Dean Holland looking for the pass. Photo by IceHockeyMedia.
Whitley Warriors are delighted to announce that exerienced forward Dean Holland will return to the roster for the upcoming campaign.
Dean, 30, played junior hockey at Sunderland before icing for Whitley Braves in 2005-06. He then moved to Newcastle Vipers, playing for their Under-19, ENL and EIHL sides. Dean represented Great Britain at Under-20 level before embarking on a career with Newcastle Vipers, Manchester Phoenix, Dundee Stars and Telford Tigers amongst others. In 2011-12, Dean returned to Whitley Bay, icing for Warriors. However he moved to Guildford Flames of the EPL the following season, where he played seventy-six games in two seasons. In 2014-15, he returned to Warriors again and was handed the captaincy in 2015-16.
“I’m happy to be coming back for another year,” Dean told us. “Last season we did really well as a team and ended up in a great battle with Solway in the playoffs. If we play with the same commitment as we did in the playoffs, next season we should be very competitive.”
“The re-signing of Dean Holland shows everyone that our roster is going from strength to strength,” General Manager Paul Matthews said yesterday. “Dean is a top experienced player who competes 100% every time he steps on the ice. Not only does he work really hard on the ice, he looks after his fitness off the ice too. Dean is an integral part of Whitley Warriors so we are all delighted to have him for this season’s campaign.”
Welcome back Dean!