With the season now over, I thought it would be a good time to look back at some of the players who have really stood out whilst watching Whitley this year and also to pay thank you for some of the interviews.:
Richie Lawson has had one of his best seasons in a Warriors shirt this year, with some great performances. some of his saves have been truly world class and had they have been in an NHL game would have been replayed over again on TV. I was also fortunate to have a couple of interviews with Richie over the season and found him to be very insightful. The amount of preparation and focus he puts towards each game is incredible. He demands high standards from himself and goes out there and gets them. It was also something of an education for me, as he was able to give me a new perspective on the game, as to what it is like playing hockey as a goalie. Something very few of us would probably ever get to experience.
Harry Harley has been described as the best offensive defenseman in the league by some of my media colleagues at both Billingham and Blackburn, which is high praise indeed! Harley certainly hasn’t disappointed and his goals have been a welcome boost from the blue line. He has also been the Warriors major threat on the power play as he fires in shots from the point. Harley’s main defensive partner this season has been Joe Stamp, who has recently returned to senior hockey after serving his country in the Army. Stamp who came through the same Whitley junior side as DJ Good, has been more of a stay-at-home defenseman, but has been the perfect foil for Harley and is an intelligent reader of the game. Once again one of my fellow commentators rates Joe very highly, and has been described as the ‘find of the season’.
Dan Pye was a huge presence on the team as usual, and just showed how much we missed him when he was injured at Solway back in October. Josh Maddock too seemed to benefit from spending much of the season alongside him.
It goes without saying the difference both David Longstaff and Andre Payette have made to the team this year, both on and off the ice. Lobby, despite having the coaching responsibilities to concentrate on, finished the season as Whitley’s leading points scorer, while Andre has added some mental toughness to the side, and found a way to win games before they are even started by out-psyching the opposition in the warm ups. Aside from that, being able to ice a Canadian import for the first time since the 1996-97 season has increased the number of fans on game night at Hillheads, and Payette is a well-loved character at the Bay. We all hope he will be returning in Maroon & Gold next season.
Callum Queenan has been the major standout of the forwards. His speed even had Lobby struggling to keep up with him at the start of the season. As good as Queenan has been this season, I don’t want to sing his praises too highly, simply as I don’t want a team from a higher league trying to poach him away [If an Elite League team is reading this, I think Callum needs at least another season playing for Whitley before he is ready!]. All joking aside, I think anyone who has watched the Warriors this year will know just what he brings to the team.
Callum Watson is another fast skater and he has been a great outlet when trying to catch teams on the break. His production slowed slightly in the second half of the season, but even if he wasn’t finding the net as regularly as he was earlier on in the season, his contribution was still important.
For Dean Holland, it was probably a case of what might have been. He was cruelly and savagely robbed of much of this season due to the attack on him against Kirkcaldy back in August. Even when he did return he wasn’t fully fit, yet was still able to score some really important goals for the team. The home game against Billingham back in early February sticks in my mind as he put in a man-of-the-match performance. Just makes you think what could he have achieved this season had he not been playing injured.
This season marked the return of Shaun Kippin after three seasons away from Whitley. I thought it was going to be tough for him having to recover his fitness following shoulder surgery, and not playing hockey for 18 months is not easy, but with each game ‘Skippy’ got better and better. He never had the luxury of having regular line-mates as Lobby likes to mix players up, even several times during a game, so Skippy has ended up playing a variety of roles. He Started off the season on the Left Wing alongside DJ Good and Callum Watson, but I actually think his natural position is at Center. When he was moved to center the top line, either side of Christmas, he got to team up with Longstaff and either Queenan or Holland. I don’t think it was any coincidence that his numbers went up at that stage, and his game winner in the Tees/Tyne derby against the Stars in November rubbished claims he thought ‘he couldn’t score in a brothel’. He was an important member of the top power play unit and more importantly the top penalty killing unit too.
I think there are times when people maybe don’t notice or don’t appreciate what Skippy does in a game, especially the defensive side of things. It’s not easy playing on the third line, but whenever he has been asked to fulfil that role, he has got on with it and given his all. He never gives anything less than 110% and is one of the hardest working players on the team, he is always looking to improve his game anyway he can and his attitude is something some of the younger players would do well to learn from. For those who remember Dallas Stars winning the Stanley Cup in 1999 or the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, one of the most important players on those teams was Guy Carbonneau. Brett Hull and Mike Modano might have took the main headlines for Dallas in 1999 but Carbonneau was the steel that kept that side together at times, shuting the other teams down and Skippy has that similar ability to his game.
I know Shaun relatively well, and I also know how much he loves the game of hockey, and how closely he follows the NHL, maybe that is how he is able to use that hockey intelligence to good use for whichever team he has played for over the years.
DJ Good is another player who has been great to watch this season. After a slow start, DJ improved with every game and was Whitley’s best playmaker for much of this season. His intelligent play meant he was able to pick out the likes of Dean Holland and Callum Watson, with his range of passing. There is no better stick handler in the league when DJ is at his best and is to Whitley what Pavel Datsyuk has been to the Detroit Red Wings [he makes his team tick].
There have been other players who have played their part this season too and deserve a mention, Kyle Ross and Ben Richards have both made strides forward this season, while Martin Crammond got his share of points too. It was great to see Adam Reynolds back this season as well, as he gives the Warriors something different in attack. Youngsters Liam Smedley and Craig Johnson have also not looked out of place when given the opportunity of ice time either.
I also must pay recognition to Scott Cooper. It was great seeing him walking at iceSheffield this weekend. He had a very serious injury as you will all know, but the good thing is he is making great progress and hopefully one day we will see him back out on the ice.
The final word has to go to the agitators of the team. We already mentioned Andre Payette before, but most people probably don’t realise just how tough that guy is. He has fought some of the biggest and toughest names in hockey before moving across the pond to live in England. Andre truly is a legend in the Northeast, but he has had two sidekicks this season who have been able to rival him when it comes to dropping the gloves.
Jordan Barnes has been Whitley’s main enforcer for several years now, and despite Payette’s presence he didn’t shy away from some good battles. He probably edged the scrap against Reece Cairney-Witter, while only needed to deliver a single punch to floor guys on the Solihull and Sutton teams. In short Jordan has been the ‘heart and soul’ of the team this year.
The third member of this trio is ‘The Rocket’. Alan Yarrow has not had much ice time this season after coming out of retirement and not having played in eight years, but whenever he did get on the ice he made things happen. His fiery temper is still there and although some might consider him a ‘loose cannon’ a lot of people watch hockey in the hope to see a fight, Rocket out on the ice guarantees that. He gets people through the door and has a role to play on this team.
Although it was a disappointing end to the season in terms of the result against Solihull, considering where Whitley were this time last season [playing a relegation play-off] the fans will know just how much progress has been made this year. Here’s hoping to an even better 2016-17 season.
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