Whitley Warriors are pleased to announce that power forward Jordan Barnes and defenceman Ross Hanlon have both agreed to ice on Tyneside for the 2013/14 season. Warriors coach Simon Leach has also been able to strengthen the club’s coaching staff as Dave Holland returns to Hillheads as one of Simon’s assistant coaches.
It was only announced a few weeks ago that Warriors 2012/13 Coach Dave Holland had stepped down from his role at the club as he felt he was unable to commit enough time to the demanding role. Simon recently contacted Dave about re-joining the club as part of his coaching staff and Dave was more than happy to re-join the club as part of the new coaching structure.
On his return to Hillheads Simon identified that Warriors needed to strengthen their blue line and the arrival of Ross Hanlon from local rivals Billingham adds to Whitley’s defensive options. Ross played most of his junior hockey with the Newcastle Vipers and then iced in the ENL for them for a couple of seasons before switching to the Northern Stars and then Billingham. Ross’s best season statistically was back in the 09/10 campaign when he was able to average better than a point per game for the Vipers.
Whitley have also increased their offensive options with Jordan Barnes re-signing. Barnes has spent all of his recent hockey career with Whitley, icing for the Tomahawks and Braves before stepping up into the senior side. Jordan has picked up 13 points in both of the last 2 campaigns for Warriors and the 20 year old will no doubt be looking to better that tally this coming season.
Simon shared his thoughts on the latest arrivals at Hillheads
“Ross Hanlon is a new player to the club who is one of the best D men in this division. Ross approached me about moving to Whitley as he was keen to play under me again. I think he’ll have a massive impact in Warriors defence as he’s probably the best skater at this level of hockey.
“With the signing of Jordan Barnes (who has played for Warriors for the last 4 seasons) we are looking very strong upfront now.
“I have also been able to add another body to our coaching staff as Dave Holland has agreed to join us. Dave is happy to come back onto Whitley’s coaching staff as part of the new set up alongside myself and Darren Taylor.”
Warriors are continuing to rebuild their roster and the club are hopeful that a further press release could be issued in a few days time.
Warriors Roster to date
Coach – Simon Leach
Coaching Staff – Darren Taylor and Dave Holland
Netminder – Richie Lawson
Defence – Rob Wilson, Tommy Ralph, Josh Maddock and Ross Hanlon
Forwards – Adam Reynolds, Karl Culley, Jamie Tinsley, DJ Good, Martin Crammond, Callum Watson, Christian Johnson and Jordan Barnes
Image by Billingham Stars