Leeds Knights’ Sam Zajac glad to finally break the ice with new boss Dave Whistle

Nine Knights’ players, including first-choice netminder Sam Gospel attended the session at Elland Road ice rink, along with a handful of invited players from outside the club.

Whistle, for who it was a first-ever visit to the rink, was keen to see first-hand what level his players were at given the varied amounts of ice time they have had throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

In just under a month, the Canadian will see his team in action for the first time when they take on Swindon Wildcats in a double-header weekend of exhibition games which defenceman Zajac says cannot come quick enough.

“It was a great practice on Monday and there was probably a better pace to it than most guys were expecting,” said Zajac, player-coach of the now defunct Leeds Chiefs, who competed in the inaugural NIHL National season in 2019-20 before the pandemic signalled an early conclusion.

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“Obviously, some guys have been on the ice more than others and it’s been tough for some guys trying to find ice.

“It was great to see some of the old faces and welcome some of the new guys in.

“It was nice to finally meet Dave face-to-face for the first time. He seems like a great guy, quite laid back and easy going, obviously really knowledgable and he put on a really great practice session for us.

“Guys were getting their legs back under them, feeling the puck a lot and the goalies saw a lot of rubber – it was exactly what we needed.

“Everyone’s excited about this season and those warm-up games can’t come quickly enough.”

Whistle added his own son Brandon to the roster yesterday, the 23-year-old former Sheffield Steelers’ forward bringing a winning mentality with him, having lifted the league and cup double in 2019-20 with Telford Tigers.