Egener unable to re-join Blaze
CANADIAN defenceman Mike Egener and the Genting Casino Coventry Blaze have been forced to cancel Egener’s contract for the upcoming 2013-14 Elite Ice Hockey Season due to ill-health. Egener has been diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome, a rare but serious condition affecting the peripheral nervous system and whilst his symptoms appear to be stabilising, the road to recovery will be slow as the nerve damage is repaired.
Egener started his career playing junior hockey in Calgary for the Hitmen, a side in the Western Hockey League and was immediately noticed as being a top prospect. He made the Canadian U18 squad for the World Junior Championships in the 2001-02 season and was subsequently drafted as a 2nd round pick by the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003.
After several seasons in the AHL and ECHL appearing in a combined 311 games for six teams, Egener moved to Denmark in 2011 and appeared for Esbjerg for one season before making the short hop to the UK, joining the Blaze last season. Egener had a huge impact on the Blaze defence, filling the solid, stay-at-home role that Coventry had been missing since the departure of Jason Robinson. Not a flashy player, but he could always be relied upon to work hard and not make mistakes.
It was that solid work ethic combined with great leadership skills that made Egener a leader in many locker rooms that he was a part of. He captained the Florida Everblades in 2010-11, was an assistant captain for Esbjerg and named as the new Blaze captain for when he was due to return this month. At the time of his re-signing, Paul Thompson was quoted as saying, “Mike Egener is a born leader, a warrior. When you are in the trenches you want a Mike Egener in there with you.
“I have been so impressed with his attitude, his commitment, his all-round leadership and he always has time for the young guys and helps them. He is such a positive influence. He blocks shots, he produces big hits, he kills penalties, he logs a lot of minutes and he also plays with an edge and can fight.”
Despite not having a letter last season, it was clear to all onlookers that Egener was a driving force for the Blaze, almost in a Sylvain Cloutier-esque style of carrying the team on his back when troubled times hit, and the naming of him as the new captain at the end of season awards night was met with rapturous applause from the gathered fans. He was in fact so highly regarded by the Skydome faithful that they voted him the Blaze Defenceman of the Year, beating the EIHL Defenceman of the Year Mike Schutte to the award.
Egener will be sorely missed by the Blaze in the upcoming season but with a new family to look after (Egener became a father in Coventry for the first time with the birth of his daughter), the sensible and correct choice is to take time off and ensure a complete recovery is made. We here at UKAmericanSportsFans.com wish him and his family all the best for the future and hope that he can return to the ice with a clean bill of health in the UK soon.