Tristan Grimshaw (left) and Mikey Gilbert celebrate the 2022 Moralee Cup win – photo by Geoff White
The Widnes Wild NIHL team’s roster is nearing completion as they make final preparations for the new 2024/24 NIHL Moralee Division season. Recent signings include a mix of familiar faces, junior Academy players and promising young talent.
The best known of the latest signings is Tristan Grimshaw who previously played for the Wild team on and off from 2019 to 2022. He was originally a Telford Tigers junior player but played the 2019/20 season with the Widnes Academy Under 18 team.
Grimshaw made his senior debut for the Wild with a single appearance during the 2019/20 season. It was particularly notable as he was one of three Under 18 players – along with Sam Anderson and Jake Lowndes - who had to rush from a junior game that had barely finished playing on the other ice pad at iceSheffield to shore up a badly depleted Wild line-up in a 9-0 Midlands Cup defeat against Sutton Sting.
He was also a member of the Wild team that came second in the behind closed doors Three Rivers Cup competition and who went on to win the Division One National Championship during the 2021 short Covid series.
Tristan then played a full season for the Wild in the Moralee Division and North Cup in the 2021/22 season scoring 1 goal and 2 assists in 35 appearances and helping the team to win the Moralee Cup. He has spent the past 2 seasons playing for the Nottingham Lions in both the Moralee and Laidler Divisions, notching up 33 goals and 38 assists in 87 league games.
Talking about Grimshaw’s return to the Wild, Widnes player-coach Tom Jackson said: “Tristan is a guy who I’ve watched develop over the past few seasons to the player he is today. He has been around during summer skates and had impressed me over that time. I’m happy to have him back in a Wild shirt and think he will do well this season, working within the systems we will be implementing.”
Meanwhile, Grimshaw said of the move: “It was a difficult decision for me to leave Nottingham, but when TJ called and discussed his aspirations for next season and the team he was building, I felt it was the right choice to return. I’m excited to see TJ jumping up into a coaching role and taking the club in the right direction.”
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| Jared Knowles – photo by Geoff White. |
Another well known Widnes face is 16 year old forward Jared Knowles who is a long term Wild Academy junior player. He was the Under 18 team’s top scorer last season and also played for England U16s against Scotland in 2023. Jared will also continue to play for the Widnes juniors this season as well to help with his ongoing development.
Talking about signing Knowles, Wild player-coach Tom Jackson said: “Jared is a quality young player who has the opportunity to develop by training up with the Wild. He’s a home grown product from the junior system and has been training with the team last season. Jared will be given as much opportunity as the senior guys this year to earn his ice time and show what he can bring to the team.”
A new face for the Wild this year is 16 year old defenceman Will Daley, who also played on the England Under 16 team alongside Jared Knowles. He is a former Whitley and Solway junior player who joins on a 2-way deal with Solway Under 19s
The week’s signings are rounded off with two young netminding prospects - 17 year old Logan Reid who played in 4 games for the Wild last season on a 2-way deal with his hometown club Solway Sharks and 19 year old Harry Campbell who is on a 2-way deal with Kilmarnock Thunder.
