Sam Zajac keen for Leeds Chiefs to get ahead of the game

In these continuing, uncertain times brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, planning for next season for all 10 clubs in the UK game’s second tier – in fact at any level – is, to a certain extent, something of an unknown quantity.

This time last year, most teams were well on the way to having the majority of their rosters in place – although, as is tradition, the announcement of those signings was then staggered throughout the off-season. The one exception to that was Leeds, who didn’t have a name, or even a coach in place.

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the appointment of that first-ever coach, with experienced defenceman Zajac being charged with putting together the franchise’s first-ever roster.

At the time and with the 2018-19 season barely a month over, Zajac knew he was playing catch-up on his nine rival coaches who, already aware the following season was bringing a new and more competitive second tier, had got many of their pieces in place.

But, this time around, Zajac is operating on a level playing field, having seen his team’s debut season brought to the same early finish as every other team in the league because of the Covid-19 crisis.

At the moment, like virtually the rest of UK sport, NIHL National bosses are hoping for further clarity on the way forward and with it next season once Prime Minister Boris Johnson has addressed the nation on Sunday and whether there will be any significant changes to the current lockdown rules.

But, regardless of what the coming weeks and months bring, either in terms of start dates for 2020-21 or further player signings, Zajac expects the quality of the division to improve further across the board.

“A lot of the good players in this league are young and really talented, so even just being one year further down the development line for them because of last season will raise the bar across the board,” said Zajac, who will keep a sizeable core from the Chiefs’ roster that finished the 2019-20 season.

“But it is so hard to say what is going to happen at the moment because you don’t know what teams’ budgets are going to be, you don’t know what sponsorship is going to be affected, you don’t know what crowds are going to be like - maybe people are going to be wary about coming to things like sporting events, or maybe they will flock to them because of they’ve been starved of them for so long.”

Zajac said that another factor to take into consideration when recruiting was any changes that may occur in the full-time Elite League this summer, with current plans set to see import numbers drop from 14 to 13 with bench sizes also set to be reduced.

“I know through speaking to other coaches recently that there is so much uncertainty around that a lot of teams are waiting to see what’s going to happen with the Elite League and if there is going to be any trickle down from there,” explained Zajac, who has played over 220 games in the EIHL, including three seasons at Glasgow Clan.

“There has been talk of maybe limiting the roster sizes or changing the import limits, so there could be an influx of good British players suddenly becoming available.

“For everyone right now it is a bit of a waiting game because you are kind of torn as you are trying to be as prepared as possible for next season and get on with the recruitment, but you’ve got to wait and see if the landscape changes.”

Zajac is confident he has around 70 per cent of his roster set, but will not rush into getting his full squad finalised for some time.

“You don’t want to get your full team signed up and then realise that a couple of great players became available which you could have used,” he added. “So it is a bit of a waiting game at the moment.

“The players I’ve spoken to all understand the situation but it is frustrating for them because they want to know where they’re going to be playing next season.

“We’re living in unprecedented times and patience is probably a virtue at this point.”