Nottingham Panthers forward Brett Perlini is returning to the club after a spell at Italian Alps Hockey League side HC Pustertal Wolfe.<\/p>\n
Perlini left the Panthers last year as covid chaos caused the Elite League season to cancel proceedings in March and although his spell in Northern Italy was always likely to end in a return to Nottingham once the pandemic settled for ice-hockey to be played back on these isles, an early-play off exit has enforced that move to come sooner than expected with Perlini now looking to re-join the team he first joined in 2017 for the remainder of the Elite Series and beyond.<\/p>\n
It hasn\u2019t been without trouble though, Perlini originally agreed to come back to Nottingham last week but flights have been few and far between with covid testing a slow process too, but the Canadian born GB International hopes he\u2019ll return to the Midlands next week and get straight back into action for the four team series that includes Sheffield Steelers, Manchester Storm and Coventry Blaze, ahead of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Latvia next month.<\/p>\n
Perlini who has already played near 200 games for the Panthers and fifteen times for Great Britain, scored 13 goals with 26 assists for Pustertal who were beaten by Lustenau in the playoffs over two legs at the start of the month.<\/p>\n
A Nottingham Panthers statement highlighted that \u201cHe has spent the past season playing in Italy but since his team were knocked out of the play-offs work has been going on to get him back in the Panthers\u2019 line-up for the Elite Series.<\/p>\n
“Having played in Nottingham for three seasons up to the enforced shut-down, he was named on the so-called \u2018protected list\u2019 ahead of the British players\u2019 draft before the current tournament.<\/p>\n
“His Italian team were under strength and didn\u2019t last as long in the play-offs as expected allowing the Panthers\u2019 \u2018gamble\u2019 on his availability to come good.”<\/p>\n
Whilst this weekends fixtures will come to soon for the return of Perlini, it is hoped that the former Guildford youth star now 30, will make home in time for next weekends matches and the 16th verses Sheffield Steelers certainly sounds a nice fit.<\/p>\n