| Team: | Solihull Barons |
| Colour: |
|
| Colour Text: | white |
| Logosize: | 200px |
| City: | Solihull, England |
| League: | NIHL |
| Conference: | Division One North |
| Founded: | 2005 |
| Arena: | Planet Ice Solihull Capacity: 800 |
| Colours: | White, Red & Black |
| Coach: | Phil Lee |
| Website: | http://www.solihull-barons.net/ |
| Name1: | Solihull Barons |
| Dates1: | 1965-1996 |
| Name2: | Solihull Blaze (rebranded as Coventry Blaze) |
| Dates2: | 1996-2000 |
| Name3: | Solihull Barons |
| Dates3: | 2000-2002 |
| Name4: | Solihull MK Kings (formerly MK Kings) |
| Dates4: | 2002-2003 |
| Name5: | Solihull Kings |
| Dates5: | 2003-2005 |
| Dates6: | 2005- |
| Name6: | Solihull Barons |
The Solihull Barons are an English ice hockey team from the town of Solihull who play at Solihull Ice Rink on Hobs Moat Road. The current team, which is the third incarnation of the Barons, was formed in 2005; they are named after the original team of the same name who were formed in 1965, and played at the same ice rink between 1972 until 2000, after which they moved to Coventry and became the Coventry Blaze.[1]
The Solihull Barons won the Southern League in 1977–78 and the English League in 1992–93. Canadian Rick Fera played for the original Solihull Barons in the 1987–88 season.[2]
In 1996, the team rebranded themselves as the "Solihull Blaze", and in 2000 they moved from Solihull's Blue Ice Plaza to Coventry's SkyDome Arena, rebranding themselves again as the "Coventry Blaze". As this left Solihull without an ice hockey team for the first time since 1965, the Barons were reformed under a new franchise and returned to their original arena, which had benefited from a much-needed overhaul. Unfortunately, the £1.8m refurbishment was delayed by vandals, leaving the venue operators with a £75,000 damage repair bill, and the grand re-opening was postponed until mid-October 2000.
Despite the newly improved playing facility, the club struggled to survive in the English Premier Ice Hockey League and ultimately dissolved again just two years later in 2002. They were initially replaced by the Milton Keynes Kings, who moved to Solihull from their own hometown due to a dispute with the owners of their arena, and who re-branded themselves the "Solihull MK Kings" to demonstrate the fact that they were now representing both Solihull and Milton Keynes in ice hockey. Once again, however, the team quickly dissolved, playing just a single season of hockey in the British National League before folding.[3] Following the closure of the Solihull MK Kings, a new "Solihull Kings" team was created and placed back in the EPIHL, but yet again this team folded, collapsing after two seasons in 2007.
The current Solihull Barons team was formed in 2005, and played their first two seasons in the EPIHL. At the end of the 2006–07 season they were relegated to the English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL). The Barons currently compete in Northern Division One, known as the "Moralee Conference". The team hold charity games for Birmingham Children's Hospital.
(*) Denotes a Non-British Trained player (Import)
| Netminders | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=5% | No. | width=5% | Nat. | width=22% | Player | width=7% | Catches | width=16% | Date of birth | width=20% | Place of birth | width=24% | Acquired | Contract |
| 31 | Sam Hewitt | L | 15 February 1991 | Coleshill, England | 2018 from Telford Tigers | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 33 | Benjamin Lee | 2002 (age 20) | England | 2019 | Two-Way | |||||||||
| 35 | Graham Laverick | L | 27 December 1994 | Nuneaton, England | 2021 from MK Thunder | 22/23 | ||||||||
| Defencemen | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=5% | No. | width=5% | Nat. | width=22% | Player | width=7% | Shoots | width=16% | Date of birth | width=20% | Place of birth | width=24% | Acquired | Contract |
| 3 | Marcus Maynard | R | 13 March 1987 | Nottingham, England | 2017 from Hull Pirates | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 5 | Jordan Stokes | R | 16 November 1998 | Warwick, England | 2021 from MK Lightning | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 6 | Richard Crowe | R | 6 June 1995 | Solihull, England | 2010 from Solihull U16 | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 27 | Kieran Papps | R | 14 February 1989 | Coventry, England | 2022 from Coventry Blaze NIHL | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 55 | Bailey Challans | R | 17 May 2002 | Nottingham, England | 2021 from Nottingham Lions | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 77 | Andrew Hayward | R | 14 February 2000 | England | 2018 from Coventry Blaze NIHL | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 81 | James Moeller | 1998 (age 24) | England | 2015 from Solihull U18 | 22/23 | |||||||||
| 97 | Max Soden | 11 July 2003 | England | 2022 from Coventry Blaze NIHL | Two-Way | |||||||||
| Forwards | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=5% | No. | width=5% | Nat. | width=22% | Player | width=7% | Shoots | width=16% | Date of birth | width=20% | Place of birth | width=24% | Acquired | Contract |
| 7 | Sam Chandler | L | 16 July 1992 | Slough, England | 2021 from MK Thunder | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 8 | Paul Stanley | 22 August 1983 | Solihull, England | 2018 from Nottingham Lions | 22/23 | |||||||||
| 15 | Matthew Maurice | L | 5 May 1998 | Kenilworth, England | 2015 from Coventry U18 | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 16 | Andrew Whitehouse | R | 19 October 1993 | Birmingham, England | 2011 from Solihull U18 | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 17 | Richard Slater | R | 31 December 1991 | Solihull, England | 2019 | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 20 |  | Filip Byfält* | L | 22 February 1989 | Helsinki, Finland | 2022 | 22/23 | |||||||
| 24 | Philip Mulcahy | R | 13 February 1997 | Solihull, England | 2019 from Coventry Blaze NIHL | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 59 | Jordan Jolly | L | 30 April 1999 | England | 2021 from Telford Tigers | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 83 | Brandon Anderton | R | 8 March 1998 | Birmingham, England | 2022 from Telford Tigers 2 | 22/23 | ||||||||
| 91 |  | Niklas Ottosson* | L | 14 October 1991 | Norrköping, Sweden | 2015 from Solihull Barons | 22/23 | |||||||
| 93 | Sam Prosser | R | 29 January 1993 | England | 2022 from MK Thunder | 22/23 | ||||||||
| Team Staff | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=5% | No. | width=5% | Nat. | width=22% | Name | width=7% | Acquired | width=16% | Role | width=20% | Place of birth | width=24% | Joined From |
| Phil Lee | 22/23 | Head Coach | Durham, England | ||||||||||
| No. | Nat. | Player | Shoots | Date of birth | Place of birth | Leaving For | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Daniel Harrison | R | 4 July 1992 | Stafford, England | Telford Tigers 2, NIHL 2 | ||
| 23 | Daniel Mulcahy | R | 1 December 2000 | Solihull, England | Telford Tigers, NIHL National | ||
| 79 | Tom Soar | R | 2 January 1993 | Nottingham, England | Invicta Dynamos, NIHL 1 | ||
| 94 | James Smith | R | 29 June 1994 | Dundee, Scotland | Telford Tigers 2, NIHL 2 |