Phantoms lose anotherthree British players

Two of the club’s 2014/15 play-off heroes – defenceman Greg Pick and forward Eddie Bebris - won’t be back at Planet Ice next term.

Pick, who played for Phantoms for three-and-a-half seasons, is understood to be close to sealing a switch to another English Premier League club while Bebris, who spent two campaigns in the city, is thought to be keen to secure a move to the Elite League.

And forward Lloyd Gibson also features on the list of departures as he puts his career on hold. He’s set to take time out of the sport due to work and family commitments.

Koulikov said: “Lloyd, Greg and Eddie are all great guys who fitted into our structure and were in my plans for next season. But, for one reason or another, they won’t be back.

“Lloyd has work and family commitments which have to come first while Greg has received a great offer from elsewhere that we can’t even come close to matching.

“Personal circumstances also mean that Eddie won’t return, but we have lost important players in the past and always managed to replace them.

“Hopefully we can do that again as we aim to continue improving year-on-year.”

The latest set of departures follow those of top-scorer Craig Scott, who joined fierce rivals Milton Keynes, and defenceman Cam McGiffin, who is stepping into the Elite League with Dundee.

Pick and McGiffin’s exits, along with the retirement of Jason Buckman, mean Koulikov must revamp his defensive options.

He added: “Losing three out of six guys means we have had to evaluate and try to bring in the right players to make our ‘D’ stronger.

“There are always going to be bigger clubs who have finances with which we can’t compete, but our club has great stability which always works in our favour when negotiating with players.

“They know they will get treated properly on and off the ice at Peterborough and that counts for a lot.”

Phantoms have snapped up forward James Archer and confirmed the return of popular import Ales Padelek so far.

Fellow overseas aces Darius Pliskauskas and Milan Baranyk are also committed for next season along with a number of Brits – captain James Ferrara, Will Weldon, Scott Robson and Tom Norton - on multi-year deals.