As you likely know, the British Elite Ice Hockey League marks its two-decade anniversary with the EIHL 2023-2024 season, which commenced on September 23rd, 2024; its final is expected to happen on April 21st, 2024, in Nottingham.
The season that got stained by the shock death of Nottingham Panthers star Adam Johnson, who died after a freak on-ice accident, will also probably get noted as the highest attended in the competition’s history. After setting records in the 2022-23 season, the EIHL will probably surpass its previous milestone, as many clubs saw record-setting season ticket sales during the summer of 2023, up to 30% more than the previous year.
Betting interest in EIHL games has also skyrocketed in recent times, as a growing number of online bookies have implemented this British annual hockey tournament into their betting arsenals. For example, Bovada is a legit betting site with an outstanding reputation with North American Internet gamblers. It features a wide range of European hockey leagues for wagering entertainment, including Britain’s two top ones. Thus, parties interested in putting their EIHL knowledge to good use at this or other trustworthy platforms would be wise to heed the words of wisdom laid out below.
Sheffield Steelers to Win it All
The Sheffield Steelers have been super dominant throughout much of the 2023-24 season, and they look like a squad with high team chemistry that can go on to do big things in the years to come. Something few outside of Sheffield know about the Steelers is that this franchise ranks as the 18th most-supported one on the Old Continent, boasting an 82,11% seat-filling ratio, averaging 7,636 fans per game inside Sheffield Arena. That is the highest number in British Elite Ice Hockey history. For comparison, the 2022-23 champions, the Belfast Giants, drew 6,755 fans per game, while the Nottingham Panthers managed to pull in a median of 5,103 supporters per contest.
Though no online bookmakers have yet to release their 2024-25 futures odds, expectations are that the Steelers will rank at the top of these lists, as pundits predict the 2024 Challenger Cup title winners to rank high after basking in glory in 2024. With coach Aaron Fox at the helm, Steeler fans also expect big things in the upcoming season.
Spencer Naas to Score the Most Goals
Americans are going to British Elite Hockey, which has become standard practice in the past few years. Minnesota native Spencer Naas, who has been playing professionally since 2018, joined the Dundee Stars ahead of the start of the 2023-24 season, following a stint in Georgia’s minor league ice hockey team, the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Naas has also played in Sweden and France, and he comes from the University of Connecticut, spending four years with the school’s Huskies, competing in the NCAA. He began his pro career in Cleveland and quickly established himself as a highly versatile player.
In August 2023, Naas made his return to European hockey as the seventeenth signing for the Dundee Stars at that time. Without question, Naas proved his worth playing at a high level for the Stars, scoring in over half of his appearances for the Dundee team. EIHL lovers expect him to show the same type of performance in the new season and again to rank high, hopefully at the top of the goal scorer standings.
Evan Weninger for Best Goaltender
Only a select number of bookies allow award categories for gambling entertainment or stats-based ones. If your chosen bookmaker permits this, Evan Weninger is a quality pick for this type of prop wager, as he showed a 93% save rate in the 2023-24 season. The Canadian took to British Elite Hockey as a duck to water, notching an above 92% ratio in his first eleven appearances for the Manchester Storm, keeping up this form for over forty games in the EIHL.
Born in Saskatoon, Canada, the 1.78-meter-tall goalie has played for multiple American teams. And for the Slovak Banska Bystrica side and Nice (France) in Europe. His excellent 2023-24 showing can only be matched and surpassed by his form displayed when he wore the shirt of the Kindersley Klippers in the SJHL and Florida Everblades in the ECHL. In this category, he faces stiff competition from Ben Bowns, Matt Greenfield, Eamon McAdam, and Tyler Beskorowany. That is if all these goalies stay in the league for one more year.
Mitchell Balmas to Score the Most Points
For those who need to become more familiar with hockey, leagues also implement a stat called points. It combines the number of assists and goals a player makes. It aims to define a player’s total offensive contribution, given that the concept of the best scorer standing does not translate to hockey as well as in other sports.
Mitchell Balmas of the Sheffield Steelers shined here in the past season, establishing himself as one of the best, if not the best, signing of the 2023 summer transfer period. The Canadian from Sydney has impressed everyone so far in the EIHL, racking up more assists than goals and standing at the top of the points rankings in 2023-24. And big things are expected from the Challenger Cup hero if he stays with the Steelers.
