Whitley Warriors are pleased to announce that netminder Mark Turnbull will be part of the clubs roster for the 2017/18 NIHL North Division 1 campaign. Mark moved to North America in the summer of 2017 and played in the GMHL for the Wiarton Rock and Toronto Attack which will have no doubt been a great experience for the talented goaltender.
Mark has plenty of experience of NIHL North though as the youngster was part of the Warriors for 3 seasons from 2013/14 to the end of the 2015/16 campaign. The young netminder impressed many NIHL observers during his previous spell with Whitley and he will challenge Richie Lawson, Jordan Boyle and Rory Dunn to earn the starting spot for David Longstaff’s side this coming season.
Mark shared his views on his time in Canada and the reasons behind his return to Tyneside.
“Moving away was a great experience, I met a lot of new people and got to do things I wouldn’t get the chance to do here in the UK, playing hockey along the way was a bonus.
“Moving back to the Warriors was definitely the right decision for me and I’m grateful Lobby and Dave wanted me to be a part of this season’s team. This season is going to be a challenge but I’m looking forward to seeing how we compete against some of the new teams.”
Mark goes onto chat about the improvements he has made in his game during his time in North America and the competition there will be for a netminding spot in the Warriors line up.
“I feel like I have become a much more consistent goaltender over the year, having the chance to be on the ice every day has really helped my confidence. I also worked a lot on playing the puck while I was there, which I something I felt I lacked in my game.
“As a goaltender, there’s always some sort of competition, but I think it was important, especially this season, to have a lot of options and I know Richie, Jordan and Rory are all capable of helping the team win games.”
If any individual or company would like to sponsor Mark or any other member of the Warriors roster they are invited to make contact through the contact page on Warriors website and then they can be put in touch with the player himself or Warriors General Manager/Assistant Coach Dave Holland.