Whitley Warriors are delighted to announce that 19 year old forward Adam Finlinson will be part of their squad for the 2017/8 season. Finlinson played his hockey for the Swindon Wildcats last season in the now defunct English Premier league picking up 10 points during the course of their entire league and play off campaign.
Warriors latest signing began his hockey career in the north east briefly icing for the Northern Stars before turning out for Whitley Tomahawks and Braves. Adam had superb point production in junior hockey which saw him earn a place in the GB under 18 squad for their World Championships in both 2015 and 2016. The teenager made 10 appearances for GB netting an impressive 2 goals and recording a further 3 assists.
The youngster shared his thoughts on moving back home to ice for Warriors.
“I’m looking forward to playing in a new team with new challenges in front of my home crowd and being able to work with Lobby (David Longstaff) and Dave (Holland) who I have known for some time from training with team in the summer. I also grew up with a few of the lads who have been on the Warriors roster in recent years.
“A major factor in me moving back was the folding of the English Premier League, making teams from the English Premier League drop down to the NIHL and if I was to play for any NIHL team it would be the Warriors as it’s my home team and where I played a lot of my junior years.”
Adam went onto speak about how he thought his past experiences might help him in the upcoming season and also outlined the strengths and weaknesses of his own game.
“Playing in the English Premier League in the past will help with my upcoming season as it was a 5 import league consisting of European players therefore decisions had to be made quickly which made the games a lot faster.
“I am a strong skater with quick hands who has scoring ability, I can also make plays and pick a pass to create good chances. On the other hand I need to be more physical and finish my checks.”
If any individual or company would like to sponsor Adam or any of the other members of the Warriors set up they are invited to make contact through Warriors social media platforms and then they can be put in touch with the player himself or Warriors General Manager/Assistant Coach Dave Holland.
It is anticipated that Warriors will be making a number of further announcements regarding the make up of the playing squad for the 2017/18 season in the coming days and weeks so fans are encouraged to keep a close eye on the clubs social media platforms and website.