Preparation key as Leeds Chiefs target competitive edge in NIHL National

There is every chance that teams will have to wait a while longer than the usual early September start date to the regular season - the Elite League have already put their opening weekend back a month until the start of October - depending on the government’s stance on the coronavirus crisis and its impact on mass gatherings and sporting events.

When the action does get under way, in whatever shape or form, Chiefs’ player-coach Sam Zajac is confident his team will be on more of a level playing field with their nine rivals than they were last September.

The lack of being able to practise in their own rink due to it not being finished - a situation that lasted until the end of January - combined with difficulties in securing ice time elsewhere for training, meant the Chiefs began their first game at Sheffield Steeldogs at something of a disadvantage, the players having spent barely two hours on the ice.

Radek Meidl’s 26th-minute strike gave the Chiefs’ their historic first-ever goal and saw them take an unlikely lead, but they would eventually end up on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline.

It took some time for the Chiefs to get up to speed with the newly-formed league, a number of their roster playing at that level on a week-in, week-out basis for the first time in their careers.

The first win didn’t come until their sixth game, an impressive 4-0 triumph at Raiders IHC that also brought their only shutout of the season and there was always a feeling that Zajac’s team were playing catch-up throughout a season that brought endless challenges on and off the ice and which garnered only 13 wins from 49 games as the finished bottom.

Last week it was revealed that, in a bid to claw back some of the money lost to NIHL National clubs through the cancellation of the traditional season-ending playoff weekend in Coventry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a one-off curtain-raiser featuring all 10 teams may be held at the same venue to launch the 2020-21 campaign.

But regardless of how and where they first take to the ice, Zajac is determined his team will be as well-prepared as any of their rivals.

“It set us back a lot last year as we kind of jumped right into that competitive first game at Sheffield,” said Zajac. “We did actually give a good account of ourselves, so there was a lot of credit to the players for managing that.

“Pre-season is such an important part of the whole preparation process, getting in all of your players, getting to know them all, seeing who works best with who and also getting that sharpness back.

“You can do a lot during the summer, but without getting on the ice and playing at game speed you’re never going to be able to be fully ready.

“So to jump straight in was very tough last season and it showed at times. It is vital that we get the preparation right this time and we’ll have the time and, obviously, the rink to do it now. That is going to make such a big difference for us.”

Ideally, Zajac is hoping to get at least two weeks of practice in, comprising around six lengthy on-ice sessions, as well as four exhibition games ahead of the regular season opener.

“You need to be playing teams in and around you, from a similar level and you need it to be competitive because just going through the motions in a warm-up game and, say, playing at 50 per cent or so, you can probably get as much out of a practice session than you would out of that,” added Zajac.

“If we can have two weeks on the ice with everyone in and then two weekends of games, that would be perfect but, if not, for whatever reason, we can adjust and just go with what we can.”

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