Coach Dave Whistle back among familiar surroundings as Leeds Knights’ tale begins

Back in the early Spring of 2014, the Canadian was overseeing the conclusion of Cardiff Devils’ Elite League campaign, one which ended with them missing out on the playoffs with Whistle - who had been jettisoned in midway through a difficult campaign - heading back home to Canada that summer.

Since then, he has been working in junior hockey but when the opportunity to return to the senior game in the UK came up, he grabbed it with both hands.

It will be very much a case of ‘getting to know you’ for Whistle and his Knights team across two nights of action against Swindon, Leeds returning the favour and playing host at Elland Road tomorrow night.

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For Whistle, the results and scorelines matter little. Yes, the desire to win each and every game as it comes along will be to the fore for both him and his players but, given the Knight are essentially a new team, this weekend is more about developing the kind of team ethic that the head coach can take them far in the forthcoming NIHL National campaign.

Spending time with his players over the last three weeks across half a dozen practice sessions has made the 55-year-old realise even more that he made the right decision in accepting the position of head coach and GM when new team owner Steve Nell offered it him back in May.

“I am really looking forward to being behind a senior bench again,” said Whistle. “I loved my 10 years with junior players but now I’m really excited about getting behind the bench this year - I believe we can have a really successful year and I love being part of a team.

“The past few weeks working with the players has made me realise even more why I made this decision.

“I’m so excited about this weekend right now and I know the players are really excited.

“A lot of them have been waiting about 16-18 months for this moment to come around - and I’m happy for them to get back out there to play the game that they love.”

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Given the amount of time some of his charges have been forced to spend off the ice because of the pandemic since March 2020, Whistle is expecting to see plenty of rustiness across both nights.

But that is not something that will concern him, with the Knights using this double header, as well as next weekend’s additional challenge games against Sheffield Steeldogs and Telford Tigers, as preparation for the big opening night of Saturday, September 18 when they welcome Bees IHC to Planet Ice Leeds for the first-ever competitive fixture in the NIHL Cup.

“The scorelines right now don’t really bother me - obviously I still want to win the games - but scorelines this weekend itself are not the most important thing right now,” added Whistle, “The most important thing for us right now is for us to buy in as one big group and play as a team.

“I’m expecting them to be a bit rusty, especially in a game. They are going to try and do a little bit too much at the beginning of the game and that’s just to be expected, I’ve been through that kind of thing myself before.

“Swindon have a pretty good team, so we’ll have to play very well to win the games and I think we can do that but, at the same time I’m going to learn a lot from these first two games.”

Tonight’s game faces off at 6.30pm, meaning a late return to West Yorkshire for the Knights’ players, who get to do it all again on Sunday night, only this time in front of their own fans at Elland Road Ice Arena.

Ticket sales have been healthy for the pre-season home opener against Swindon, which faces off on Sunday at 5.15pm. You can buy tickets HERE