The Fife Flyers Ice Hockey Club are pleased to announce that Head Coach Jamie Russell has named his assistant captains for the forthcoming Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) campaign.
Canadian forward Josh Winquist and American defenceman Ian Scheid will both wear the ‘A’ to complete the leadership group and support new Captain Garet Hunt.
On naming his assistants, Head Coach Jamie Russell said:
“Ian is more of a quiet leader that lets his play on the ice speak volumes. He plays with poise and experience.”
“Josh brings an unbridled enthusiasm to the rink every day. He has an extremely high skill level and he will be the go to guy to lead our attack.”
He went on to say “Combining Ian and Josh to support Garet, gives us a unique blend of leadership styles that will guide us in this year’s journey. We have a lot of experience beyond just the guys wearing letters in our room. Jonas, Shane and a lot of other guys play with character and grit to support our leaders”
Following a successful collegiate hockey career with Minnesota State University, Ian Scheid turned pro during the 2020/21 season with the American Hockey League (AHL) side Colorado Eagles and also iced in the ECHL for the affiliated Utah Grizzlies. For the 2021/22 season, Ian headed to Germany icing in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) with Straubing Tigers. In total, he played 114 games in the DEL registering 41 points (15 goals + 26 assists) split across 3 seasons. The first 2 of those with the Tigers. During his time with the Tigers, Ian also featured in Champions Hockey League (CHL) play. A spell in the Slovakian Extraliga with HC Slovak Bratislava started the 2023/24 season before Ian returned to Germany and the DEL with Nürnberg Ice Tigers. Last season saw Ian ice in Austria’s top tier, ICE Hockey League (ICEHL), with the Black Wings Linz.
On his appointment the Minnesota native commented: “It is a great honor to be chosen to be a part of the leadership group. There are so many leaders on this team and we are all working towards the same goal. Looking forward to the season with this group.”
Described as a playmaker and high scoring forward, Josh joined Fife with a wealth of experience across the American Hockey League (AHL), ECHL, Metal Ligaen in Denmark, Tipos Extraliga in Slovakia, HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden and most recently DEL2 in Germany. A proven goal scorer, Josh recorded over a point per game in his ECHL career as well as 85 points (33 goals + 52 assists) in his 151 AHL games. The past two seasons Josh has played in Europe, icing with the Esbjerg Energy in the Danish top tier during the 2023/24 season where he finished top scorer on the team and repeating that last season with DEL2 side Selber Wölfe.
Josh, who hails from Alberta, had this to say about his selection: “It’s a really big honour to wear a letter with this group of players. I believe we have a lot of leaders in the dressing room and we are going to surprise some fans this year”.
