Despair to glory - how the Devils were saved a decade ago

It was spring 2014 and Cardiff Devils were in a sorry state.

Previously a major power in British ice hockey, the Welsh club had just been through what many supporters consider to be their worst ever season.

The Devils had finished ninth in the 10-team Elite League, players were leaving - some still owed money - and the relationship between then-owner Paul Ragan and the fans had completely broken down.

Concerns about whether the club would continue to exist had become very real.

But everything was about to change with one phone call.

Looking for a solution to the club's dire circumstances, Devils' assistant coach and former player coach Neil Francis rang the general manager of one of their rivals, Todd Kelman, looking for advice.

“I was running the Belfast Giants back then and was a member of the Elite League board and Neil Francis contacted me about information on how it would go if Cardiff found investors and wanted to get new ownership," recalls Kelman of that May conversation.

“And I asked, ‘Do you have anyone in mind?’ and he said ‘No’ and I said, ‘Well I think I do'."

For years Kelman had been loosely talking with an old friend from Calgary, Steve King who owned a business finance company, about acquiring a hockey team of their own to run.

“What originally attracted Steve to British hockey was in 2010 when Belfast hosted the Boston Bruins to play an Elite League All-Star team and Steve came over to see the Bruins," explained Kelman.

“Steve said, ‘This is a phenomenal league, I had no idea the rinks would be like this, we should buy a team together, we will get a group of guys together to put up some money and you find the team'.

“Then Neil Francis called and that was the first time we seriously looked at it and I called Steve and I said, ‘I think we’ve found our team’.

King invited three other Canadian hockey-loving businessmen - Brian Parker, Kelly Hughes and Craig Shostak - to invest in the venture.

And on 28 June 2014 the papers were signed transferring the ownership of the Cardiff Devils to their consortium, with Kelman installed as managing director and given a stake of the club franchise.

Shipping containers and wheelie bins

It was a major step forward but tough times still lay ahead.

In effect the group had bought little more than usage of the Devils logo and access to a prefab rink that was way beyond its intended lifespan – the 'Big Blue Tent'.

They also inherited a playing roster of just one – a 23-year-old goalie from Yorkshire, Ben Bowns.

With pre-season just weeks away Kelman needed 19 more players and a coach to lead them.

This time it was Francis who had the solution. He suggested Andrew Lord, a player with Devils in the previous season but who was headed for Northern Ireland, as a potential player-coach. It was a suggestion that proved to be inspired.

“Andrew Lord had virtually signed a contract with the Belfast Giants to come play for us, not as a coach but as a player," said Kelman.

“When we started doing this Frannie [Neil Francis] said to me, ‘You’ve got to stop talking to Andrew Lord and I’ll start talking to him’.

“I had to tell Steve [Thornton] who was taking over from me at the Belfast Giants ‘The reason why Andrew Lord just went silent is because he's going to be our coach’."

Lord accepted the challenge and between them he and Kelman rushed to recruit a squad.

“We threw a team together in four weeks," recalled former Bracknell and Belfast defenceman Kelman.

“We were talking to people, if we liked them, one or two reference checks – sign ‘em!

“We had married guys sharing with married guys, no one had their own apartments, it was thrown together.

“When I talk to guys that are still on the team from that first year - Josh Batch, Mark Richardson, Joey Martin and Ben Bowns - we laugh about it.

“It's way more professional now, we’ve got a way better rink, a way bigger business, a bigger fanbase but in terms of fun nothing will ever beat that first year."

And that first season turned out to be a memorable one.

Less than nine months later the Devils found themselves facing Sheffield Steelers in front of more than 7,000 fans at the Sheffield Arena in the Challenge Cup Final.

A strong defensive performance, with 25 saves out of 26 shots by Bowns, and goals from Lord and centreman Chris Culligan saw the Devils lift their first trophy in eight years.

The team that no-one expected to pose any threat in the 2014 -15 season also finished third in the league, just two points behind champions Steelers.

Under Lord, Cardiff went on to re-establish themsleves as one of the leading teams in British hockey, winning two Elite League Championships, two play-off finals and another Challenge Cup over the next four seasons.

Ten years later, with the team now based in the £19 million Vindico Arena, it is a world away from a decade ago when Kelman was managing the club in a shipping container and players were using wheelie bins for ice baths.

“Some of what we did was not professional at all," he admits.

“It was as minor league sports as minor league gets and it was the funnest year of hockey I've ever had, by far.

“I never thought ten years would go this quick, but I never thought I wouldn't be here in ten years.

“When I came here, I said to people that asked, ‘This is my last job’. I would never leave.

“It's what guys that played sports want to do. Think of guys that become billionaires - what's the first thing they do? They buy a sports team! It's not the NHL, but it's our little NHL.”