Panthers fan Rhys Williams has put together a summary of his thoughts following the recently completed 2025/26 season.
I recently stumbled upon an article I wrote for the Cat’s Whiskers in 2019, and had two thoughts.
One – the classic case of, “2019 wasn’t that long ag…oh it’s been 7 whole years!”. We’ve all had a similar experience, right?
Two – the difference between the scathing assessment I gave in that piece (I was a little taken aback by how ruthless 18 year old me was) and where the club sits now. It’s borderline unrecognisable.
It’s easy as a sports fan to be at our most vocal when things are bad, so I thought it was only right to emphasise the corner the Panthers have turned since that rant I went on.
A striking contrast is that both our head coach and director of hockey had 6 months of combined experience in off ice/coaching roles between them when they were appointed in that 2019/20 season.
Danny Stewart and Omar Pacha boast 22 seasons.
Lack of prior experience isn’t a barrier to success in itself at this level (Corey Neilson says hello) but it does signify a shift in resources being utilised, something I directly questioned in the 2019 piece.
Crowd sizes were on the decline that season. As someone who is no longer a season ticket holder, I now actively have to be quick to get a decent choice of seats because the building is nearly full for a midweek game against Dundee. The buzz around the team is back, and the atmosphere has significantly improved.
Of course, ultimately, trophies are the defining factor, and we’ve won a good few recently! But when I wrote in 2019, we were only two years out from a European title and three from a domestic double.
The gripe was the lack of a league title or even a respectable push. That drought goes on, but I’m as happy as I’ve been, since we won it, with the state of the club (even if my hunger to see us do it again is only increasing).
Why? Because the biggest appeal of sport to me is being filled – anticipation. And that’s because I can turn up to the rink knowing a good performance, a big play or a comeback is very possible, and that’s enough for me.
The Panthers didn’t lose in regulation for nearly 2 months at one point this season.
They’ve come from 2-0 down against the Steelers 3 times under Danny Stewart, including in a playoff semi Final.
The Blaze led with over half of the Challenge Cup Final gone, which we went on to win.
We nearly came from 3-0 down in last year’s Challenge Cup semi final.
Two very late goals took the Playoff Quarter Final to overtime.
We were in the title race until game 53 of 54 last season.
We hadn’t retained our top points scorer since 2012 and have now done it two seasons on the bounce.
And of course, a double winning season including another historic European title!
Not all of these scenarios resulted in victory, but they all but they all show that we’re competitive again, which is all I ask!
There’s parallels with the early Corey Neilson era. One trophy, then two, keeping a core, continuing to push at the north end of the table.
I can anticipate again.
If you want to listen to me waffle some more about the Panthers and EIHL, drop me a follow on TikTok!
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