Oxfordshire's Premier Ice Hockey Club, The Oxford City Stars are proud to continue the development of Oxford Junior Stars Academy player, Charlie Roche.
Charlie had his first taste of senior hockey last year, and played above his years and above all expectations, earning himself 12 outings with the club. It is clear that he is an exceptional young talent with skill set beyond his years, determination, and big potential. He undoubtedly has a bright future ahead of him.
At just 17, Charlie has already proven himself as a force to be reckoned with in the junior ranks, putting up 11 goals in just 9 games, all as a defenceman. He is consistently displaying remarkable offence and a fantastic understanding of the game. His development, dedication, and unwavering passion for the sport is a credit to the junior set up with have here at Oxford, and the coaches that have worked with him over the years.
Charlie has shown he has the foundation skill set to be able to compete at senior hockey, and it is our responsibility as the professional team here in Oxford to nurture that talent and continue his development. He is properly one of the most exciting prospects we have seen come through Oxford for a good few years, and we want to help him push himself and continue to grow. He can be a role model to other juniors and show that there are pathways through.
We firmly believes that Charlie has the potential to make a significant impact at the senior level in years to come and we are delighted to welcome him back to the club. As an organisation committed to nurturing young talent and providing a platform for their growth, we are confident that Charlie will flourish under the expert guidance of our experienced coaching staff whilst still being able to continue his development with the fantastic coaches we have at the Junior Stars also. Coach Simon Anderson had this to say about the signing: "Last year we called Charlie up from the junior club at first just for an opportunity to train, as he really stood out in his age group. Right from the early stages you could see he was comfortable making that step up and week after week we saw constant improvement in his game.
When we ran into injury problems during the season ,the way Charlie was practicing we had no hesitation putting him into the line up and playing him regularly. Charlie really impressed me with his reading of the game, his high hockey IQ and his poise on the puck. At times he was one of our best D out there and we started to trust him more and more in certain situations.
I am delighted to be able to give him that opportunity next season, where we will continue to work with him and develop his game to an even higher level. The biggest thing about Charlie coming back to to Stars is the message it sends to all of our young players in our Junior Club, that if you continue to work hard on your game, you will get the opportunity to pull on that Yellow Jersey. To sponsor Charlies Shirts this season, please visit https://www.oxfordcitystars.com/own-loan-1. Grab your opportunity to grab a piece of the future, as we aim to make history!