Cardiff Fire are delighted to announce that Elis Sheppard will be returning to the line-up and will continue in his role as player/coach for the 2023/24 season.
Elis joined the Fire family from Slough Jets in 2015 as an 18-year-old, winning the league with Fire in his first two seasons and picking up young player of the year. In 2019 Elis was made captain of the Fire and started to work closely with the coaching staff. In 2021 Elis became player/assistant coach to Mark Cuddihy with Cuddihy handing over the head coach role to Elis last season.
Elis brings experience of NIHL 1 and 2 with the Fire and has amassed 173 senior games, scoring 86 points. Elis is no stranger to the penalty box, always being someone that sticks up for his teammates with 381 penalty minutes.
Director of Hockey Mark Cuddihy continued:
Shep joined us as a teenager during our first season at IAW, winning two league titles with us in his first two years. He has progressed so much as a player and into leadership roles within the team over his 7 years with the club. He has maturity beyond his age and always showed a willingness to learn more about the coaching side of things. On the playing side Shep has developed into someone that produces year upon year.
Sometimes when players move into coaching roles their stats understandably drop off a little, but Shep’s points per game production increased last season. He handled the two roles very well. We had some challenges with some senior players retiring. We decided to go with a much younger team last season and bring a new energy and culture. I am sure this will develop even further this season. I’m delighted to have Shep in the player/coach position for us and I have no doubt this young team and Elis will develop together very well this season.
Player/Coach Elis Sheppard added:
I am really excited to be back coaching again this season. Last season was a taster for the wild ride of emotions you face as a coach. It was also a massive learning curve, from the highs to the lows, with a lot of lessons taught along the way. The team that we are assembling is exciting and I can’t wait to get going again.
Everyone at the Cardiff Fire would like to welcome back Coach Shep! #FireItUp
Photos by James Assinder
