Leeds Chiefs already have one eye on building for brighter future

In order for that to happen, he knew he would require a wealth of experience on his roster, players who had played in and around the top two tiers of the British game for a number of years.

Step forward the likes of Luke Boothroyd, Steve Duncombe, James Archer, even Zajac himself.

But another key factor for the 30-year-old defenceman was ensuring he could begin to lay the foundations for the club’s future.

That is why the Chiefs’ roster possesses those experienced heads to play alongside the likes of ambitious young guns such as defenceman Lewis Baldwin, forward Ethan Hehir and, just added last week, 19-year-old Brodie Jesson.

That ambition may ultimately take those younger players up another level in the next few years and into the Elite League, but that is not an issue for Zajac, who is happy to develop youngsters and see them go on to further their careers elsewhere, while at the same time getting 2-3 good years from them as they initially blossom.

Further down the line - possibly even as early as next year - bosses at Leeds’ Elland Road rink will initiate plans to bring in a hockey development programme which, ultimately, will aim to produce youngsters to go on and play for the Chiefs.

It will be a number of years before locally-produced players step out onto the ice for their hometown’s senior team, but Zajac is determined to ensure the Chiefs are an outfit those youngsters can aspire to be part of.

“More and more hockey is a young man’s game,” said Zajac. “Every year the game seems to get faster, not just in our league but all around the world.

“There is so much emphasis on skating now, so it’s definitely important that you stay ahead of the curve on that.

“You need to be developing your own players and you want players who have got that connection to the city as it means they are more likely to stay there and the fans have more of an affinity with them too.

“It’s definitely something we want to achieve, to bring good, young players through and leave a good foundation for the future.”

Zajac said the older heads on his roster all had a vital role to play in establishing a culture at the club which can be maintained by those coming through after them.

“The core we have got at the moment has got a good blend of age and experience,” added Zajac. “It is up to the older guys like myself to show the younger guys how things need to be done, how they need to act away from the rink and at the rink - on and off the ice.

“We’re not going to be playing forever so it is up to us to leave the club in capable hands.

“First and foremost, it is about the kids enjoying the sport - as far as I’m concerned, it’s the best sport in the world.

“If you are looking to develop, the main thing for me is the enjoyment factor and getting as many people involved as possible. At the same time, it would be good for the kids to see a pathway all the way through to the Chiefs, something they can aspire to.”

Building blocks for future prospects slowly starting to emerge ...

ALTHOUGH there is no fixed date yet for when Leeds’ new ice rink on Elland Road will indeed open, it is clear developing young hockey players will be one of its objectives.

Rink owners Planet Ice has already stated it will introduce its Hockey Excellence training programmes at the venue.

This in turn will feed a junior system of development which, ultimately, will offer a pathway for youngsters to progress all the way through to playing for the Leeds Chiefs.

Heather McDermott, Planet Ice Leeds’ business development manager, spent three years as head coach of the Sheffield ice hockey academy before making the switch to Leeds in the summer.

She said the hope was to set up the rink’s first junior teams next summer, although that will be governed by how many kids sign up to get involved in the initial Hockey Excellence training sessions.

“The idea is to have the Hockey Excellence programme set up as soon as possible, then that becomes the feeder for those junior teams,” said McDermott.

“As soon as we’ve got people coming through – some will need longer in hockey excellence than others – but, ideally, we’d look to set up an Under-9s, in June next year, if not then definitely the following year.

“The idea is to have a pathway from Hockey Excellence all the way through to the Chiefs.

“It starts by implementing the Hockey and Skate Excellence programmes at the rink and, from that, it will generate a skating club and a hockey club.”