The Whitley Warriors have been busy recruiting further players ahead of the 2015-16 season in ENL-North.
Defensemen Dan Pye, Josh Maddock and youngster Liam Smedley have all signed. Pye arrived in Whitley Bay last summer having initially moved away from his native North-east to play for the Wightlink Raiders. Pye is known for being one of the toughest defencemen in the league, due to a great physical presence and ability to read the game.
Alongside Pye, will be the long serving Josh Maddock who has been with the Warriors for the last six seasons, recording over 100 appearances along the way.
“Once I heard that Lobby [David Longstaff] was taking over it was pretty much definite that I wanted to re-sign, I’m looking forward to hearing some fresh ideas and getting some extra guidance on how to further improve my game. As far as aims for next season go, I think we have to look at least getting back into a play-off spot and giving the fans something back for all the support they give us.”
Young defenceman Liam Smedley also confirmed he will be appearing for the Warriors next season. Smedley will split his playing time with the Whitley Braves [junior team] and the senior side. The teenager posted a fair amount of ice team last season and looked the part.
Forwards Callum Queenan, Jordan Barnes, Alex Lawson and Martin Crammond were all announced as having re-signed for next season in the past few weeks.
Queenan enjoyed a successful campaign last year as he announced himself to the Maroon & Gold with several impressive displays. The teenager bagged four goals and eleven points, in his rookie season. Callum’s displays for Whitley earned him a call up to represent Team GB during the World Under 18 Championships in Estonia. He also landed the Pro Hockey News Young Player of the Year Award for his performances in the league.
The long serving Martin Crammond has been a main-stay with the Warriors for several years now and a regular in the line-up since 2008.
“I’m really looking forward to this season, this will be my 10th consecutive season for the Warriors and this is the most excited I have felt in a long time. I’ve played with one of my heroes as a kid in Simon Leach and now I have the opportunity to play with another hero of mine in David Longstaff, which will tick another box for me personally. With respect of the up and coming season I believe we are building for a strong one, I’m hoping we are battling for the top spot this year, and I believe we have the tools for the job.”
The versatile Alex Lawson is facing a race against time to be fit for the start of the campaign after getting injured during a game towards the end of last season. Alex can ice either as a forward or a defenseman and collected twelve points last time out, despite never having a regular position or line-mates. His goaltending brother, has already committed his future to Whitley too.
“The Injury is healing very well. It’s been 10 weeks now and luckily things aren’t as bad as what they first appeared. I haven’t needed any surgery just a lot of rest and physio which is now starting to pay dividends. I am back in the gym now progressing with strength training and I aim to be fully fit for the start of the new season. The announcement of David Longstaff (Lobby) as head coach is fantastic news after a disappointing year last year. I think it will be a completely different year this time round. I believe next year we will be able to compete with the top teams in the league otherwise we wouldn’t be fulfilling our full potential. I’m really looking forward to picking up where I left off. No player wants to end their season with a bad injury as I did, but that has made me more determined to come back this season and help the team to a more successful campaign. It will be great to play under Lobby, we go back a long time to when I was just beginning to learn to play. He will be able to give the team years of top level experience and knowledge which will hopefully push Whitley Bay on to great things this year.”
Jordan Barnes experienced his fair share of injury problems last season. The
power forward suffered a serious knee injury early into the campaign against the Solway Sharks in Dumfries. Barnes has spent much of the summer re-gaining his fitness. Doubts still remain as to whether he will be available for the start of the 2015/16 season.
Forwards Ben Richards and Callum Watson also announced they would return for another season on the Bay.
Richards was a near ever-present last season playing on the wing and bagging twelve points from 23 games. Ahead of what will be his fourth season for the team, Richards believes the arrival of David Longstaff as player coach gives cause to be optimistic.
“The upcoming season is going to be a fresh start for the Whitley Warriors, we’ve been given a chance to really show what we can do. We’ve signed players that are going to bring so much to this team and bring the most out of every player. With Lobby coaching this year I think it’s going to be a great experience playing for him and possibly even with him. I would like to see us make playoffs and I’ll bring my best to every game this season.”
Speedy winger Callum Watson is another returnee for 2015-16. The experienced forward has been a part of the Warriors set-up for several years now and grabbed ten goals last season.
No comments:
Post a Comment