Chris Jones will bring a huge amount of experience to the Deeside Ducks team this season (Photo by Keith & Jenny Davies)
The
Deeside Ducks have announced the signing of experienced player Chris Jones for the forthcoming NIHL Laidler
Division season.
The
idea of the new Ducks team 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 roster 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.
In
that time he has played some 460 competitive games, scoring 314 goals, 231
assists and amassing 1628 penalty minutes.
Talking
about joining the Ducks, Chris Jones said:
“I
am pleased to join Deeside Ducks for the coming season and for the new challenge
in my hockey career. I feel that being part of the team as a player will be a
great experiences for me for me - as will helping build the team and assisting
in developing the juniors through the club.”
“The
Ducks team is exactly what Deeside needs to create a pathway into senior hockey. There is a strong D1 Team at Deeside and this
new team gives the younger players a stepping stone to that league in their future
hockey careers.”
Ducks’
Head Coach Gary Shaw said of Jones’ signing:
“I
have known Chris for many years from juniors to seniors and had a lot of time
coaching his progression as a player. I now have asked him to give back to this
new team and help me prepare the new talent for the next step up to senior
hockey. Chris’s knowledge and experience will be vital to help the coaching
team develop the next generation. Welcome on board, Chris.”
Jones
will also continue to be an important member of the Dragons organisation and
will train regularly with the senior team.
You
can follow the progress of the new Deeside Ducks team as they prepare for their
debut season in the NIHL Laidler Division on their Facebook page HERE
