THE newly-formed Deeside Ducks have announced their first signings.
Highly experienced Deeside Dragons player Chris Jones has been confirmed as part of their roster for the new National Ice Hockey League season.
The Ducks are a new team in North 2 Division for the 2024/25 season and the aim is to provide regular senior hockey for young players coming out of the Deeside junior programme and to act as a stepping stone towards the senior Dragons team.
While the majority of the team will be under-23s, a number of older, more experienced, players are also being added to the squad to bring stability and wisdom to the mix.
Deeside supporters won’t need any introduction to Chris Jones who has been a long-term favourite at the North Wales rink.
He was a Flintshire junior player and has enjoyed 19 seasons of senior hockey – mainly with the Flintshire Freeze and Deeside Dragons, but with brief sojourns at Telford and Blackburn as well – and is a veteran of over 460 competitive games at NIHL level.
Jones is joined on the Ducks roster by another Dragons player from last season – Charlie Spridgeon – as well as long standing Deeside favourite Kenny Williams, who has most recently been playing recreational hockey with the Connah’s Quay Cobras.
Former Slough Jet Stewart Cutting – another current Cobras player – has also joined the Ducks as a player and assistant coach.
The sport’s governing body, England Ice Hockey, allows for players under the age of 23 to “play up” for different teams in order to gain more experience and help with their development.
This arrangement means that promising Deeside junior players will be able to gain experience of senior hockey with the Ducks on a regular basis and also train and play with the Dragons Division One team on suitable occasions.
The first of the junior players who will benefit from playing for the Ducks team this season have also been announced.
The talented trio of 17-year-old Cody Ogden, 16-year-old Daniels Fadejevs and Henry Phillips, also 16, all played regularly for the Deeside under-18 team last season and Ogden also made one appearance for the Dragons.
Ducks' head coach Gary Shaw said: “This Ducks team will be predominantly U23 with at least a third being U19.
"Some older players will be asked to play and their role will be to support the youth of the team and help with their progression.
"The aim is to ultimately push for places in the Dragons senior team and on to higher levels such as England and Premier.
“While winning is the aim of all teams, there are many different ways to win, so we will focus on all aspects required to advance our squad and, if we achieve the win on the scoreboard, it is a bonus for the team.”
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