The Invicta Dynamos roster for the upcoming campaign has today reached nine with the news that 20 year old Guildford born forward Callum Best has penned a contract with the club extending his stay in Gillingham into a second season.
Callum Best arrived in Kent two months into the 2011/12 campaign as Head Coach Kevin Parrish looked to bolster his ranks and swept in to scoop the skater from the Slough ENL Jets. Following the puck drop in September, Best’s 10 points in 11 outings at the Hangar, and his excellent displays in match-ups with the Dynamos, saw him catch the eye of the Gillingham club who then secured his services in early November. Now at the Silver Blades, the young forward made 35 appearances for his new side and finished the season as the team’s fourth highest points’ scorer with 25 goals and 44 assists for a total tally of 69. This excellent return was the highest of Best’s career so far – a career that began back in his hometown of Guildford and saw him ice in the EPL as early as 2008 aged just 16. After 30 outings for the Flames as a promising prospect, he switched to Slough for the start of 2009/10 before finishing the campaign in Berkshire with the Bracknell Bees. Over the course of the season Best made 54 EPL appearances and his displays saw him called up to represent Great Britain at under 18s level for whom he iced five times in the World Junior Championships. The following year he was then picked up by the Basingstoke Bison, managing 11 points in another 54 fixtures in the league above, before 2011/12 saw him switch back to Slough and move into the ENIHL. However his time with the Jets would be shortlived as the Dynamos came calling two months into the season and Best made the move to Gillingham where he would impress whilst wearing the number 11 jersey. Now he will continue to ply his trade in Kent after agreeing terms to prolong his stint in Medway for another year.
Speaking on the return of young hotshot Callum Best, Dynamos Head Coach Kevin Parrish highlighted the impact the forward had made following his signing in 2011/12 and announced that the skater had been high on his list of players he wanted to make a return. Parrish said, “Callum came into the team a few months into the season, which isn’t always easy for a player, but he settled well and became a major force in our attack. His haul of 69 points was amongst the best in the side and so naturally we always had him in mind for our plans for 2012/13. He is still young, has excellent vision, links up well with his teammates and should only improve and I’ve no doubt that there are a fair few other teams in the NIHL that wouldn’t mind having his services”.
Left hander Callum Best is the ninth player to be announced by the Dynamos ahead of the new season in September and the fourth forward currently on the books alongside Nicky Lewis, Peter Vaisanen and Brad Watchorn. News of further player signings will be revealed in the near future.
Picture by David Trevallion