Leeds Knights former 'young guns' aware of need to nurture next line of talent
IT wasn’t so long ago that Bailey Perre and Oli Endicott were the ‘new kids on the block’ for Leeds Knights.
Now they are the ones helping guide the next line of young talent through for the NIHL National play-off champions.
Born two months apart, the pair both arrived in West Yorkshire roughly within two months of each other back in 2022, defenceman Perre for the start of the 2022-23 season, Endicott joining up with him in November of that year after a short stint in Finland.
It goes without saying, the pair have enjoyed remarkable success ever since, after working once again under Knights’ head coach, Ryan Aldridge, who they had first played under at the Okanagan Hockey Academy, based in Swindon, the hometown for all three of them.
Three league titles, two post-season crowns and a NIHL National Cup have followed, the run of success continuing for a fourth season last month when they prevailed 5-3 against Hull Seahawks in the play-off final in Coventry.
But, as big a role as both have played in that winning sequence, they are aware that in order for that to be maintained further, the talent has to continue to emerge within the organisation.
Perre took a step down at the beginning of the 2024-25 season, both to help launch the Leeds Knights 2 team, as well as gain valuable experience and minutes both he and Aldridge felt he needed.
The 22-year-old, therefore, is well-placed to gauge the importance of player development.
“Last year I was involved with the Knights’ second team quite a bit and I’m still a bit involved and I know some of the fellas,” said Perre. “And I think the talent coming through Leeds - especially now that the junior organisation has been around for five years or so now - is unreal, there’s no limit to what these guys can achieve.”
The likes of teenagers Jonas Bennett, Edgars Vengis, Danny Harrison, Daragh Spawforth, Liam Hine and Kurts Baumanis all emerged at NIHL National level at various times during the 2025-26 season having spent time with the feeder team in North One.
At the back-end of the campaign, others were brought through to add depth due to injury and player unavailability.
Endicott was quick to point out the value of producing local talent.
“We couldn’t do what we have done this year without them in the second team,” said the forward. “There’s players that have come up (to us) at different times, different types of players and they have all played a massive part in our success this year and so there has to be a big shout for them, too.
“To finish third (in the league, get to the Cup final and then win the play-offs, that just shows how good a team we are but, also, people need to remember how young a team we are.”