Leeds Knights: Young netminding duo given chance to flourish under Sam Gospel

For the 2025-26 season, Dan Norton and Ollie Booth will form a netminding tandem that will fulfil the back-up role to Knights’ No 1 goalie Sam Gospel, while also sharing starting duties for Leeds Knights 2 in NIHL North One.

Norton will already be familiar to Knights 2 fans having split the netminding role with Luca Tessadri for the majority of the team’s inaugural 2024-25 campaign.

Tessadri has made the switch to North One rivals Widnes Wild for the coming campaign, while Walker will also now operate out of the UK’s third tier having taken up the offer to be No 1 back at former club Blackburn hawks.

Walker, 22, got nine starts in all last season for Leeds, but has long been tipped to move elsewhere in order to get the ice time his obvious talent merits.

With a No 1 ahead of him in Gospel who was keen to start as many games as possible, opportunities for Walker showed little sign of increasing during 2025-26.

Knights head coach Ryan Aldridge understands and supports Walker’s decision and hasn’t ruled out him returning to The Castle at some point in the future.

Gospel will probably be required to start more matches in the coming season, but it is a workload he welcomes and one Aldridge is in no rush to deny him.

With Norton and Booth now on board, both goalies will get the ice time they crave with Knights 2 under the watchful eye of team boss Davey Lawrence, who also operates as the club’s goaltending coach.

As part of their development, the pair will also spend valuable hours in and around the Knights’ NIHL National set-up during the week and at weekends, benefitting from working alongside Gospel, still regarded by many as the No 1 netminder in NIHL National.

“One of them will always be at a game with us, while the other will be starting games with Knights 2 - they will essentially flip flop throughout the year,” explained Aldridge.

“Both are young players and both need ice time, so they get to train with us throughout the week, work and train with Davey and alongside Gossy, but also they get to play games on a regular basis in NIHL 1, as well as getting to seeing what it is all about at our level by backing up Gossy on a regular basis, too.

“We feel it’s a pretty good situation for them both.

“The reality of the situation is that Gossy just wants to play, he enjoys playing, he doesn’t like taking a night off.

“Even in the play-offs when it was a nothing game, I didn’t play him but he still really wanted to play.”

Norton, from Doncaster, spent his junior years at Whitley Bay, Sheffield and, like Walker, Bradford Bulldogs before heading to North America.

There he followed in the footsteps of older brother Ben - recently moved to Telford Tigers from Sheffield Steeldogs - by attending Northwood School at Lake Placid.

A season at Milton Keynes Thunder preceded the 20-year-old’s return to Yorkshire when he signed for Knights 2 last summer. .

Booth, 18, is the son of Knights’ assistant coach Colin Booth and came through the Nottingham junior system before joining Leeds Junior Knights during 2023-24, the same year he made his senior debut with Deeside Dragons.

Last season saw him on a three-way deal which saw him split his time between the Dragons - where he got the majority of his starts - the Welsh club’s NIHL North Two affiliate, Deeside Ducks and Milton Keynes Lightning.

"I’m really grateful for the opportunity to join the Knights for the upcoming season, it’s an exciting step for me,” said Booth.

"I’m looking forward to learning, growing, and giving my all to help the team wherever I can.

"I’ve heard great things about the club, the fans, and the atmosphere, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”