Leeds Knights – Wikipedia

Posted on by
before-content-x4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 after-content-x4

Ice hockey team in Leeds, England

Leeds Knights
Leeds Knights logo.png
City Leeds, England
League NIHL
Division National League
Founded 2019
Home arena Planet Ice Leeds
Colors Blue, Yellow and White
     
Owner(s) Stephen Nell England
Head coach Ryan Aldridge England
Website Leeds Knights
2019 – 2021 Leeds Chiefs
2021 – Present Leeds Knights

The Leeds Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team is a member of the National League and plays at Planet Ice Leeds.

History[edit]

The team was announced, along with the new National League, on 16 March 2019.[1] However, rumours of a Leeds-based team playing out of the 1800 capacity[2] Planet Ice Leeds arena were circulating months beforehand.[3] In joining the league, they became the first ever hockey team to play out of the city.[4]

The Chiefs name was selected by Planet Ice following the results of a fan poll. The ‘Chiefs’ moniker won the poll, results of which were announced on 16 May 2019, having beaten the alternatives; Cotton Kings and Mighty Mammoths.[5]

 after-content-x4

Former Whitley Warriors Defenceman Sam Zajac was announced as Player-coach of the team on 10 May 2019.[6] Zajac’s first signing for the Chiefs was former Manchester Phoenix captain, Defenceman Luke Boothroyd.[7]

In November 2019, head coach Sam Zajac launched an urgent appeal after a large amount of the team’s equipment was stolen from an apartment block in Batley. This included new helmets that hadn’t even been worn yet, along with sticks and gloves used by the players all season.[8] Despite this, the Chiefs confirmed their weekend games would go ahead as planned via a statement on Twitter.

In their first National League season, the Chiefs finished 10th. They won 13 games, losing 36, achieving 28 points overall. The season was curtailed in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] For the first five months of the season, the Chiefs were required to play home games elsewhere, due to a delay in the opening of their rink.[10] The first game at their Elland Road arena was against Sheffield Steeldogs on 31 January 2020.[11]

In 2021, the club rebranded and changed their name from Leeds Chiefs to Leeds Knights due to a change in ownership. The new name has ties to Leeds Armouries.[12] David Whistle arrived as Head Coach and General Manager, but departed in January 2022. Former Swindon Wildcats coach Ryan Aldridge was then appointed as interim coach until the end of the 2021/22 season.[13]

Club roster 2022–23[edit]

(*) Denotes a Non-British Trained player (Import)

Netminders
No. Nat. Player Catches Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
31 England Sam Gospel L (1994-03-27) 27 March 1994 (age 29) Nottingham, England 2021 from Manchester Storm 23/24
32 England Harrison Walker L (2002-06-25) 25 June 2002 (age 20) England 2022 from Widnes Wild 22/23
Forwards
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Acquired Contract
6 England Ethan Hehir R (2001-07-02) 2 July 2001 (age 21) England 2019 from Billingham Stars 22/23
9 Canada Grant Cooper* L (1996-07-20) 20 July 1996 (age 26) Cornwall, Ontario, Canada 2022 from Reading Royals 22/23
10 Northern Ireland Carter Hamill L (2004-09-28) 28 September 2004 (age 18) Belfast, Northern Ireland 2022 from Belfast Giants 22/23
11 England Matthew Haywood L (1990-12-27) 27 December 1990 (age 32) Doncaster, England 2022 from Glasgow Clan 22/23
12 England Kieran Brown ‘C‘ L (2001-02-27) 27 February 2001 (age 22) Bradford, England 2021 from Widnes Wild 23/24
25 Canada Zachary Brooks* L (2001-08-16) 16 August 2001 (age 21) Bromont, Quebec, Canada 2022 from Trois-Rivières Lions 22/23
27 England Cole Shudra L (1998-08-11) 11 August 1998 (age 24) Rotherham, England 2021 from Sheffield Steelers Two-Way
28 England Tate Shudra L 2004 England 2022 from Sheffield Titans 22/23
33 England Finley Bradon R (2005-11-24) 24 November 2005 (age 17) Darlington,England 2022 from Billingham Stars Two-Way
43 England Damarni James – 2005 England 2022 from Bradford Bulldogs Two-Way
88 England Adam Barnes L (1999-07-12) 12 July 1999 (age 23) Manchester, England 2021 from Widnes Wild 22/23
Team Staff
No. Nat. Name Position Acquired Place of birth Joined From
England Ryan Aldridge Head coach 2022 Swindon, England Okanagan Hockey Academy U18, England U18
England Stephen Nell General manager/Owner 2021 England Swindon Wildcats, NIHL
England Warwick Andrews Technical director 2022 England
England Jason Thomas Equipment/Team Manager 2019 Swindon, England N/A

Source:[14]

2021/22 Departures[edit]

Outgoing
No. Nat. Player Shoots Date of birth Place of birth Leaving For
9 Scotland Joe Coulter R (1995-06-12) 12 June 1995 (age 27) Dumfries, Scotland Widnes Wild, NIHL 1
15 England Jamie Chilcott R (1993-06-06) 6 June 1993 (age 29) Hull, England Hull Seahawks, NIHL
22 England Jordan Fisher R (1993-11-23) 23 November 1993 (age 29) Hull, England Hull Seahawks, NIHL
55 Wales Ross Kennedy R (1998-01-30) 30 January 1998 (age 25) St Asaph, Wales Deeside Dragons, NIHL 1
80 England Bobby Streetly R (1994-04-08) 8 April 1994 (age 28) Leeds, England Hull Seahawks, NIHL

References[edit]

External links[edit]



after-content-x4