BRAEHEAD Clan are to be known as Glasgow Clan following a rebrand of the Elite Ice Hockey League team for the start of the 2018/19 season.

The side, who play at Braehead Arena, say the change is a natural progression following the phenomenal growth of their fan base, as crowds of around 800 in their inaugural season have now grown to more than 3,000 supporters cheering them on.

The rebrand comes at an exciting time for the team, who have been busy building a roster in the off-season, which is sure to excite the Purple Army.

Last week, head coach Pete Russell hailed the signing of Canadian Matt Beca for the upcoming campaign.

Bringing the 32-year-old back to Scotland is a major coup for the ice hockey club, who fought off competition from Belfast Giants, Manchester Storm, Nottingham Panthers and a number of European clubs to snap up the high-scoring forward. Beca was previously a member of the Clan side that won the Gardiner Conference in 2016/17 and has consistently proven himself as a game-changer.

He kept up that trend in the 2017/18 season while playing for Elite rivals Manchester Storm, racking up no less than 25 goals and 51 assists during his time with the side.

Russell told the club’s website: “I’m absolutely delighted to announce the return of Matt Beca. It has been an ongoing recruitment process from the minute the EIHL play-offs were completed and from the first communication I knew it wouldn’t happen overnight.

“You don’t get the points return he does without working hard and competing hard in tough situations.

“For us to be an organisation that competes every night in the EIHL, we need as many different elements and players who can make a difference offensively.”

Matt is the 16th addition to the clan for the 2018/19 season and joins a roster certain to excite the Purple Army.

Other signings include GB U-20 forward Mac Howlett, who has arrived from Finnish outfit SaiPa where turned out for their U-18s and U-20s in the past two seasons.

Canadian netminder Joel Rumpel is another recent signing. The 27-year-old, 6ft 3in shot stopper finished the 2017/18 season with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies and is a two-time Kelly Cup champion with the Allen Americans.

The new-look side will take to the ice at the Braehead Arena on August 18 for the first game in their summer series against German team Fischtown Pinguins.