Leeds Knights defenceman Jordan Griffin keen to hit reset button in order to make up for lost time

AS FAR as Jordan Griffin is concerned, the 2022-23 NIHL National season will chiefly be about making up for lost time.
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The 20-year-old defenceman is today confirmed as returning for a second season with Leeds Knights, providing him with an opportunity to put a frustrating first campaign at Elland Road firmly behind him.

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Leeds Knights coach Ryan Aldridge keen to help Jordan Griffin realise full poten...

Two injuries, only one of which was hockey-related, ensured that Griffin missed almost half of the Knights’ matches, 31 games in total to be precise.

RARING TO GO: Leeds Knights' defenceman Jordan Griffin Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium PrintsRARING TO GO: Leeds Knights' defenceman Jordan Griffin Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium Prints
RARING TO GO: Leeds Knights' defenceman Jordan Griffin Picture: Andy Bourke/Podium Prints
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Only 11 of those games came under head coach Ryan Aldridge, himself committed to the Knights for at least the next two years after initially filling in on an interim basis last season after predecessor Dave Whistle was sacked in January.

It was a car accident in mid-October that robbed the former Bradford Bulldogs’ junior of 14 games before, in mid-January, a promising run of 17 straight appearances in a Knights jersey was ended at Elland Road when a speculative shot from a Basingstoke Bison defender left him with a broken finger and unavailable for new coach Aldridge until late March.

But Aldridge – whose first game in charge was that visit from his former team Basingstoke – has clearly seen enough in the short time he has had Griffin at his disposal to offer him a spot on the Knights’ 2022-23 roster, a chance the former Sheffield Steelers’ apprentice was only too happy to accept.

“It was great to hear that Ryan wanted me back again and that he was keen to see what I can really do,” said Griffin. “You’re never 100 per cent sure about things like this, particularly with Ryan not being the coach who had signed me in the first place last summer.

Jordan Griffin, pictured in action after his return from a broken finger late on in the 2021-22 NIHL National season. Picture courtesy of Leeds KnightsJordan Griffin, pictured in action after his return from a broken finger late on in the 2021-22 NIHL National season. Picture courtesy of Leeds Knights
Jordan Griffin, pictured in action after his return from a broken finger late on in the 2021-22 NIHL National season. Picture courtesy of Leeds Knights
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“I just need to prove what I can do first because he didn’t really get to see me play that much because I lasted one game when he first came in and then I got injured again.

“I came back for 10 or so games at the end of the year, but I’d had 10 weeks off the ice again and you’re trying to get back into things again and it was the playoffs, so it wasn’t really the ideal time in that sense.

“I’ve never had a season like it. It was literally the worst year I’ve ever had for injury. I’ve never been out for any length of time, so to be out for around half of the season was tough to handle and obviously not what I’d planned or hoped for going into the season.”

Staying injury-free will be key for Griffin come September when the first puck drops and, providing he can do, he is confident of realising his full potential under Aldridge.

Leeds Knights' head coach Ryan Aldridge 
Picture: Bruce RollinsonLeeds Knights' head coach Ryan Aldridge 
Picture: Bruce Rollinson
Leeds Knights' head coach Ryan Aldridge Picture: Bruce Rollinson
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“I was obviously hoping to have a good year, but the injuries have just put everything back 12 months in that respect,” added Griffin.

“It’s been really frustrating and so I’m looking to make up for lost time in a big way – this year I really want to prove what I’m capable of.”

In Aldridge, a man who has spent his recent years overseeing the development of young talent coming through the Swindon-based Okanagan Hockey Academy, Griffin believes the Knights have the ideal coach to coax the best out of what looks like being one of NIHL National’s youngest rosters once again.

“I’d never had him as a coach before so I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Griffin. “But he came in, he had his systems and how he liked to play and that was it.

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“As a player, you had to buy in and I like that – I like being told what we’re going to be doing and knowing everybody is on the same page. You can always be creative within those systems but you know how he likes to play and everything is very clear in terms of what his expectations are and each player knows what is expected.”

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