Kieran Brown on why he is happy to play the long game with 'special' Leeds Knights

Every time it is announced the gifted 22-year-old forward has agreed to stay for a further year with the organisation, there is usually a large chorus of online disapproval from hockey fans who feel he should be moving up to play at a higher level, to prove that he cut it among the elite or, rather, the Elite League.

‘What has he got left to prove in NIHL National?’ they will say.

Some argue he should never have left Sheffield Steelers after three years - two of which he had served as part of an apprenticeship, for part of that time alongside his good friend, Liam Kirk.

Everyone would love to see Brown cutting it at the highest possible level some day, showcasing his undoubted talent. Knights’ head coach Ryan Aldridge is no different.

Ultimately, however, any such switch will come when the player himself feels it is the right move, to the right place, at the right time.

When he does make the change he will leave Elland Road Ice Arena a better, more rounded hockey player than when he arrived in the summer of 2021.

Right now, he is enjoying life in his third season with the Knights, a fourth year being confirmed at the weekend that will take him up until the end of the 2025 season.

The special announcement just before face-off on Saturday probably produced one of the biggest cheers of the evening before the Knights went on to beat Bees IHC 5-3 to extend their winning run to nine games.

It sets up a mouth-watering double-header with leaders Milton Keynes Lightning, who replaced Leeds at the top of the standings for the first time this season when they hammered Raiders 12-3 on Sunday night.

On his decision to agree to an extension with the Knights, Brown explained: “There are many things that make this a special place for me.

“I’ve been treated unbelievably well over these past three or so years, so there are nothing but positive feelings from my side.

“From the owners all the way down to each member of the coaching staff and the physios, it has been unbelievable since I came here.

"This is where I want to be, I’m excited and I was more than happy to get the deal done.

“I maybe didn’t expect things to go so well when I originally signed, nobody knew what was happening coming out of Covid and everything but that first year, I really enjoyed it and they told me that they wanted me back again and then every year just seems to have got better and better.

“You can see from when the organisation started to what it has become now, everything is going in the right direction.”

It’s no secret that Brown has had offers from Elite League clubs and, perhaps, further afield.

But on what may come next for him in terms of a career ‘move’, Brown added: “I was given the captaincy role last season, that’s a big responsibility that I’m enjoying carrying.

“In 2025 we will just have to see what happens but I’m happy where I am right now, I just want to be a Knight.”

As for the Knights, and Aldridge in particular, they will not stand in Brown’s way when the time comes for him to move on.

"When Kieran is ready to make the step up, we are all going to back him,” said Aldridge. “And it’s going to be the right time when we decide it is right for him and we believe it to be the right move for him.

“And that time will come and when it does we will gladly send him on his way with our best wishes – but it’s going to have to be a proper team, one where he’s going to be looked after and treated right.”