​Cardiff Devils have announced the addition of Finnish forward Panu Mieho to their roster for the 2026-27 Elite League (EIHL) season. The 31-year-old spent the last two years with his hometown club IFK Helsinki, a club where he developed as a junior. He has also plied his trade in Finland with Ilves and in Sweden with Timrå IK.
From their annual pre-season summit in Calgary, Cardiff’s owners also confirmed that Nolan Yaremko, a 27-year-old forward, will be returning for the Devils’ 40th campaign. Joining him on the ice will be Canadian defencemen Brandon Estes and Tyson Helgesen. Head coach Paul Thompson now oversees a squad that includes two goalkeepers, seven defencemen, and five forwards still to be announced.
The Devils’ 2026-27 campaign is set to begin at home against the Guildford Flames in the Challenge Cup on Saturday, 12 September, followed by an away match at Coventry Blaze on the Sunday. The full fixture list is due to be released later this week.
In addition to the on-ice refresh, Cardiff’s Play-Offs Final triumph has already seen several veterans return. Great Britain forward Ben Davies will be entering his 13th season with his hometown club, and in February he became only the fifth player to reach 1,000 EIHL games. Netminder Ben Bowns is back for an 11th season, as is Devils captain Joey Martin. Other re-signings include Mark Richardson, Evan Mosey, Christian Stoever and Kohen Olischefski. Bayley Harewood has earned his first full-time deal after spending the last five seasons on two-way arrangements, largely with Bristol Pitbulls.
New additions also extend beyond the crease. Canadian forward Thomas Caron, aged 25, has switched from HPK in Finland’s Liiga to south Wales, while Jake Sacratini—son of club legend Vezio Sacratini—and defenceman Nick Welsh have joined from Manchester Storm. Cardiff have also appointed Jeff Battah as the club’s new goaltending and video coach, replacing Euan King, who has left to join the Ice Hockey UK Foundation. Battah brings a broad coaching résumé across professional, major junior, university, and international hockey and most recently worked with Rapaces de Gap in France’s Ligue Magnus.
The 46-year-old Canadian coach joins Thompson’s staff as the Devils pursue their first regular-season league title since 2018. The Devils’ current list of netminders features Ben Bowns (Great Britain) and Christian Stoever (USA). Defencemen include Brandon Estes (USA), Gleason Fournier (Canada), Tyson Helgesen (Canada), Evan Mosey (Great Britain), Jimmy Oligny (Canada), Mark Richardson (Great Britain), and Nick Welsh (Canada). Forwards listed are Ryan Barrow (Canada), Thomas Caron (Canada), Ben Davies (Great Britain), Sam Duggan (Great Britain), Bayley Harewood (Great Britain), Joey Martin (Canada), Panu Mieho (Finland), Kohen Olischefski (Canada), Jake Sacratini (Great Britain), and Nolan Yaremko (Canada).
The Devils’ roster totals 25 players for the season, excluding injured reserve replacements and any players on two-way deals. This figure aligns with EIHL guidelines for active rosters across the campaign.