Leeds Knights captain Kieran Brown revelling in 'special' season as push for NIHL National title intensifies with derby double

The wholesale changes made to the roster by a coach in Ryan Aldridge, embarking on his first full season in charge, justified his claims that the 2022-23 NIHL National campaign would be a ‘building season’.

Throw in the club’s first-ever imports Grant Cooper and Zach Brooks as part of that rebuild and a 21-year-old captain in the shape of Brown, it was difficult to predict what kind of season lay ahead at Elland Road Ice Arena.

However, top of the table for much of the season and locked into a thrilling three-way battle for the regular season title is probably more than most Knights’ fans would have dared dream of. Oh, and throw in a cup final appearance too, for good measure.

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Aldridge has maintained an even keel throughout what has been - regardless of the ultimate outcome - a memorable campaign. His approach has clearly rubbed off on his players, who form one of the youngest rosters in the league.

They have been developing and maturing on and off the ice as they have gone along and while it would have been understandable for some of the younger members of the team to get carried away with their, at times, scintillating form, there has been little, if any, sign of complacency or over-confidence.

For Brown, still learning his trade as a captain, it has been a joy to be part of. He just hopes what has gone before can be maintained between now and the end of the regular season on April 1-2.

“I feel we’ve come a long way since the start of the season,” said Brown. “With such a young team we didn’t really know what to expect or what we were going into. Like Ryan said at the very start, this was a building year - but we’ve come across something quite special and so we’ve just got to see where it takes us.

"It’s fun being involved in a three-way battle for the title. It wouldn’t be half as much fun if we or somebody else was running away with it – this way, it’s exciting and it keeps us on our toes.”

Aldridge has said on a number of occasions he would back his players against any other NIHL National line-up on any given night and that confidence clearly permeates through his players, who back each other, each night.

“We’ve got such strong lines throughout,” added Brown. “Each line of ours we can put out against any line on any other team. We don’t have to match up or anything like that, everyone can play against anyone.

“The likes of Sammy (Zajac) and Matty (Haywood) are massive for this team, with the rest of us being so young, sometimes we’ll come in frustrated at the end of a period that hasn’t gone so well, and they just know what to do, what to say and they are good at guiding us and nudging us in the right direction.”

As a first-year captain, Brown acknowledges the support he has had from the more experienced players around him.

“I actually sit next to Matty and Sammy in the locker room,” he added. “With it being my first year at captain, they have helped me massively - just great guys to have around.

“I’m still growing into that role, I’m still learning - it’s a big role to fill. I’ve had to change my game a little bit - not too much, I still like a bit of a rat sometimes - but you’ve got to grow up a little bit, both as a person and as a player.”