Why Sam Zajac believes Leeds Knights are packed with so much promise ahead of 2021-22 NIHL National season

Between them, team owner Steve Nell and head coach Dave Whistle have put together a young, fast squad, peppered with what they feel is the requisite experience in the shape of Zajac and the likes of former GB international centre Matty Davies.

This weekend Whistle gets to road test his players for the first time in back-to-back pre-season challenge games against Swindon Wildcats.

The Knights travel down to Wiltshire today before returning home to West Yorkshire to host the same opponents at Elland Road Ice Arena on Sunday (face-off 5.15pm).

Zajac, of course, was player-coach of the somewhat ill-fated Leeds Chiefs, the first incarnation of a senior hockey team in the city which contested the inaugural NIHL National season in 2019-20, a campaign brought to a premature end through the global pandemic.

The 2020-21 season was eventually scrapped and while a handful of teams were able to get some hockey on and play behind-closed-doors in the Streaming Series and the Spring Cup, the Chiefs remained effectively mothballed by owners Planet Ice.

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Once Nell took over the team back in April, however, things started to happen - and quickly. Using his vast knowledge and expertise in running a hockey organisation from his time in charge at Swindon - where he remains owner - he has overseen a busy period of for the West Yorkshire club, transforming it into the kind of team everybody had hoped to witness first time around.

With a new name, several sponsorship deals in place and an experienced coach in place in Whistle, there is an air of expectancy surrounding the Knights ahead of the NIHL National campaign, which starts in earnest when Bees IHC visit Leeds on September 18 in the NIHL Cup.

Now back at Elland Road purely as a player, Zajac has enjoyed watching from the sidelines the stream of talent put together on the ice and believes they can be a force to be reckoned once the puck drops on the competitive action against Bees IHC on September 18.

“It’s a totally different perspective for me this time around,” said Zajac. “There’s a lot more focus on the individual performance and me being more of a team-mate for the guys whereas before I had to set myself back from the guys and give them their space.

“It’s great being one of the boys again and seeing it from that perspective again.”

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As he prepares for his first competitive game since March 2020, Zajac admits it did not take him long to get the bug for playing hockey again.

“I think everyone has - you can tell everyone is happy to be back out there,” he added. “Some guys have been on the ice more than others with some of the cups that have been played and different guys playing with different teams. It has felt like a long time coming but now we’re right back into the stage of picking up where we left off.

“There’s a lot of promise in this team, that’s obvious. You can see the direction with us going with such a young, fast, skilled team.

“We’ve got so much young talent in our ranks now and they need nurturing, they need showing the ropes and Dave looks like he’s the man to do it.

“He’s got such a wealth of experience and he knows the game inside out and it all looks really promising - I guarantee we’re going to be an exciting team to watch.”

Ticket sales have been healthy for the pre-season home opener against Swindon, which faces off on Sunday at 5.15pm. You can buy tickets HERE