HE MAY have some big gloves to fill but Swindon Wildcats player-coach Aaron Nell is excited about the capture of new netminder Renny Marr.

The Cats reportedly fought off competition from five other clubs to sign the Great Britain U20 international as they looked to move swiftly to replace Stevie Lyle, whose departure was confirmed over the weekend.

The 19-year-old Scot has spent the last two years as backup netminder with Elite League outfit Coventry Blaze but, having only made 11 appearances in that time, Nell believes that he will have his chance to shine as Swindon’s number one.

“We’re delighted that he wants to be in Swindon,” said the Link Centre boss.

“He is young and hungry and wants to prove a point and it is a big opportunity for him.

“He is one of the best, if not the best, young British goalies in the country and I have had lots of good reports about him as a goalie and a person.

“He is keen and hungry and he wants to take the opportunity we are going to give him.

“He was at Coventry for two years and at his age, it’s difficult for him to play lots of games at that level.

“What he knew he needed to do was get some game time and then, hopefully, return to the Elite League one day.

“That’s his goal, to be a starter in the Elite League and it is going to take a lot of hard work from him and we want to push him to be able to do that.

“He had a lot of teams after him and we are very lucky to get him.”

Marr replaces veteran Stevie Lyle after his departure from the Link Centre was confirmed on Saturday, with both parties unable to come to an agreement to keep the 37-year-old Welshman in Wiltshire.

However, Nell was quick to state that he does not expect Marr, 18 years Lyle’s junior, to be a like-for-like replacement for the former Great Britain number one.

“Stevie is probably the best British goalie ever and he would have been the best goalie in the league,” he added.

“We wanted Stevie to return but when we thought he was going to be leaving, we had to protect the club and goalies don’t grow on trees.

“We’re going to have to replace Stevie with a few different players and we’ll be able to set up our team a little bit differently now and that’s what we are trying to do. It’s not going to be one person to replace Stevie because that is impossible.”