The Guildford Flames ice hockey club and defenceman Mark Williams have mutually agreed the player’s release from his duties with immediate effect. The 6’1”, 210 lb defenceman was heading for retirement this past summer when he made the late decision to join the English Premier League champions for the 2008-2009 term.
A native of Birmingham, the 32 year old blueliner iced in 30 games with the Surrey side, tallying 1 goal, 3 assists and 62 minutes in penalties. Prior to this season, Williams iced the last two complete campaigns with the Romford Raiders, posting 6 goals, 28 assists and 362 penalty minutes. He first skated in Romford during the 2002-2003 season before moving on to the EPL cup champion Peterborough Phantoms the year after that. He returned to Romford for 2004-2005 before splitting the following season between the Raiders and the Chelmsford Chieftains. In nearly 300 games, over the past 6 plus seasons, Williams has 87 points and more than 1000 minutes in penalties.
Flames Head Coach Paul Dixon discussed the roster change:
“This decision made jointly between Mark and the club is in the best interests of both parties. As we said when Mark signed with us, he was contemplating retirement and working on personal opportunities in his transition away from the sport. Some of those developing obligations are making it difficult for Mark to justify his significant commitment to us. For the benefit of both sides, we have mutually agreed the best course of action is to make Mark available to explore options that may be a better fit for his playing career and the things he is trying to accomplish outside the game. Mark is a great Character. We thank him for his contribution to the team so far this season and we wish him all the best in his move.”
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