David Longstaff. Photo by IceHockeyMedia.
With Whitley Warriors 2016/17 season getting underway this weekend Warriors coaching staff of Player/Coach David Longstaff and Assistant Coach Dave Holland wanted to share how they viewed the coming campaign with the clubs supporters.
Dave Holland “I’m looking forward to the new season but I am a little apprehensive as it could be a difficult campaign due to the way other teams in the league have developed over the summer and signed high quality imports. Other teams have a huge financial advantage over ourselves which gives them the scope to bring in players who have played at a higher level in recent years.”
David Longstaff “I’m excited for the new season but nervous at the additions the other teams have made and add to that we’ve lost a lot of speed up front with Tinsley, Ross and Queenan who have all left and we’ve replaced them with 3 players who haven’t played anywhere near the level they’ll see next season so it’ll be great for them to learn and try to get up to this level over the coming seasons but that isn’t going to happen over night.
“Imports are the difference makers in this league and all of the other teams have 2 solid imports so Andre (Payette) will be expected to contribute a lot more goals this season, we’re also going to have a smaller squad and a lot of senior players missing games due to work commitments which will be a challenge but will give players a chance to show they can play, I can already see the league is changing and the standard is improving which is something I noticed when I dropped down from the Elite league to the EPL after the 1st season.”
The Coaching team then spoke about how Warriors may fare this season in NIHL North Division 1 after performing so well last year.
Dave Holland “We are a young team but we have some great experience as well with the likes of Lobby, Andre, Yarrow and now Rory Dunn who has joined us over the summer months. No one will like coming to Whitley Bay on a Sunday evening and facing us as we will give everything we have everytime we go out onto the ice. We will look to be solid at home and build from there.”
David Longstaff “I think our ambition may have changed a little bit from last season where we thought we could realistically gain a play off spot, this year it would be a massive achievement for us to finish in the top 4 play off spot. The other teams are recruiting from the league above and have players who’ve had a lot of success in the EPL when you add the quality of the imports alongside them we’ll certainly have our work cut out and there could be some long nights during the season but the 1 thing I can guarantee is the heart and effort the boys give every night will be there once again.”
Dave and David then went onto speak about the other sides in NIHL North Division 1 and who they thought would do well during the course of the campaign.
Dave Holland “I think Solway, Telford and Solihull will all have good seasons and those teams will produce good games when they take to the ice. Solway have made a number of superb signings while Solihull look very very solid and Telford have been able to add a number of quality players to their roster as well. Solway have been able to recruit a guy like James Hutchinson who lives on Tyneside due to the package they are offering and Billingham have signed a quality import in Daniel Palmebjork who has very impressive stats from his time in European hockey additions like those illustrate just how competitive the league is going to be this year.”
David Longstaff “I think all the other teams have vastly improved so far, Blackburn have lost players but have money available to get new players in which is a worry. We’ve had 2 of our top players turn down deals from them because 1 wanted to be close to home and the other left for Canada but eventually these players will leave our club.”
As the interview was coming to a close Longstaff and Holland spoke about the up and coming players in the Whitley squad and the amazing opportunity that came the way of 3 of Warriors squad from last season.
Dave Holland “I think Craig Johnson and Liam Smedley could both make their mark this season. Both youngsters proved what they can do last season and they are both likely to see more ice time this year. They have been training well and it’ll be good to see them in competitive action.”
David Longstaff “I’m really pleased for the young lads (Callum Queenan, Mark Turnbull and Kyle Ross) getting a chance to play abroad in North America it’ll be a great life experience for them and I’m sure they’ll enjoy every minute and hopefully come back better players. One of our aims at Hillheads is to improve the younger players we have so they can go onto make a name for themselves in the game.”
This weekend sees Warriors first game of the 2016/17 season when Whitley take on the Solway Sharks on home ice on Sunday evening (5pm face off) in a game that should be end to end action between 2 of the more established sides in NIHL North Division 1. Tickets are available on the door and it would be great to see as many supporters as possible at Hillheads for the opening game of the campaign.