News Article | 24th August 2009 » Swede Signs for Scimitars

Sheffield Scimitars is delighted to announce the recapture the signature of Joakim Millqvist who has signed as the 3rd import for the EPL team for 2009/10 season.

Coach Rowbotham and Scims Director, Ian Johnson, have been locked in talks with Millqvist and his agent for nearly 6 weeks and it was Rowbotham who managed to convince the 28 year old Swede to return to Sheffield for a second time. Speaking about the appointment Rowbotham said, "I am thrilled that Joki's has signed on the dotted line this week following his decision to have another season representing Sheffield in the EPL. Millqvist enjoyed his time with the Scims last season and is happy to return to provide support to our organisation, it is a fantastic signing for us".

Born in Solna, Sweden, Millqvist has played for high profile teams throughout his career and has recorded some great stats during his career. He is a player who knows how to contribute to turning on the red light and in the last ten years Millqvist has played 279 games, accumulating 253 points and a +9 career total. Rowbotham believes Millqvist to be a player of real quality, he added, "Millqvist's stats are really impressive and they demonstrate exactly the pedigree of this player. He is just what I was looking for and it's great for us that he's chosen Sheffield over the other offers he was considering".

Millqvist himself was looking at a big move after the Scimitars last term. Upon signing he said, "Sure I was looking for a move to Italy but I always had Sheffield in the back of my mind. Last season ended with disappointment and I thought we had unfinished business to take care of. Now I'm heading back to Sheffield, I hope I can help the team to do much better this time and I'm really looking forward to working hard in the new organisation".

With such a good career already under his belt Millqvist has many highlights to reflect upon. With a J20 Superelit sm-silver medal in 1999/2000 and promotion from Division 1 to Allsvenskan with Aik in 2004/2005. He will be hoping to capture further honours with the new-look Scimitars which should make for some interesting encounters with the other EPL teams.

Rowbotham speaks highly of his latest signing and added "I feel Millqvist is one of the most technically gifted players I have come across in UK hockey. Great fundamentals provide solid base credentials and in Joki's case these are of an exceptionally high standard. After watching some of the games he played in last season I thought he was a stand-out player who possessed many different tools in his tool box, ranging from excellent vision to being able to thread the needle from great distances. With 55 points in 41 games last season Joki put in a creditable return and I hope we can see this again starting in just a few short weeks time".

With this latest signing, people will be looking at a possible Millqvist and Slamiar partnership and this was a point not lost on Rowbotham, "maybe they will play on the same line again this season? I think both players have a great understanding of each other and work well off one another too. I am expecting big things from this pair this season! Producing top drawer performances game-in and game-out is the ultimate objective, coupled with contributing to the successes and passing of knowledge onto the other offensive players on the roster".

This signing comes at the end of a difficult period of negotiation for the Scimitars and both Rowbotham and Johnson have spent many hours trying to broker a deal that would suit Millqvist but not compromise the budget, Johnson explained "When recruiting the import contingent of the roster, I knew if we could get Millqvist onboard Jon would be able to work with him as he has the playing the style that Jon likes. Jon made it clear to me that Joki is a player who will fit into our systems of play and that he became a 'must have' target. I was glad we could get him again".

Millqvist was destined for the Italian elite league at the end of last season but negotiations fell through. At that point the Scimitars were back in the running and Rowbotham was straight on the case to seal Joki's signature which took a little longer than expected. Rowbotham commented, "I'm sure our supporters will be as delighted as I am with the latest signing which finalises my 9 forward positions. I'm happy with the calibre of players that I have been able to recruit whist keeping the budget allowance in mind. This is our third import signed and I'm still negotiating with another 4 players to take on a defensive position which I hope to conclude a deal on soon".

Next News Article: Scimitars v Hull Stingrays - Wednesday 7.30pm
25th August 2009
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19th August 2009

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