Post by Steph Cowley on Jul 10, 2009 10:58:32 GMT 1
From www.coventryblaze.co.uk newsletter
Coventry Blaze Head Coach, Paul Thompson has today confirmed that he has added four young British players to his roster ahead of the 2009/10 season.
At twenty years of age, forward Joe Henry is already a veteran of over 200 games in a senior Blaze jersey since making his senior debut in the 05/06 season. Since graduating from the Blaze junior system, Henry has been a member of the Blaze squad for the last four years, signing his first professional contract last season.
In addition to playing for the senior side, Henry has also had a starring role for the club’s highly successful second team in the English League and was also a member of the Great Britain Under 20 team that won a silver medal at this year’s World Championships.
Twenty one year old, Tom Ledgard will also feature more prominently for the senior side next season, having already dressed for the team in thirty eight games during the last two seasons.
The speedy winger will continue to combine his senior playing duties with games for the ENL Blaze but is expected to feature more regularly for the Elite League team. After developing through the Milton Keynes junior system, Ledgard completed his junior career with the Blaze before joining the club’s second team at the start of the 2007/08 season.
New to the club for next season will be one of British hockey’s brightest future stars, sixteen year old Jack Watkins, brother of Blaze veteran utility player, Tom. At 6 feet tall and 190lbs, the highly talented forward has a standout junior CV that has seen him as a key member of the England Under 16 side for the last two seasons.
Watkins joins the club from the Whitley Warriors of the English National League where he also starred for the North East club’s under 16 and under 18 sides. He was a reserve for this year’s Great Britain Under 18 side and has previously represented Great Britain in an under 15 skills competition in Canada. He is also a previous winner of the Young Sports Star of the North East award. Watkins will feature for both the Elite and ENL Blaze teams.
Blaze have also signed nineteen year old forward Aaron Nell on a two way contract with the Swindon Wildcats of the English Premier League. The 6’3”, 200lb talent played in Canada in 06/07 and 07/08 before returning home to the Wildcats at the start of last season.
He recorded 19 goals and 18 assists in his 42 games with Swindon and has also represented Great Britain at both Under 18 and Under 20 levels.
“These are four very talented young men and I’m really pleased to be able to work with them all next season,” said Thompson. “Joe has been with us for a while now and this season it’s time for me to see what he can really do. He’s been a long term project for us and he’s now at the point where I want to give him the chance to go out there and prove himself and to create a real career for himself at this level. I’m intending to give Joe a lot of ice time this season and I’m confident that he’ll really step up to the plate.
“Tom’s one of our ENL players who has really impressed me over the last season with his work ethic and determination. He’s trained up with the senior side on and off during the last twelve months and I’ve seen significant progress in his game through that. He’s not quite ready for a full time spot on the senior roster but by spending far more time with the Elite squad, whilst still playing for the ENL team, I think we have a good chance of further developing his game. He’s a player who knows what his strengths and weaknesses are and he’s been very good at focusing on the things that he does well. If he continues to do that, I can see him featuring far more as the season progresses.
“Jack is simply one of the brightest young talents in the game at the moment. He’s had a first rate junior career so far and everyone thinks that by making the move to the Blaze, that we can really accelerate his progress. He’s only sixteen so we will be integrating him sensibly but by training full time with senior players and playing for our ENL side, he’s going to be in a good position to look at getting ice time with the senior team. It’s a massive step for him but he definitely has the ability to make that step if we manage it well. I really am thrilled that he’s going to be a part of the club next season.
“Aaron is another with a lot of ability. He trained with us a few times last season and we were going to take him away to Bolzano with us before he picked up an injury. He has size, skill and speed and also a desire to better himself and to make progress in the sport. He’ll be playing full time for Swindon but whenever we have a game and they don’t, he’ll certainly be dressing for us. He has a good future in the game and we believe that this two way contract will really help his development.”
Coventry Blaze Head Coach, Paul Thompson has today confirmed that he has added four young British players to his roster ahead of the 2009/10 season.
At twenty years of age, forward Joe Henry is already a veteran of over 200 games in a senior Blaze jersey since making his senior debut in the 05/06 season. Since graduating from the Blaze junior system, Henry has been a member of the Blaze squad for the last four years, signing his first professional contract last season.
In addition to playing for the senior side, Henry has also had a starring role for the club’s highly successful second team in the English League and was also a member of the Great Britain Under 20 team that won a silver medal at this year’s World Championships.
Twenty one year old, Tom Ledgard will also feature more prominently for the senior side next season, having already dressed for the team in thirty eight games during the last two seasons.
The speedy winger will continue to combine his senior playing duties with games for the ENL Blaze but is expected to feature more regularly for the Elite League team. After developing through the Milton Keynes junior system, Ledgard completed his junior career with the Blaze before joining the club’s second team at the start of the 2007/08 season.
New to the club for next season will be one of British hockey’s brightest future stars, sixteen year old Jack Watkins, brother of Blaze veteran utility player, Tom. At 6 feet tall and 190lbs, the highly talented forward has a standout junior CV that has seen him as a key member of the England Under 16 side for the last two seasons.
Watkins joins the club from the Whitley Warriors of the English National League where he also starred for the North East club’s under 16 and under 18 sides. He was a reserve for this year’s Great Britain Under 18 side and has previously represented Great Britain in an under 15 skills competition in Canada. He is also a previous winner of the Young Sports Star of the North East award. Watkins will feature for both the Elite and ENL Blaze teams.
Blaze have also signed nineteen year old forward Aaron Nell on a two way contract with the Swindon Wildcats of the English Premier League. The 6’3”, 200lb talent played in Canada in 06/07 and 07/08 before returning home to the Wildcats at the start of last season.
He recorded 19 goals and 18 assists in his 42 games with Swindon and has also represented Great Britain at both Under 18 and Under 20 levels.
“These are four very talented young men and I’m really pleased to be able to work with them all next season,” said Thompson. “Joe has been with us for a while now and this season it’s time for me to see what he can really do. He’s been a long term project for us and he’s now at the point where I want to give him the chance to go out there and prove himself and to create a real career for himself at this level. I’m intending to give Joe a lot of ice time this season and I’m confident that he’ll really step up to the plate.
“Tom’s one of our ENL players who has really impressed me over the last season with his work ethic and determination. He’s trained up with the senior side on and off during the last twelve months and I’ve seen significant progress in his game through that. He’s not quite ready for a full time spot on the senior roster but by spending far more time with the Elite squad, whilst still playing for the ENL team, I think we have a good chance of further developing his game. He’s a player who knows what his strengths and weaknesses are and he’s been very good at focusing on the things that he does well. If he continues to do that, I can see him featuring far more as the season progresses.
“Jack is simply one of the brightest young talents in the game at the moment. He’s had a first rate junior career so far and everyone thinks that by making the move to the Blaze, that we can really accelerate his progress. He’s only sixteen so we will be integrating him sensibly but by training full time with senior players and playing for our ENL side, he’s going to be in a good position to look at getting ice time with the senior team. It’s a massive step for him but he definitely has the ability to make that step if we manage it well. I really am thrilled that he’s going to be a part of the club next season.
“Aaron is another with a lot of ability. He trained with us a few times last season and we were going to take him away to Bolzano with us before he picked up an injury. He has size, skill and speed and also a desire to better himself and to make progress in the sport. He’ll be playing full time for Swindon but whenever we have a game and they don’t, he’ll certainly be dressing for us. He has a good future in the game and we believe that this two way contract will really help his development.”
