This season marks the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Giants and defenceman Gabe Bast says there is no loss of desire from Adam Keefe’s current crop of players to continue the winning tradition.
Bast, who was part of the Giants’ treble-winning squad in the 2022/23 campaign, knows better than most what it means to wear the teal jersey having opted to step away from the game after that season only to be enticed back to Belfast.
“I just missed it too much”, the 27-year-old says of the reason for coming back to Belfast after a year spent in his native Canada.
“I love the city and I missed the fans and competing alongside my teammates in Belfast.
“There’s a lot of things I missed that I wanted to come back for and ultimately it was an easy decision when I had a conversation with Adam (Keefe) and Steve (Thornton).
“Obviously, with this being the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Giants there has been a lot of reflection on the previous successes of the team and the organisation in this city.
“Belfast has set an expectation for winning trophies and for excellence.
“I think when you pull on that jersey you know you’re playing for more than yourself - you’re playing for a community built around an incredible organisation.
“Adam Keefe is getting his testimonial this season and I want to say a huge congratulations to him for that.
“I didn’t get to see much of him as a player, but I’ve heard a lot about him and that he really wore his heart on his sleeve.
“That’s also exactly how he is as a coach. He’s very proud and it’s easy to want to play for a coach like that.”
Having come off the back of a historic treble winning season in 22/23, the Giants endured an uncharacteristic trophyless season in their most recent campaign.
After an off-season rebuild, Adam Keefe’s men have shown signs of promise this season but have struggled with consistency.
A strong Challenge Cup campaign which saw them book their place in the semi-finals as overall top seeds has not yet been backed up the league, where they sit in fifth place.
Indeed, the up-and-down league form was typified last weekend when they were put to the sword in a 5-2 defeat before reversing the scoreline with a win over Dundee the following evening.
Bast acknowledges where the Giants have gone wrong at times this season, but is confident his side will gain momentum as the season continues.
“The issue for us is consistency,” Bast explains.
“We’re playing good hockey and then we’ve been guilty at times of taking our foot off the gas for a couple of shifts and things start to unravel.
“When concentration drops for a period and we’re not fully dialled in on the details, that’s when things start to go south for us.
“It goes to show the parity this league has now - you can’t take your foot off the pedal because the quality of the opposition means that you need to be ready to play the full 60 minutes from the moment the puck drops every time.
“We’re doing everything we can to address that.”
As for this weekend, the Giants face another major test with games on the road against Cardiff Devils on Saturday (7pm) and Coventry Blaze (5.30pm) who sit first and second in the league standings respectively.
Despite the mixed bag of league results, Bast is confident that momentum from last weekend’s performance in the win over Dundee will get them over the line in their next block of games.
“I am positive going into this weekend as I thought we played a really good game against Dundee - probably our best 60 minutes of hockey we’ve played in a while,” Bast explains.
“The goal is to play a fast and physical brand of Giants hockey against Cardiff and keep that up for the entire game.
“Obviously they’re (Cardiff) top of the table at the minute and Coventry have been playing well, so I think it’s going to be a great match up.
“It’s not always the easiest playing games on the road, but they’re just as important as home games and count for the same number of points.
“I can’t wait to get back on home ice playing in front of our fans and make coming to Belfast a very difficult road game for our opposition.”
With a lot of hockey still to play and three trophies still on the table, Bast and his teammates do not shy away from their ambition to make the 25th season one to remember for the Giants.
“I think winning every available trophy is not just the desire of the team, it’s the expectation set by the winning culture at the Giants.
“That’s something I want to be a part of and that expectation was laid down in August when the squad was being assembled.
“To have all the trophies back in Belfast would be amazing and that’s what we strive for.”
