Leeds Knights: Ryan Aldridge looking forward to youthful approach to 2022-23

According to Elite Prospects, the Knights had the second youngest roster in the second tier last time out, with an average age of 24.2 years. Only Raiders IHC – who finished the regular season bottom of the standings – were lower with an average roster age of 24.17 years.

But age clearly wasn’t an issue for the Knights in their debut season, their ‘youthful exuberance’ lending itself to some of the most exciting hockey in the league on their way to a fourth-place regular season finish.

The counter to that is the naivety that sometimes comes with a young team, something seen, perhaps, in the post-season, although playing short-benched for large chunks of the campaign were probably a bigger reason behind the winless play-off stretch.

Of the 10 players announced so far by head coach Ryan Aldridge, only three – goaltender Sam Gospel, defenceman Sam Zajac and centre Matt Haywood – are aged over 23.

In Aldridge, however, they appear to have the right man behind the bench to get the best out of a young line-up.

Since stepping down as head coach of Swindon Wildcats at the end of the 2014-15 English Premier League season, Aldridge has concentrated solely on coaching youngsters.

His chief area of interest has been close to home in Swindon, as a leading figure at the Okanagan Hockey Academy, a franchise of the successful Canadian-based hockey school set up in the UK by Knights’ owner Steve Nell.

For Aldridge, also briefly involved in the GB Under-16 program before his appointment at Leeds in January, it is where his hockey passion runs deepest and where he believes he is most effective. It is one reason why Nell brought him to West Yorkshire.

“Let’s be honest, it’s a young team we’re putting together here and it’s a very skilled hockey team,” said Aldridge, “But they haven’t done anything yet and that’s a big part of why I wanted to come here, to work with a young team, because that’s my passion I guess, working with younger hockey players.

“That’s why Steve (Nell) wanted me to come up and work with this group.

“I want to try and improve them as hockey players and put them on the right path to maybe moving on in a couple of years or so to something bigger and better.”

Having signed an initial two-year deal as head coach in Leeds, Aldridge is excited to see what can be achieved at Elland Road.

“We are a young group but the guys we have got already have a lot of experience between them,” he added.

“They are also guys who take direction, who want direction on the ice and are going to play the way I want them to and do what I ask of them.

“They are going to trust me, I believe, to know what is right for them, so I’m really looking forward to what lies ahead.”