No name decided for Telford ice hockey club

Telford NIHL welcomed fans’ questions at a forum last night, held at Telford Ice Rink.

Confusion has surrounded the club, which next term will play in NIHL North – with a team in Division One and another in Division Two.

Telford, under the Tigers name, played in the now defunct English Premier League last term, and moved to NIHL North as part of a restructure of the game.

The consortium that saved them midway through last season stepped down on Sunday night, and the new team will be run by former Tigers chairman Mike Washburn and Tom Watkins, who coached the ELP side to the title last season.

Due to not having the rights to the Tigers name, they are set to operate as Telford NIHL, for now. Watkins had been transferred the rights to the name free of charge, but they were then retracted.

Washburn said: “The position, as we sit, is very straightforward – no name has been decided. We may give fans an option.

“We do not own the (Tigers) name, we do not own the rights. If we had the Tigers name and trademark – completely free, no strings attached, available – we would want to procure that. However, if we can’t get that, trying to build something around something you don’t have does not make sense.”

The aim of the new set-up is to offer a pathway for youngsters to the seniors, initially through the second team.

Watkins said: “I was informed Telford Tigers consortium didn’t want to continue.

“I put in application but then the league chairman suggested I met with Mike. We did

and we have ended up with the best situation we could have – the best option going forward.”