Phillips Gets The Call From Chicago Blackhawks

Posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 6:12 pm

Belfast Giants 21 year old defenceman Davey Phillips will be attending an evaluation camp in Chicago with one of the most famous teams in ice hockey history, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks have invited Phillips to attend their summer prospects camp in early July along with other unsigned free agents and minor league players.

Phillips, who moved to the Giants from the Hull Stingrays a year ago, never expected to get a call like this, but after a stellar year under the guidance of coach Steve Thornton and a solid performance for Team Great Britain at the World Championships in April, he managed to raise a few eyebrows around the hockey world.

The current General Manager of the Blackhawks minor league affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, is former Basingstoke Bison player/coach Mark Bernard. No stranger to British hockey, Bernard spent the good part of his professional playing career plying his trade for teams throughout the UK including a stint in Bracknell with Giants General Manager Todd Kelman.

“I have spoken to Bernie about Davey over the last few weeks and he is very interested to take a look at him,” said Kelman, “this is a great opportunity for Davey, and is a great testament to his development and hard work over the last year. I know after his World Championship performance, Bernie had spoken with the GB coaching staff who all had great things to say about Davey.”

“Last summer when we signed Davey, we pegged him as the next big thing for British hockey and he has developed into a stellar player with great ability, quick feet, a superb work ethic and good size, all elements that are necessary for the North American style of game. We are all really proud of him for getting this opportunity.”

“We have had Davey for a whole year and have seen him improve dramatically,” said Giants coach Steve Thornton, “when you have a player on a weekly basis, you understand their value to the team. I think he really impressed the GB coaching staff when he went to the World Championships. I think Paul Thompson and his coaching staff were surprised to see how he has developed over the last year and when they saw him regularly for that week of games, Thompson in particular was really impressed with Phillips and believes that he could have an opportunity to play in North America sometime in the future.”

Phillips was over the moon to get the call from the Blackhawks organization.

“I’m really excited about this and I think it is a great opportunity. I never dreamed of ever getting to skate with prospects from an NHL team in front of their scouts and management, this is a once in a lifetime experience and I am really looking forward to it.”