Post by Admin on May 20, 2013 18:27:40 GMT
Q&A with Former CHL & EIHL enforcer Jeremy Cornish
Cornish was just starting to make a name for himself in the the CHL / IHL leagues in North America as an enforcer in the early 2000's, fighting some very tough guys in those leagues like Steve MacIntyre, Raitis Ivanans and Riley Cote who all went on to be enforcers in the NHL.
Cornish was then signed up by the London Racers in 04/05 to form part of arguable the toughest team ever put together in the EIHL era. That team had NHL lock-out enforcer Eric Cairns who was one of the toughest guys in hockey at that point, Cornish who was a young eager to impress decent heavyweight enforcer, tough hard hitting D.man Jason Robinson, and their player/coach Dennis Maxwell who was also a tough guy with a hot head and willing to send his team out to fight at the drop of a hat.
Cornish went on to play for another tough team in the EIHL the Newcastle Vipers, and he won the EIHL play-offs in 2005/06 with that team while fighting regularly all season. By now Cornish was a well established EIHL heavyweight and one of the most respected around the league. He fought all the top guys to play in the UK while he was here including quite a few former NHL enforcers like Wade Belak, Steve McKenna, Chris McAllister and Rumun Ndur, as well as other top fighters like Mel Angelstad and many more.
Cornish is now playing and coaching in the UK's 3rd tier league were he still gets into the occasional scrap, but now days he's concentrating more on his hockey and coaching skills.
We caught up with Jeremy and he's what the former EIHL enforcer had to say to @eihl_Hockeyfights .
Thanks Jeremy for taking the time out to do this for the fans of hockey fights and the enforcers in the UK.
Q1. Jeremy you have been playing hockey now for 9 season in the UK for a host of different teams. Playing EIHL hockey for the London Racers, Newcastle Vipers, Sheffield Steers, Basingstoke Bison down to the Wightlink Raiders in the lower tiers of UK hockey as a coach. What is it about the UK hockey scene that made you stay around all these years.?
J.C... I have always loved living in the UK since my days in London with the Racers. I had always wanted to play in Europe, and England was as close as I was going to get because of my skill level, and the fact fighting is allowed in the Elite league. I have been very fortunate to play for a number of teams and when I played in Newcastle I met my wife Rachel and have been a full time resident ever since. We now have a bady boy and live just outside Southampton.
Q2. For those that don't know much about the team you are now coaching the Wightlink Raiders. Could you tell us a little about the team, the standard of hockey in the league that the Raiders play in (I see your points per game ratios has more than tripled will with the Raider) size of crowds and most importantly do you have to play the enforcer role with the Raiders.
J.C .... I have been with the Raiders for four seasons now and I have enjoyed every minute of it, we have two very committed owners and both are a pleasure to work for. The league is 3rd tier of Pro-Hockey in this Country and it may be a long way from the Elite League, but the standard grows every season. Playing in this league gives me the opportunity to have fun and play hockey, there are no actual tough guys of the standard that I used to fight in the EIHL, so there is no pressure to have to fill that role anymore. I really enjoy coaching the team and when you are a player you always think about what you would do different if you were the coach and this Job gives me the opportunity to build a team and see how they compete against others in the league. Two years ago we won the league and this year we came 2nd, so we are a team that competes around the top consistently.
Q3. You were the assistant coach in the EIHL with Basingstoke in 08/09. Would you like to get a shot at coaching in the EIHL in the future.?
J.C .... That is always in the back of my mind, I do feel I could coach in the EPL or EIHL now. I have lots of contacts here and back home and I'm always looking to better myself as a coach. I'm always keeping an eye to see if Jobs come up, but to move it would have to be to a team with a solid ownership group and a team that would give me the chance to build a team of my own and not looking for a quick fix.
Q4. Jeremy when you first signed in the EIHL you were part of one of the toughest teams to play in our league to date. There was yourself, Dennis Maxwell, Jason Robinson and NHL lock-out enforcer Eric Cairns who was arguable the toughest guy in hockey at that time. Your team was involved in some memorable incidents like the Brawl in Cardiff against the Devils on 4/12/04, the end of game brawl with the Panthers in London on 14/1/05 & the fight filled game in Coventry when the 2 NHL lock-out enforcer Cairns and Belak fought 23/3/05.
Could you tell us what it was like playing for a team like the Racers, and a little about some of the incidents mentioned above. ?
J.C .... Well, that was a long time ago and I don't think I had anything to do with any of those incidents.... Playing with the London Racers was one of my all-time favorite teams, we were easily the toughest team in the country and I learned so much from Eric Cairns.
I don't remember a lot about the actual incidents or why they happened, but I do remember fighting the goalie in the Cardiff Devils Brawl in 04/05.
As for the Nottingham brawl, I remember our player coach Dennis Maxwell having 5 of our toughest guys on the ice after a Panther player celebrated a late goal, and that particular player jumping over the boards to save himself from Maxwell getting to him. I fought NHL lock-out enforcer Steve McKenna in that brawl and he asked him to fight every time we played the Panthers that season but he never seemed interested. I look back at it now and don't blame him for not wanting to fight while over here, but I was young and fighting any NHL / AHL tough guy was what I wanted to do to see how I stacked up against them. I don't remember much of the McKenna fight but I don't think there was much to it.
I do remember the Coventry incident. I had fought Andre Payette earlier in the game and the whole incident happened because Payette had been winding Eric Cairns up yet it was Cairns who got the penalty. I'm sure the Cairns/Belak fight is up on youtube, I remember it being a good one. Those are two massive men that could throw hard.
Q5. Jeremy when you left the London Racers in 05-06 due to them folding you went on to join another team stacked with toughness the Newcastle Vipers. That team had Yourself, Mel Angelstad, Andre Payette and Paul Ferone all in the roster during that season, and you's were one tough team to play against. The Vipers were also a very good hockey team in 05/06 winning the Play-offs by beating the Sheffield Steelers, and only just missing out on a league title to the Belfast Giants.
Was this the best team you played for while in the UK and could you tell us a little about what you think made this team so good..?
J.C .... That team wasn't the most skilled team in the league, but we were a close group and played a very strong system. My team doesn't play the same system now, but if we played our system's now with the same consistency that Vipers team had, we would win the league every year. Each guy was committed to the cause and winning the Play-offs in Nottingham was one of my favorite hockey moments.
We were also a really tough team. We had a heavyweight on all 3 lines. Andre Payette on the 1st line, Paul Ferone on the 2nd line and me on the 3rd. I don't think there has been a tougher team in the UK since, and I think any of today's guys would have a hard time handling that group.
Q6. Jeremy you are 3rd all time in fighting majors in the EIHL and have fought many enforcers and tough guys while in the league. Names like Mel Angelstad, Chris McAllister, Brett Clouthier, Ryan Shmyr, Brad Voth, Wade Belak, Adam Stefishen, Andre Payette, Steve McKenna, Dion Darling, Freddy Oduya, Rumun Ndur, Robin Gomez, Jason Rushton, Shawn Skiehar, Brad Cruikshank, Carlyle Lewis, Regan Darby, David Kaczowka.ect.
So giving your 1st hand experience and knowledge of the guys you fought in the UK, who was the best fighters you fought?
J.C .... Obviously Wade Belak and Chris McAllister were the two toughest guys that I've fought while I've been here. But there's a few guys that were very tough and did not get the recognition they deserved.
Adam Stefishen was the guy I hated fighting the most, he wasn't very tall, but was strong and could throw with both hands very well. Regan Darby threw really hard and I remember having big goose bumps on top of my head after every fight with him. I am actually looking at the list of guys I've fought above and everyone of whose guys is very tough in their own way. The EIHL league was much tougher then and I'm happy I don't have to face those guys every week now.
Q7. Jeremy though out your career in North America and while in the EIHL you were known for your open style of fighting and you were involved in some memorable toe to toe fights. Win,Lose or draw you always put on a show.
What in your opinion was your favorite fight you were involved in and could you tell us a little about it. ?
J.C .... I don't think I could narrow it down to one fight, I was always excited to see how I matched up against the other tough guys in the league and I can honestly say it was a pleasure to play in the league for as long as I did.
I guess anytime that i fought a guy with NHL experience was something I looked forward to. I never had the chance to go to an NHL camp, so that's the closest I got.
I actually have signed photo's of my fights with Wade Belak and Mel Angelstad.
Q8. Jeremy you had many good rivalries going in the EIHL. Fighting guys numerous times in the league over the 5 season's you played in the UK top tier of hockey. One of those rivalries was with Brett Clouthier who you fought 5 times in our league. Brett was considered by many as one of the toughest in the league while he played here but you ran him close in many of your fights apart from the last one which Cloots won.
What do you remember about your rivalry with him over the time you both spent in the EIHL together.?
J.C. .... He was a tough guy, I remember fighting him in his first game for Sheffield against Newcastle. I always liked fighting him, he was big and had played in the AHL for a number of years, It was nice to know I could stand up and throw with a guy who had played in that league for as long as he did.
Q9. Since you left the EIHL at the end of the 08/09 season our league has seen a few decent enforcers like Sean McMorrow, Mike Sgroi, Alex Penner, Colt King and this season we had Benn Olson, Ryan Hand, Tom Sestito, Adam Keefe.ect
Have you been keeping an eye on our league's fighters since leaving and if so who's impressed you if any.?
J.C .... I do follow the league, but I thinks there's only a few over the last couple of years that could of competed against the guys in the league before. It seems like a lot of these guys come over for a year then they are gone, but we got to develop rivalries with each other and I think that was better for the game and the EIHL.
Q10. Jeremy you have fought a few times in the ENL with the Raiders. One fight I can recall is when you played against Cardiff ENL side in 2009. Is it true that the guy you fought in their rink, 6'8'' 250lbs Giant of a man Garth Rowlands, was brought in especially for this game to fight you.? Could you also tell us a little about that fight.
J.C .... Well that was my first year in the ENL and yes they did bring a guy in to fight me. I think if we had of met outside of the rink the outcome would of been a little bit different, because he would of killed me, but fighting on the ice is so much different.
I know the fight is on youtube and no disrespect to the Cardiff player, it did not go well for him and I felt a bit sorry that their coach put him in that situation when he had never played or fought at any particular level.
Q11. Jeremy in you opinion as a guy who has been involved in the UK hockey scene for a long time now either as a player in the EIHL or coach in the ENL, is hockey in the UK now in a better or worse situation than it was back when you first came to the UK.?
J.C .... I think we are going to need another interview for this question. I have my own opinions on the matter but I don't think we need to bore everyone with that. I think everything needs restructuring and to be honest, I don't think it will happen any time soon.
Jeremy I'd like to finish with a few quick fire questions for the fans.
Q12. Jeremy in your opinion seeing as you have played all around the UK in many different rinks. What were your favorites rinks to play in.?
J.C .... Nottingham play-off finals 2005..
Ryde arena!!
Q13. Who was the coach you learned from most over your career in hockey.?
J.C .... Former Toronto Maple Leafs Brad Selwood. Jnr A coach
Q14. Who in your opinion is the toughest fighter in hockey at the moment.?
J.C .... Brian McGrattan
Q15. Who's been the most skilled player you have played with or against in your career.?
J.C .... Dominic Moore
Q16. What other sporting teams are you a fan of.?
J.C .... Newcastle Utd football club.
.Again thank you Jeremy for taking the time out to do this Q&A session for the fans around the UK who enjoy hockey fights and who enjoy watching their enforcers / tough guys out on the ice.
Cornish was just starting to make a name for himself in the the CHL / IHL leagues in North America as an enforcer in the early 2000's, fighting some very tough guys in those leagues like Steve MacIntyre, Raitis Ivanans and Riley Cote who all went on to be enforcers in the NHL.
Cornish was then signed up by the London Racers in 04/05 to form part of arguable the toughest team ever put together in the EIHL era. That team had NHL lock-out enforcer Eric Cairns who was one of the toughest guys in hockey at that point, Cornish who was a young eager to impress decent heavyweight enforcer, tough hard hitting D.man Jason Robinson, and their player/coach Dennis Maxwell who was also a tough guy with a hot head and willing to send his team out to fight at the drop of a hat.
Cornish went on to play for another tough team in the EIHL the Newcastle Vipers, and he won the EIHL play-offs in 2005/06 with that team while fighting regularly all season. By now Cornish was a well established EIHL heavyweight and one of the most respected around the league. He fought all the top guys to play in the UK while he was here including quite a few former NHL enforcers like Wade Belak, Steve McKenna, Chris McAllister and Rumun Ndur, as well as other top fighters like Mel Angelstad and many more.
Cornish is now playing and coaching in the UK's 3rd tier league were he still gets into the occasional scrap, but now days he's concentrating more on his hockey and coaching skills.
We caught up with Jeremy and he's what the former EIHL enforcer had to say to @eihl_Hockeyfights .
Thanks Jeremy for taking the time out to do this for the fans of hockey fights and the enforcers in the UK.
Q1. Jeremy you have been playing hockey now for 9 season in the UK for a host of different teams. Playing EIHL hockey for the London Racers, Newcastle Vipers, Sheffield Steers, Basingstoke Bison down to the Wightlink Raiders in the lower tiers of UK hockey as a coach. What is it about the UK hockey scene that made you stay around all these years.?
J.C... I have always loved living in the UK since my days in London with the Racers. I had always wanted to play in Europe, and England was as close as I was going to get because of my skill level, and the fact fighting is allowed in the Elite league. I have been very fortunate to play for a number of teams and when I played in Newcastle I met my wife Rachel and have been a full time resident ever since. We now have a bady boy and live just outside Southampton.
Q2. For those that don't know much about the team you are now coaching the Wightlink Raiders. Could you tell us a little about the team, the standard of hockey in the league that the Raiders play in (I see your points per game ratios has more than tripled will with the Raider) size of crowds and most importantly do you have to play the enforcer role with the Raiders.
J.C .... I have been with the Raiders for four seasons now and I have enjoyed every minute of it, we have two very committed owners and both are a pleasure to work for. The league is 3rd tier of Pro-Hockey in this Country and it may be a long way from the Elite League, but the standard grows every season. Playing in this league gives me the opportunity to have fun and play hockey, there are no actual tough guys of the standard that I used to fight in the EIHL, so there is no pressure to have to fill that role anymore. I really enjoy coaching the team and when you are a player you always think about what you would do different if you were the coach and this Job gives me the opportunity to build a team and see how they compete against others in the league. Two years ago we won the league and this year we came 2nd, so we are a team that competes around the top consistently.
Q3. You were the assistant coach in the EIHL with Basingstoke in 08/09. Would you like to get a shot at coaching in the EIHL in the future.?
J.C .... That is always in the back of my mind, I do feel I could coach in the EPL or EIHL now. I have lots of contacts here and back home and I'm always looking to better myself as a coach. I'm always keeping an eye to see if Jobs come up, but to move it would have to be to a team with a solid ownership group and a team that would give me the chance to build a team of my own and not looking for a quick fix.
Q4. Jeremy when you first signed in the EIHL you were part of one of the toughest teams to play in our league to date. There was yourself, Dennis Maxwell, Jason Robinson and NHL lock-out enforcer Eric Cairns who was arguable the toughest guy in hockey at that time. Your team was involved in some memorable incidents like the Brawl in Cardiff against the Devils on 4/12/04, the end of game brawl with the Panthers in London on 14/1/05 & the fight filled game in Coventry when the 2 NHL lock-out enforcer Cairns and Belak fought 23/3/05.
Could you tell us what it was like playing for a team like the Racers, and a little about some of the incidents mentioned above. ?
J.C .... Well, that was a long time ago and I don't think I had anything to do with any of those incidents.... Playing with the London Racers was one of my all-time favorite teams, we were easily the toughest team in the country and I learned so much from Eric Cairns.
I don't remember a lot about the actual incidents or why they happened, but I do remember fighting the goalie in the Cardiff Devils Brawl in 04/05.
As for the Nottingham brawl, I remember our player coach Dennis Maxwell having 5 of our toughest guys on the ice after a Panther player celebrated a late goal, and that particular player jumping over the boards to save himself from Maxwell getting to him. I fought NHL lock-out enforcer Steve McKenna in that brawl and he asked him to fight every time we played the Panthers that season but he never seemed interested. I look back at it now and don't blame him for not wanting to fight while over here, but I was young and fighting any NHL / AHL tough guy was what I wanted to do to see how I stacked up against them. I don't remember much of the McKenna fight but I don't think there was much to it.
I do remember the Coventry incident. I had fought Andre Payette earlier in the game and the whole incident happened because Payette had been winding Eric Cairns up yet it was Cairns who got the penalty. I'm sure the Cairns/Belak fight is up on youtube, I remember it being a good one. Those are two massive men that could throw hard.
Q5. Jeremy when you left the London Racers in 05-06 due to them folding you went on to join another team stacked with toughness the Newcastle Vipers. That team had Yourself, Mel Angelstad, Andre Payette and Paul Ferone all in the roster during that season, and you's were one tough team to play against. The Vipers were also a very good hockey team in 05/06 winning the Play-offs by beating the Sheffield Steelers, and only just missing out on a league title to the Belfast Giants.
Was this the best team you played for while in the UK and could you tell us a little about what you think made this team so good..?
J.C .... That team wasn't the most skilled team in the league, but we were a close group and played a very strong system. My team doesn't play the same system now, but if we played our system's now with the same consistency that Vipers team had, we would win the league every year. Each guy was committed to the cause and winning the Play-offs in Nottingham was one of my favorite hockey moments.
We were also a really tough team. We had a heavyweight on all 3 lines. Andre Payette on the 1st line, Paul Ferone on the 2nd line and me on the 3rd. I don't think there has been a tougher team in the UK since, and I think any of today's guys would have a hard time handling that group.
Q6. Jeremy you are 3rd all time in fighting majors in the EIHL and have fought many enforcers and tough guys while in the league. Names like Mel Angelstad, Chris McAllister, Brett Clouthier, Ryan Shmyr, Brad Voth, Wade Belak, Adam Stefishen, Andre Payette, Steve McKenna, Dion Darling, Freddy Oduya, Rumun Ndur, Robin Gomez, Jason Rushton, Shawn Skiehar, Brad Cruikshank, Carlyle Lewis, Regan Darby, David Kaczowka.ect.
So giving your 1st hand experience and knowledge of the guys you fought in the UK, who was the best fighters you fought?
J.C .... Obviously Wade Belak and Chris McAllister were the two toughest guys that I've fought while I've been here. But there's a few guys that were very tough and did not get the recognition they deserved.
Adam Stefishen was the guy I hated fighting the most, he wasn't very tall, but was strong and could throw with both hands very well. Regan Darby threw really hard and I remember having big goose bumps on top of my head after every fight with him. I am actually looking at the list of guys I've fought above and everyone of whose guys is very tough in their own way. The EIHL league was much tougher then and I'm happy I don't have to face those guys every week now.
Q7. Jeremy though out your career in North America and while in the EIHL you were known for your open style of fighting and you were involved in some memorable toe to toe fights. Win,Lose or draw you always put on a show.
What in your opinion was your favorite fight you were involved in and could you tell us a little about it. ?
J.C .... I don't think I could narrow it down to one fight, I was always excited to see how I matched up against the other tough guys in the league and I can honestly say it was a pleasure to play in the league for as long as I did.
I guess anytime that i fought a guy with NHL experience was something I looked forward to. I never had the chance to go to an NHL camp, so that's the closest I got.
I actually have signed photo's of my fights with Wade Belak and Mel Angelstad.
Q8. Jeremy you had many good rivalries going in the EIHL. Fighting guys numerous times in the league over the 5 season's you played in the UK top tier of hockey. One of those rivalries was with Brett Clouthier who you fought 5 times in our league. Brett was considered by many as one of the toughest in the league while he played here but you ran him close in many of your fights apart from the last one which Cloots won.
What do you remember about your rivalry with him over the time you both spent in the EIHL together.?
J.C. .... He was a tough guy, I remember fighting him in his first game for Sheffield against Newcastle. I always liked fighting him, he was big and had played in the AHL for a number of years, It was nice to know I could stand up and throw with a guy who had played in that league for as long as he did.
Q9. Since you left the EIHL at the end of the 08/09 season our league has seen a few decent enforcers like Sean McMorrow, Mike Sgroi, Alex Penner, Colt King and this season we had Benn Olson, Ryan Hand, Tom Sestito, Adam Keefe.ect
Have you been keeping an eye on our league's fighters since leaving and if so who's impressed you if any.?
J.C .... I do follow the league, but I thinks there's only a few over the last couple of years that could of competed against the guys in the league before. It seems like a lot of these guys come over for a year then they are gone, but we got to develop rivalries with each other and I think that was better for the game and the EIHL.
Q10. Jeremy you have fought a few times in the ENL with the Raiders. One fight I can recall is when you played against Cardiff ENL side in 2009. Is it true that the guy you fought in their rink, 6'8'' 250lbs Giant of a man Garth Rowlands, was brought in especially for this game to fight you.? Could you also tell us a little about that fight.
J.C .... Well that was my first year in the ENL and yes they did bring a guy in to fight me. I think if we had of met outside of the rink the outcome would of been a little bit different, because he would of killed me, but fighting on the ice is so much different.
I know the fight is on youtube and no disrespect to the Cardiff player, it did not go well for him and I felt a bit sorry that their coach put him in that situation when he had never played or fought at any particular level.
Q11. Jeremy in you opinion as a guy who has been involved in the UK hockey scene for a long time now either as a player in the EIHL or coach in the ENL, is hockey in the UK now in a better or worse situation than it was back when you first came to the UK.?
J.C .... I think we are going to need another interview for this question. I have my own opinions on the matter but I don't think we need to bore everyone with that. I think everything needs restructuring and to be honest, I don't think it will happen any time soon.
Jeremy I'd like to finish with a few quick fire questions for the fans.
Q12. Jeremy in your opinion seeing as you have played all around the UK in many different rinks. What were your favorites rinks to play in.?
J.C .... Nottingham play-off finals 2005..
Ryde arena!!
Q13. Who was the coach you learned from most over your career in hockey.?
J.C .... Former Toronto Maple Leafs Brad Selwood. Jnr A coach
Q14. Who in your opinion is the toughest fighter in hockey at the moment.?
J.C .... Brian McGrattan
Q15. Who's been the most skilled player you have played with or against in your career.?
J.C .... Dominic Moore
Q16. What other sporting teams are you a fan of.?
J.C .... Newcastle Utd football club.
.Again thank you Jeremy for taking the time out to do this Q&A session for the fans around the UK who enjoy hockey fights and who enjoy watching their enforcers / tough guys out on the ice.