Edinburgh Capitals are delighted to announce the return of import defenceman James Isaacs for the remainder of the 2025-2026 SNL campaign.
Issy will once again bring vast experience to our line-up, having played well over 500 games in the Elite League since he arrived in the UK away back in 2014. Having recently moved to London, he was unable to commit to the team this season, but will feature when he can from now on.
‘Rhino’ joined the Caps mid-way through season 2023-24, having had a spell out of hockey. Since then, he has played in 49 games for the club, scoring 18 goals and 42 assists for 60 points. Last campaign was very stop-start for him after picking up an injury that kept him sidelined and led to him missing vital games.
He will be looking to rekindle that form we saw when he first hit the ice here in the Lion’s Den. The Victoria, BC born blueliner grew up playing in various junior leagues back home in Canada before stepping into senior hockey in the SPHL. From there he would play a couple of years in the ECHL before arriving in Dundee to join the Stars.
A spell with Coventry Blaze then saw him join Fife Flyers in 2016, a place he would call home for the next five years. We caught up with Issy recently, and he had this to say on his return, “I’m very excited to be back with the Capitals. I loved my time here the last two years, and happy to be back to help out. I have played in many Hogmanay games dating back to my EIHL days and even then, it was a great event. I am looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and hopefully picking up a couple of wins along the way.”
This is a big signing at a vital stage in the season for Head Coach Steven Lynch, and he is delighted to see the return of the import Dman. “This is a key addition to the team at an important time of the year. Issy and I have kept in touch regularly throughout the summer and over the first half of the season, discussing how we’d try to get something in place for him to return to the team in some capacity. His work life was the key thing he had to get sorted first, but now that’s settled, it became a bit easier to figure out.
Having him back on board, even in what might be a limited capacity, gives us good depth in our import spots should anything happen and adds veteran leadership to our group.
We always say there are places on this team for good people. Issy is a popular guy with the boys in the room and everyone associated with the club, and we’re delighted we have him available for the remainder of the season.”
A very Merry Christmas, Caps fans, and you can see Issy back in action here at the Lion’s Den this Saturday (27th, 7.30pm) when we take on current league champions the Dundee Rockets.
LET’S GO CAPITALS!
