Lewis Houston keen to continue progress with Leeds Chiefs

Back in mid-December, barely 48 hours after arriving in West Yorkshire for his first taste of NIHL National hockey with the country’s newest franchise, the teenage winger was the toast of the long coach ride home from Basingstoke for Sam Zajac’s side.

The GB Under-18 international had already impressed enough during a couple of trial practice sessions with the Chiefs in Blackburn to earn an invite from player-coach Zajac to make a permanent move south from his hometown of Dumfries.

Houston had quickly made a name for himself after scoring the overtime winner that secured a 3-2 victory over the Chiefs’ Hampshire hosts, just 24 hours after beating the same opponents 4-2.

It felt like it could be a significant turning point in the Chiefs’ debut season, Houston arriving in the same week as three forwards – including veteran James Archer and import Radek Meidl – had departed.

Unfortunately, it was anything but as the next 10 games brought only one win for the Chiefs, as the problems of being continually short-benched, combined with the relentless travel, hit them the hardest.

Zajac was able to replenish his roster towards the end of January, bringing an upturn in results and performances, a situation boosted further by the team’s Elland Road rink finally being ready.

Ultimately, the Chiefs were unable to drag themselves off the foot of the standings before the season was brought to a premature close for all concerned due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Houston was left in no doubt that he made the right decision to move south and is keen on returning – whenever next season starts. It would be no surprise if he were one of the first names down on Zajac’s list when compiling his roster for 2020-21.

“I was not expecting to do as well as I did,” admitted the 19-year-old, who finished the season with 22 points from just 28 appearances, 15 of them goals.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be as much of a difference as it was in terms of the style of hockey compared to where I’d been playing, but I feel it suited me a lot more playing in Leeds rather back home with Solway.

“I’d love to come back next season. There are no easy games in this league, every team has their off night, but you can’t expect that going into games. Being competitive every night is what I was looking for as a player, to help me get better.”

Houston admits to having a few nerves in the hours before his Chiefs’ debut against Basingstoke, but his transition was helped by having a number of familiar faces around him on the coach and the bench.

Joe Coulter, Steven Moore, Lewis Baldwin and Richard Bentham had all made the same move the previous summer having played alongside Houston for Solway Sharks in Dumfries.

“I did worry that I wouldn’t fit in when first coming down, but there were a lot of boys I’d played with already,” added Houston. “I’d gone down for a training session in Blackburn before I signed and I settled in straightaway – it definitely helped knowing a few people.

“I was under no illusions about the situation I was coming into, I was just concentrating on trying to prove myself at a higher level. That was the big attraction.

“I had no idea what Basingstoke were going to be like in that first game, or what kind of game it was going to be. The first couple of shifts I admit I was a bit off it, making some bad decisions but, after that, I felt absolutely fine and it felt like I deserved to be there.

“And, obviously, getting that overtime winner on the Sunday was pretty special.”