Leeds Chiefs’ Sam Zajac backs NIHL National to continue second-tier improvement

After two seasons which produced too many lopsided games between mismatched teams after the demise of the English Premier League in 2017, last summer’s announcement of a new second tier in the British game was widely welcomed.

Bringing together the best teams from NIHL North One and NIHL South One, as well as adding a new franchise from Leeds and welcoming back Milton Keynes Lightning from the Elite League had the desired effect.

Save for the odd anomaly in scorelines, the new league was able to produce competitive hockey across all 10 teams every weekend.

Newcomers the Chiefs may have ended up bottom of the regular season standings - the campaign halted early without any playoffs due to the coronavirus pandemic - but that was largely down to other factors.

Having no home ice either to train or play on at their Elland Road rink until the end of January was clearly a major contributing factor, forcing Zajac’s team to effectively spend the first five months of the season on the road.

Throw into the mix long spells playing short-benched, it came as no surprise that the West Yorkshire club struggled to maintain any kind of consistency, producing back-to-back wins only once all season.

But, despite their lowly standing, the Chiefs still managed to prove a tough nut to crack for all nine rivals, with eventual regular season champions Telford Tigers falling to the Chiefs on two occasions and only second-placed Swindon Wildcats and Peterborough Phantoms, who came in just below, as the only two teams not to lost to Leeds.

As is widely expected, the 2020-21 season is expected to start later than normal as the country goes through various stages of emerging from lockdown, with competitive ice hockey likely to be one of the last sports to be given the green light to return.

Zajac is in regular contact with most other coaches in the division and says everyone is determined to build on the season of promise seen by players and fans last time out.

“We don’t want to let last season count for nothing as a league,” said Zajac. “Last season, I believe we found that perfect level for the 10 clubs involved. It was extremely competitive, and it was great hockey at times.

“There were a lot of good quality British players and there was a lot of development going on. That is kind of the MO for the league and everyone was really satisfied with what we achieved as a league and are keen to build on that.”

It remains to be seen what the full effect of Covid-19 will have on clubs, at all levels of the game, from the Elite League right down to juniors.

But, if team playing budgets allow after the pandemic, Zajac anticipates the second tier improving further on what it offered up first time around.

“Obviously, if it wasn’t for what was going on now, without a doubt the league will be better next year,” added Zajac, who has already signed up the bulk of next season’s roster.

“Just with guys getting used to playing at this level and coaches seeing areas that they want to improve on.

“A lot of the good players in this league are young and talented, so even just being one year further down the development line for those kinds of players because of last season will raise the bar.”

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