Braehead Paisley Pirates

The Paisley Pirates were founded in 1946 and are one of the oldest ice hockey clubs in Scotland and the UK (the oldest being the Fife Flyers). The Pirates were the epitome of the game in Scotland during the 1950s. In season 1953-4 they won the Autumn Cup, the Scottish Cup and the Canada Cup.
Their success brought them to the British National League, but local supporters could ill afford to travel to [southern England and gradually support waned. Both Pirates' junior team, Paisley Wildcats, followed by the Pirates themselves were dissolved. The Paisley Mohawks replaced them, but could not generate the enthusiasm of the Pirates. Paisley Buddies were delighted when the Pirates were relaunched in the 1990s with the opening of the new ice rink and started living up to past glories by winning Scottish Division One in their inaugural season. The following season Pirates joined British League Division One and after more league reconstruction a few seasons later joined British National League which was the start of tougher times for the Pirates, where they regularly finished out of play-off contention and close to the foot of the table. Former Aviemore Blues tough-guy/coach, Stirling Wright, was brought in from Swindon in the 1999-2000 season. Local players, Bobby Chalmers, James Clarke, and O'Niell from the Pirates were selected to play for the GB junior team. Wright continued to play the home grown players more than the imports and this resulted in the imports pushing for Wright to resign. Wright met with the owner Allan Maxwell and resigned in February when he refused to reduce the playing time of the British/Scottish players. He was asked to return the next week but headed back to America. The team would not improve and the production dropped even more with many of the players leaving the club. With the costs of travel to the south of England, the Pirates could not afford to continue play in the British National League so in 2002 the club made the decision to transfer to the Scottish National League where they continue to play.
During season 2006/7, the Pirates almost had to fold due to a problem with their home ice at Paisley's Lagoon centre. However, a late move to the nearby Braehead Arena secured their survival. In an eventful season, they secured the Scottish Spring Cup, beating Dundee Tigers in the final.
==2008-2009 Roster==
Positions not all entirely accurate yet.
Goaltenders	Goaltenders	Goaltenders 	Goaltenders	Goaltenders	Goaltenders
Number 	 	Player 	Catches 	Acquired 	Place of Birth
1 	 	Colin Downie 	L 	2008 	Kirkcaldy, Scotland
41 	 	Scott Blackwell	L 	2007 	glasgow, Scotland
42 	 	Ryan Ford 	L 	2008 	Edinburgh, Scotland
Defencemen	Defencemen	Defencemen 	Defencemen	Defencemen	Defencemen 	Defencemen
Number 	 	Player 	Shoots 	Acquired 	Place of Birth 	
6 	 	Marc Fowley 	 	 	, Scotland 	
7 	 	Chris Wilson 	 	 	, Scotland 	
15 	 	Jamie Daly 	 	 	Edinburgh, Scotland	
16 	 	Ian Turley 	 	 	, Scotland 	
18 	 	Callum Wallace 	 	 	Paisley, Scotland 	
21 	 	Chris Conaboy 	 	 	, Scotland 	
22 	 	Robert Henderson	 	 	, Scotland 	
32 	 	John Robertson 	 	2008 	?, Scotland 	
88 	 	Chad Reekie 	 	 	Fife, Scotland 	
Forwards	Forwards	Forwards 	Forwards	Forwards	Forwards	Forwards
Number 	 	Player 	Shoots 	Position	Acquired	Place of Birth
8 	 	Stuart McCaig 	L 	LW 	 	, Scotland
19 	 	Brian Miller 	 	 	 	, Scotland
26 	 	Stuart Miller 	 	 	 	, Scotland
27 	 	Chris Turley 	 	 	 	, Scotland
28 	 	John Downes 	 	 	 	, Scotland
30 	 	Dino Bauba 	 	 	2008 	Kaunas, Lithuania
31 	 	Mark Hassan 	 	 	 	?, Scotland
37 	 	Mathew Rich 	 	 	 	, Scotland
69 	 	Martin Talajka 	 	 	 	, Slovakia
81 	 	David Orr 	 	 	 	, Scotland
91 	 	Graham McCamley	 	 	 	, Scotland
Staff 	Staff	Staff 	Staff 	Staff 	Staff 	Staff
Number	 	Player 	Position 	Acquired	Place of Birth 	
-- 	 	Dino Bauba	Head Coach 	1998 	Kaunas, Lithuania	
-- 	 	 	Assistant Coach	 	, Scotland 	
-- 	 	 	Trainer 	 	?, Scotland 	
-- 	 	 	Equip. Manager 	 	?, Scotland 	
== External links ==
* Official Website
* Official Facebook Page
* Official Twitter Page
* A Pirates Fan Website *Not updated since March 2009
Category:British ice hockey teams
Category:British National League team
Category:Scottish National League team
Category:Established in 1946