving in Dundee. Idaho Steelheads and Greenville Road Warriors were the two teams he iced with. In Idaho, he was a teammate of former Caps goalie and current Belfast Giant, Tyler Beskorowany.
James was born in Victoria, BC, and played his Junior Hockey with Sooke Stingers (VIJHL), Campbell River Storm (VIJHL), and Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL) before splitting a season at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University.
Away from the ice, the 6ft 1” 209lb Dman has represented Team Canada on many occasions at Inline Hockey. He has won countless medals at World Championships over the years.
This signing is a huge message of intent from the Capitals. We are very fortunate to have a player of his calibre living here in Edinburgh and now playing in the SNL. The league is growing and this is a sign of just that.
James has been rehabbing from a serious hip/groin injury as he looks to take his first steps back onto the ice. He will be working and attending school in the capital as a lawyer and we asked him what made him sign on here at the Capitals, “The Caps were always going to be an easy choice. It’s great to have the opportunity to play competitive ice hockey in a world-class city whilst pursuing my legal career. It’s a unique opportunity that I am grateful for.
The organisation has been patient in allowing me to recover from a fairly serious groin/hip injury and I look forward to rewarding that patience by helping the team win some games down the stretch and lifting a couple of trophies!”
As expected Head Coach Steven Lynch is ecstatic to bring such an experienced signing to Edinburgh at this stage of the season, “This is a great signing for us as we enter the second half of the season. James and I originally started speaking back in May about this possibility but there were 2 or 3 stumbling blocks we had to get over first. Once we got them figured out, we then had to wait until he rehabilitated from an injury he picked up playing last season but we always felt that he would be worth the wait.
He’s been skating with us for around a month now and is ready to go. He’s looking sharp and can’t wait to get playing again in a city that he will be calling home for a few years at least. He will bring experience, professionalism, leadership, and a great skill set to our team and the SNL. We’re delighted that we’ve got this done as James will be an integral part of our club for the remainder of the season as we challenge for silverware and hopefully beyond.
He’ll be playing his first game on Hogmanay in front of what should be a bumper crowd and I’m sure he’ll receive a great welcome from our fans who will take to him instantly.”
James will wear the #51 jersey and go into the roster for our game on Hogmanay against North Ayrshire Wild.
LET’S GO CAPITALS!
Action Photo: Fife Flyers
