SWINDON Wildcats have made a sensational late addition to their roster with the arrival of Great Britain international Ben Davies on a short-term contract.

The 25-year-old forward heads to the Link Centre for what will be a four-week stay before moving abroad following the Cats away trip to the Guildford Flames at the end of September.

Davies has plenty of pedigree behind him having played 57 games for Elite League side Braehead Clan, as well as four matches in the Champions Hockey League, scoring 13 goals and claiming 17 assists.

The former Cardiff Devils youth product has also represented his country 13 times, including two World Cups, netting just the once.

Wildcats head coach Aaron Nell is delighted to have captured such a high calibre player at the eleventh hour, albeit for a short period, and believes it is a deal that works well for both the club and the player.

“He is a Great Britain international and is a good Elite League level player so it is good to get him in for a couple of weeks,” he told the Advertiser.

“We have got a tough start to the season so it will really help us at the start of the year and hopefully it can work well for us and work well for him.

“It is a good chance for him to stay in shape and be ready for when he goes away.

“It will work well for both parties and we are excited to have him in the building for the start of the season.”

With Tomasz Malasinski missing the first three of four pre-season games scheduled for the Wildcats, the first being next Wednesday at home to Bracknell Bees, Nell is pleased that someone of Davies’ quality is there to step in.

The Cats chief is keen to start this campaign on the right foot and believes that Davies’ experience will take the pressure off when it comes to that.

“We will see what happens in pre-season but we were a player short with Tomasz being away with Poland,” he added.

“It will be good to get him in and we will see where he fits.

“I think Ben will help us with a good start. He will take a little bit of pressure off everyone for the start of the campaign.

“Especially the younger players. We can manage how much we chuck them in at the deep end with Ben in the line-up.

“We can monitor their ice time at the start of the year and make sure they are ready to move up the pecking order when Ben leaves.”