The University of London Dragons, formerly known as the University of London Union Purples, are a British student ice hockey team based in London, England.[1] They compete in three divisions under the British Universities Ice Hockey Association. Dragons are the most successful student ice hockey team in the history of British university ice hockey.

London Dragons
CityLondon, United Kingdom
LeagueBUIHA
ConferenceSouthern Conference
DivisionA-Team - Div 1 Checking
B-Team - Div 1 Non-Checking
C-Team - Div 3 Non-Checking
Founded2002
Home arenaLee Valley Ice Centre
ColoursRed, White, and Black
     
Owner(s)Angela Jelfs
General managerMichael D'Aprix
Head coachA-Team - Clive Vergnaud
B-Team - Kalle Uusitalo
C-Team - Kalle Uusitalo
CaptainA-Team - Matt Holowko
B-Team - Jacob Finnilä
C-Team - Emmu Salo
WebsiteLondonDragons.com
Franchise history
2005 - PresentLondon Dragons
2002 - 2005London Purples

Dragons A have won the Division 1 playoff final (or SuperFinal) in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and the Tier 1 Nationals tournament in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2012. Dragons B have also been performing increasingly better in recent years and the development squad, Dragons C, was the runner-up in the Tier 5 Nationals Tournament of 2018.[2][3][4]

Past Club Presidents & Captains edit

Club Presidents

Season Name
2002–03Terry Han
2003–04Matt LeRiche
2004–05Viktor Pesenti
2005–06Don Needham
2006–07Carlos Davila
2007–08James O'Brien
2008–09Nils Paajanen
2009–10Nils Paajanen
2010–11Felix Franck
2011–12Tom Liddell
2012–13Donald MacPherson
2013–14Henrik England
2014–15Artur Fedotovs
2015–16Bobby Gard-Storry
2016–17Bobby Gard-Storry
2017–18Michael Armitage
2018–19Joshua Stones
2019–20Michael D'Aprix

Past Captains A hyphen means that the team didn't play that year. There also were no records of the first two Captains of the Dragons B-team.

Season Dragons A Dragons B Dragons C
2002–03Terry Han--
2003–04Russell Ellis?-
2004–05Vicente Garcia?-
2005–06Vicente GarciaThomas Sheppard -
2006–07Don NeedhamDaniel Phillips -
2007–08Dmitry Strusevich Dennis Vinokourov -
2008–09Dmitry Strusevich James Carpenter-
2009–10Dmitry Strusevich Sebastian Meng-
2010–11Dmitry Strusevich Sebastian Meng-
2011–12Kalle UusitaloTom Liddell-
2012–13Kalle UusitaloMichal Barabas-
2013–14Kalle Uusitalo--
2014–15Kalle UusitaloMax Pinkney-
2015–16Matthew ArnoldMax Pinkney-
2016–17Samuli KanervaAnton OlssonGabe Osterheut
2017–18Samuli KanervaAnton OlssonJoshua Stones
2018–19Michael D'Aprix Anton Olsson Caroline O'Riordan
2019–20Nicolas Carnovale Viktor Finnilä Emmu Salo

Current rosters & management edit

Committee 2019-20

President - Michael D'Aprix
Secretary -Sam Zdatny
Treasurer - Connor Daly

London Dragons A - 2019-20[5]

The rosters are accurate as of December, 2019.

Nationality # Name Position Birthplace
  39Tourenne, Romain GSaintes, FRA
  Preisinger, Kristof D Budapest, HUN
  55 Bessner, Nathan D Toronto, ON, CAN
  46 Kim, Nicholas D New City, NY, USA
  52 Kryatalov, Mikhail D Cherepovets, RUS
  63 Nykstelis, Marius D Kaunas, LTU
  65 Baillis, Luc D Paris, FRA
  80 Carnovale, Nicolas D Toronto, ON, CAN
  23 Holowko, Matt (C) D Vancouver, BC, CAN
  92 Nguenti, Mark D Silver Spring, MD, USA
  Nádraský, Daniel F Letnany, CZE
  16 Minajevs, Aleksandrs F Jurmala, LAT
  19 Girard, Raphael (A) F Montreal, QC, CAN
  20 Zdatny, Samuel F Chicago, IL, USA
  24 Rehak, Omar F London, GBR
  29 Daly, Connor F Hong Kong, CHN
  47 Kolosnicins, Ilija F Riga, LAT
  62 Yiu, Justin F Hong Kong, CHN
  97 D'Aprix, Michael F Philadelphia, PA, USA
Team Management
Clive Vergnaud Head coach Geneva  
Lukas Frlicka Assistant coach Spišská Nová Ves  
Kalle Uusitalo Assistant coach / Media Officer Kangasala  
Yasin Sridhar Compliance Officer London, ON  

London Dragons B - 2019-20[6]

The rosters are accurate as of December, 2019.

Nationality # Name Position Birthplace
  /   35 Sintoni, Christian G Rome, ITA
  39 Girard, Raphael G Montreal, QC, CAN
  Nicolai Lepota D RUS
  4 Poon, Ryan D
  18 Olsson, Bo Anton D Uppsala, SWE
  37 Mowbray, Matthew D Peterborough, GBR
  62 Reid, Keir D Glasgow, SCO
  75 Jung, Eojinbyul "JJ" D Seoul, KOR
  76 Stones, Joshua (A) D Poole, GBR
  Tourenne, Romain F Saintes, FRA
  Shahabuddin, Syed F Kuala Lumpur, MYS
  2 Shafiqullah, Ahmad F Harstad, NOR
  7 Castillo, Brayan F Bogota, COL
  8 Nozaki, Daisuke F Tokyo, JPN
  /   9 Goeggel, Simon F Dornbirn, AUT
  /   15 Khan, Armaan F Dubai, UAE
  16 Finnilä, Jacob Viktor (C) F Helsinki, FIN
  /   17 Chan, Arthur F Hong Kong, CHN
  61 Hajduk, Roman Jr F Zilina, SVK
  66 Noake, James (A) F Ruislip, GBR
  71 Caswell, Jack F Tredegar, WAL
Team Management
Kalle Uusitalo Head coach Kangasala  
Mikhail Kryatalov Assistant coach Cherepovets  
Aleksandrs Minajevs Assistant coach Jurmala  
Marius Nykstelis Assistant coach Kaunas  

London Dragons C - 2019-20[7]

The rosters are accurate as of December, 2019.

Nationality # Name Position Birthplace
  Zdatny, Samuel G Chicago, IL, USA
  /   1 Chan, Arthur G Hong Kong, CHN
  24 Walker, James D Solihull, GBR
  26 Salo, Emmu (C) D Vantaa, FIN
  42 Coates, Louis D Edinburgh, SCO
  50 Butler, Robert D Norwich, GBR
  13 Snashall, Shaina F Chippenham, GBR
  28 Rogers, Riot F Bad Soden, GER
  31 Jaworska, Anna Maria F Wroclaw, POL
  41 Adams, Francis F London, GBR
  44 Rees, Sarah (A) F Burton-on-Trent, GBR
  62 Norris, Rebecca F Luton, GBR
  77 Stute, Ciara F Arnsberg, GER
  89 Nevile, Charlie F London, GBR
  99 Felix, Carl (A) F Los Baños, PHL
Team Management
Kalle Uusitalo Head coach Kangasala  
Mikhail Kryatalov Assistant coach Cherepovets  
Aleksandrs Minajevs Assistant coach Jurmala  
Marius Nykstelis Assistant coach Kaunas  

Achievements edit

  • 2003 - National Championships: Rawlinson Plate Winners
  • 2004 - National Championships Finalists Finalists
  • 2005 - National Championships: Rawlinson Plate Winners
  • 2008 - BUIHA Division 1: Cup Winners
  • 2008 - National Championships: Rawlinson Plate Winners
  • 2008 - Tigers Isle of Wight Tournament Silver
  • 2009 - National Championships Finalists
  • 2010 - BUIHA Division 1: South Conference Winners
  • 2011 - BUIHA Division 1: Cup Winners
  • 2012 - National Championships: Rawlinson Plate Winners
  • 2013 - BUIHA Division 1: Cup Winners
  • 2013 - National Championships: Rawlinson Plate Finalists
  • 2015 - BUIHA Division 1: Cup Winners
  • 2017 - BUIHA Division 1: Cup Winners

Retired numbers edit

# Name Position Birthplace Achievements Notes
11
Clive Vergnaud
D
BUIHA Division 1 Playoff Champion
*2005, 2008
*2017 (as a coach)

BUIHA Tier 1 Nationals Champion
*2008 & 2013
* Won the coveted BUIHA Double (Division 1 & Tier 1 Nationals championships) in 2008
* Has won Division 1 titles both as a player and a coach
* Played for Dragons on three occasions over 10 years.
23
Max Pinkney
D
Head of the Dragons Development Academy
* 2013-16
* Coached both Dragons B & C teams (2013–16)
* Dragons B captain 2014-16
88
Kalle

"Crazy Viking"

Uusitalo
RW
BUIHA Division 1 Playoff Champion
*2010, 2013 & 2015
*2017 (as a coach)

BUIHA Tier 1 Nationals Champion
*2012
* Served as the Dragons A Captain for four seasons (2011-2015)
* Has won Division 1 titles both as a player and a coach
* Play-by-play / Color commentator for BUIHA during Nationals Tournaments

Membership Universities edit

Students from the following universities can join the club as Full Members:[8]

References edit

  1. ^ "Student Central - Ice Hockey". Student Central - Ice Hockey.
  2. ^ British Universities Ice Hockey Association
  3. ^ "BUIHA Archive". British Universities. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  4. ^ "London Dragons - BUIHA". London Dragons - BUIHA. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  5. ^ "London Dragons Rosters". London Dragons Rosters. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  6. ^ "London Dragons Rosters". London Dragons Rosters. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  7. ^ "London Dragons Rosters". London Dragons Rosters. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Student Central - Ice Hockey". Student Central - Ice Hockey.

External links edit