Sam Zajac keen to see what his Leeds Chiefs team is capable of as prospect of NIHL National season increases

With the possibility of some kind of NIHL National season increased following confirmation by DCMS on Wednesday that rinks in Tier 3 could open for ‘elite athletes’ there is a sense of optimism among Zajac’s Leeds Chiefs’ roster.

Even though all of the names haven’t been revealed for the 2020-21 campaign, delayed so far because of the coronavirus pandemic, player-coach Zajac already has everyone he wants in place.

There are, or course, many hurdles still to be overcome in terms of getting some kind of a season off the ground, but the Return to Play programme as outlined by the English Ice Hockey Association, now makes it simpler for the Chiefs and their rivals to begin training and playing games, subject to attaining ‘elite sport status’.

NIHL National team owners have been meeting regularly ever since last season was brought to an early end because of the pandemic via online conference calls. This week has seen them analyse the recent Streaming Series to see whether it will be practical and financially viable to roll that out to include more teams.

Whether the behind-closed-doors/online streaming pilot translates into some kind of truncated league campaign involving all or at least several more NIHL National teams remains to be seen, but there is no doubt about an increased sense of optimism around the game, including in West Yorkshire.

“We’ve got a WhatsApp group chat set up for the team and that has certainly been busier in the last day or so,” admitted Zajac.

“It is probably the busiest it has been in a while - everyone is just really excited about the possibility of hockey on the horizon.

“There are a lot of questions going in there, naturally, some we have the answers to, others we don’t, but it proves that they are all excited about the possibility of playing again and it’s great that hockey seems to be on its way back here.”

And while Zajac revealed he had fielded calls from players enquiring about roster spots, he is adamant he is more than happy with the group of players he has brought together.

“As soon as it is made clear that there will be some kind of competition with us involved - whether it is some kind of a league season or whatever - we’ll be looking to get out skating on the ice as a team as soon as possible,” explained Zajac.

“It’s been a long time and some of the guys haven’t been on the ice for around eight months or more.

“So I know the guys are looking forward to knocking the rust off and I don’t think it will be hard to fill the practice sessions for the first few weeks - everyone is itching to get out there.

“There are obviously sa few more hurdles to get over yet, but we’re really excited about this team we’ve put together here and I want to see what it is capable of.

“We think we can be really competitive and good to watch - I’m confident we will be an entertaining team.”

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