Ice Hockey: McSorley calls for imports limit

Chris McSorley has told Superleague owners their franchises will be "worthless" if they do not start to limit the number of imports and increase the British contingent in their teams.

The Great Britain coach says the "game is dying on the vine" and fears for its future if steps are not taken. Only four British-trained players will be icing in the ISL this season – the Great Britain captain David Longstaff, Joe Watkins, Stevie Lyle and Jonathan Weaver – and two of them are netminders.

McSorley used the weekend's Euro Challenge tournament in Nottingham to give many Great Britain youngsters the chance to gain ice time at international level. Now he wants them to be given a chance to shine in the ISL and the second-tier British National League, otherwise he feels the "leagues will flounder".

"I would like to see the leagues go to eight imports and then have a plan when you start with eight non-British-born-and-trained players and each year drop it by one until you level it out to three or four," he said. "If you do that, believe me, we will be competing for a Pool A nation spot.

"If they don't do it soon what they have got is worthless. Their franchise will be nothing but old newspaper."