THE Basingstoke Bison have confirmed the return of import forward Tomas Karpov and defenceman Kurt Reynolds.

Both players were on multi-year contracts with the Herd and were key members of the double-winning team in the 2013/14 season.

For Basingstoke-born Reynolds this will be his eighth straight year in a Bison uniform, making him the longest-serving player with the Herd.

The popular 28-year-old was the winner of the Basingstoke Gazette Sports Personality of the Year award in February and has now made more than 300 league appearances for the team.

Reynolds is one of the top British defencemen in the English Premier League and a key member of their back division.

Free-scoring Karpov was the Bison’s top goal scorer in their double winning season, but last year was forced to sit out the end of the league campaign after he suffered a broken wrist.

The 26-year-old Czech forward returned for the play-offs, scoring in the second leg against Manchester Phoenix as he finished the campaign with 24 goals and 30 assists from 45 games.

A delighted Bison player/coach Doug Sheppard said: “Having both Kurt (Reynolds) and Tomas (Karpov) back for next season is great for us.

“Kurt has a really good all-round game. He can play physically, he wins the one-on-one battles and can make that telling pass from defence.

“Tomas puts in a good shift every game and is always looking to make things happen. He was injured last season, which was a shame, but I am sure it will make him even more eager to do well next year.”

Returning import forward Karpov said: “It was disappointing not to win any trophies last season, so I hope we can put it right.

“I am sure we will have a good team that is going to challenging all year again.”

Looking forward to getting suited up for the Bison again, Reynolds said: “Being from Basingstoke, I always want to play for the Bison and would love to get to 10 years with the club and have a testimonial.”

Basingstoke Gazette:

The Bison defenceman was one of the winners at the club’s annual awards night, when he won British Player of the Year.

British forwards Aaron Connolly and Joe Greener took away the trophies for Player of the Year and Coach’s Player.

For the second year running, Stuart Mogg picked up the Most Improved Player award. He moved from forward to defenceman in mid season and did not look out of place on the blue line.

The Players’ Player trophy went to Ciaran Long, who is playing for the GB Prospects team in Fife.

The Bison’s leading goal scorer scored the game-winning goal in a 3-1 victory over Romania.