Leeds Knights: NIHL National title success four years in the making for first man on the bench Sam Zajac

The 33-year-old defenceman has played an integral role in the development of Leeds Knights ever since Steve Nell took over ownership of the franchise from rink owners Planet Ice in April 2021.

But his influence on helping Leeds become a ‘hockey town’ goes back way before that, almost two years previously in fact.

Back then, Zajac was the man tasked with getting hockey off the ground in a still-to-be-built rink on Elland Road, one now affectionately known as ‘The Castle’ by the growing hoards of Knights’ fans.

Appointed as the player-coach, Zajac had no players, no locker room and no previous experience of coaching at second-tier level. His team didn’t even have a name.

Those who have followed hockey in Leeds since the inception of the Chiefs will know how difficult those first 12 months were for Zajac, forced to get his players to cross the Pennines once a week to practice out of Blackburn, while playing ‘home’ games as far away as Milton Keynes and Basingstoke until the half-finished rink was eventually opened midway through the inaugural NIHl National 2019-20 season.

The Chiefs - as they were eventually named following an online poll offering three options (did anyone seriously vote for ‘Mighty Mammoths’?!) - barely had time to settle into their new home, however, when the doors were locked on them once more, the global Covid pandemic bringing about an early end to the season as peoples lives everywhere changed dramatically forever.

Players were ‘signed’ in readiness for the following season, but it was a campaign that never materialised, with only a handful of second-tier teams getting together for a couple of behind-closed-doors tournaments.

As the country started to come out of lockdown Nell stepped forward, confident his experience of running NIHL National rivals Swindon Wildcats since 2004 could help realise the potential the Chiefs had only been able to hint at previously.

Just under two years later, his team crowned 2022-23 league champions, Nell’s confidence has been repaid.

“It’s still the same beast to me,” said Zajac. “It’s a different name on the shirt and players obviously come and go but, for me, it’s still grounded in that very first season.

“It meant such a lot for me to be there when a Leeds team won something, having been here from the very start. When the season finishes and maybe we’ve won another trophy, I’ll have time to sit back and enjoy the moment even more.

“I remember trying to convince people back at the very start that we were going to be good and it was going to be a special place.

“I’m not sure how long I expected it to be before trophies started to arrive, but the chances of that happening were massively accelerated when Steve (Nell) took over.

“There was obviously a lot that needed sorting out and fixing, but I felt that, with the Chiefs, we already had the bare bones of something good, starting with the fanbase and some of the players.

“But, also, it was almost like starting from scratch when it became the Knights and full credit for that goes to Steve, obviously Dave Whistle too for taking on the coaching role at the start and then, after that, Ryan.”

Due to a hand injury sustained at Swindon last month, Zajac wasn’t able to be on the ice when the Knights clinched the title at defending champions Telford Tigers on March 19.

He was incapacitated again when the trophy presentation took place at Elland Road a week later.

But, come the end of the game, Zajac rightly took his place on the ice amongst his team-mates. And of all of the celebration laps taken by players and staff with the silverware, one of the loudest cheers came when it was Zajac’s turn, some of those fans fully aware of the major role he had played in that first trophy success, not just over the past two seasons, but since first getting involved in the ‘project’ four years earlier.

He wasn’t alone, either. Four of the players signed by Zajac in the summer of 2019 - goaltender Sam Gospel, defenceman Lewis Baldwin and forwards Adam Barnes and Ethan Hehir - were alongside him, as was equipment manager Jason Thomas. Glenn Baldwin, who was Zajac’s bench coach for the Chiefs in 2019-20, was also there to join the celebrations.

Zajac knew it would ultimately require someone with the vision, determination and first-hand knowledge to turn his initial dreams into reality and in Nell - who he briefly played for at Swindon in 2017-18 - he knew it was the ideal combination.

“I remember first speaking to Steve when he said he was looking to get on board here and he was the best person I could think of for the job,” added Zajac.

“I imagine the role of owner is not one that gets a lot of praise, but he took a big risk on it and there are not many decisions - if any - that he has got wrong. He’s used all that experience on what works and what doesn’t in Swindon and brought it here.

“Owning an ice hockey team in this country is a massive commitment and I imagine if you don’t get it right, it’s a real easy way to lose a lot of money, that’s for sure!”