The Fife Flyers are delighted to announce the appointment of Steven Wishart, current Head Coach of the SNL’s Kirkcaldy Kestrels & Junior club, into the role of Head of Player Development/Pathway.
Steven will combine his Kestrels duties with this exciting new position, working closely with the Flyers’ senior coaching team to strengthen the development pathway from junior hockey right through to the pro level.
The Fife Flyers are committed to ensuring local talent is at the forefront of this new era, and this move reinforces our dedication to creating clear opportunities for homegrown players to progress within our club.
By aligning our pathway from Kirkcaldy Ice Hockey Club through to the senior Flyers, we’re building a future rooted in local pride and long-term success.
Fife Flyers President & General Manager Max Birbraer commented: “Firstly, I would like to thank Daryl Venters and Steven Wishart for agreeing to strengthening the ties between the Flyers and the Kirkcaldy Kestrels/Kirkcaldy Ice Hockey Club.
“Part of our strategy when taking over the club was very much focused on doing what we could do to support the pathway of local Scottish players in the Fife community.
“The new pathway, with the support of Steven, will be able to identify potential players for the future that we can support in the aim of them one day icing in the EIHL.
“I would also like to thank Lee Mercer who was instrumental in helping set up the partnership with the Kestrels/KIHC. Lee will be joining us in an advisory role to assist the senior management team with the focus of growing the club over the coming seasons.”
Wilds and scatters are the two special symbols that appear in almost every modern slot, and they work in completely different ways. One stands in for other symbols to complete a combination, the other pays or triggers regardless of where it lands. Confusing the two leads to a lot of misread paytables.
Wild And Scatter Symbols Explained
A standard wild substitutes for any regular symbol, but developers have layered variations on top of that, including expanding wilds that fill a whole reel and sticky wilds that stay in place across several spins. Players comparing features often Winplace to see which mechanics each title uses. Scatters sit outside the line system, paying on any position and typically triggering the free spin round when three or more appear.
| Symbol | Function | Line Dependent |
|---|---|---|
| Standard wild | Substitutes | Yes |
| Expanding wild | Fills a reel | Yes |
| Scatter | Pays or triggers | No |
- Wilds complete combinations, scatters usually do not
- Expanding and sticky wilds behave differently from standard ones
- Three or more scatters commonly trigger a feature
Special symbols shape how a slot feels far more than they change its return percentage, which is set by the game as a whole. A title packed with sticky wilds is not inherently more generous than a plain one. Reading the paytable before playing is worth a minute, and setting a session budget is worth rather more.