In the history of the Cardiff Devils there have been the best of the best to have played in the UK, and many of them staying for years upon years, sometimes decades, the likes of Steve Moria, Doug McEwen, Mark Richardson, Neil Francis!

But what about the ones who you would have loved to have stayed for multiple seasons? what about the ones who left us before we got a chance to have their name stamped on the back of our shirts?

This episode will take us down memory lane to remember those who will be remembered simply as 'gone too soon'

In this episode:

- Chris Newtons superstitions, current job, and legacy

- European adventures with a couple of ringers

- Glen Anderson and his Credit Card

- The Brest Training camp of all time

and many many names from back when, Cadieux, Smail, Brebant....... they are all here!

So the Team is built and is rolling through the season, Chemistry is starting to form and results are positive.

What happens next was beyond anyones expectation, a title challenge and a challenge cup victory, mixed in with a goal that went around the world......

In this episode:

- Biz signs but never gets to the Tent

- Culligan goes Global

- Challenge cup final in all its glory.

and much much more!

As the season of 13/14 ended, the Cardiff Devils future was looking bleak. Finishing outside of the playoffs for the first time in the Elite League Era, and a severely fractured fan base. It seemed there would be nothing much to shout about on or off the ice for some time.

Then, within seemingly a blink of an eye a consortium of Canadian Businessmen, led by The Elite Leagues most successful General Manager take over the club and the whole hockey scene in Cardiff Turned on its head.

Now, Neil Francis will take us behind the scenes of how the first team of this new era was built, you will find out:

- Where had Tyson Marsh agreed to play before the ownership change?

- Why was Andrew Lord the right man for the job?

- Which Ex Devils gave the glowing references for Doug Clarkson?

and so much more.

Part 1 we take into how the foundations were laid.

In the 2nd part of tough guys we go through some of the following topics:

- Brad Voth and how he stacks up as one of the all time Devils top tough guys.

- How did Franny start a bench clearance against Coventry (again!)

- How did Franny get Ed Courtenay to finally snap and drop the gloves?

- and John picks his mountrushmore of tough guys.

All of this and a whole lot more in part 2 of Tough Guys!

Connect with us on twitter via @BtbFranny for polls, discussion and all the news related to the podcast.

In Cardiff there has been a long and storied history of larger than life characters, who wore and continue to wear the Devils Crest with pride, and quite literally, fight to keep its honor.

There is nothing quite like the tough guys of hockey in any other walk of life, let alone in any other sport.

Neil Francis has played with many if not all of them, and in this episode we look to tell their Cardiff Devils story.

In part 1:

- The early days of the tough guy in Cardiff

- Bench Clearances against Nottingham

-Ice Clearances against Coventry!

- And two of the most famous guys ever to wear the Devils Jersey, Mike Ware and Mike Macwilliam.

So we head into the last part of the story. In this instalment:

- Did Ben Simon try and get the game abandoned?

- What did Franny think of the Tylor Michel Suspension?

- John Dononvan Travel woes

- and we discuss, what was the legacy of the record breakers?

In 2010/2011 Gerad Adams and Neil Francis put together one of the most exciting teams the Elite League has ever seen.

While it did not win silverware, this team put together a string of consecutive wins that still to this day sees them in the Guiness book of World records.

In this episode we go behind the scenes of this season, and find out the real story behind some of it's biggest moments. Such as:

Where did Neil and G find Craig Weller? and where was Franny when he was issuing the visa paperwork.

What did Neil really think about the Suspension Tylor Michel was given at the crucial part of the season?

What was the Friday night ritual that the players took part in without the knowledge of their coaches while on their record breaking run?

And many many more.

This episode was recorded before the passing of Scott Matzka, one of the key components of the record breakers. Please visit www.scottmatzka.com to see how you can help in the fight against ALS.