The 2007/08 ice hockey season brings you a new Belfast Giants columnist.

Todd "Killer" Kelman has moved upstairs and therefore I will be the Giant shooting from the lip this season.

Killer, after taking over as General Manager midway through last season, got a little taste of what it was going to be like as the chief.

It's a tough and challenging position as he has found out and I'm sure during the last few months he has asked himself why he ever accepted the job.

But Killer has done a great job in selling the team to various new sponsors and eager fans, in the hope of securing a lasting future of the Belfast Giants.

On the ice, we are now three weeks into the regular season and things could be better - especially after Friday night's defeat to Newcastle at the Odyssey Arena.

After last season's exciting, yet dissapointing finish, changes had to be made to the team.

Some guys retired while others moved to teams in this league and further afield.

I believe coach Ed Courtenay has put together a much improved team and of course he has added himself to the full time playing roster.

When Ed came in three years ago he brought in a handful of new players to compliment the older more recognizable names.

He succeeded because he knows exactly what type of people he wants to surround him.

Character is a common word we use in hockey and in sport in general.

This is one quality he looks for in players when he is recruiting a team to win a Championship.

This year is no different. There has been a larger turnover of players than previous years but he has found players who fit right into the mould of Giants hockey.

This is obviously not the start anyone was expecting to see, especially in Belfast, because winning and Giants are synonminus.

We have stumbled out of the gates a little but the one great thing about hockey is that it is a game of attrition.

The old saying is that the season is not a sprint it's a marathon.

That's the mentality we have because Ed knows, we know and hopefully the fans will see too, that we have quality and character on this team and when we all get to where we need to be, this will be a season to remember.

With your support we can only improve and I promise we will give you the Giants hockey you deserve to watch.