Team Talk

Team Talk

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Taking the time to reflect on his ice hockey career, Whitley’s player-coach David Longstaff looks back on his achievements in the sport, shares his thoughts on the NIHL and reveals which Warrior has made the most progress in recent seasons…

What made you decide to return to Hillheads to play for your hometown club in 2015, what were your first impressions of the NIHL having played at a higher level and how did you find combining playing with coaching for the first time in your career?

The reason I came back was to see more of my children and to watch them play sport which I have really enjoyed doing. The NIHL is very competitive and the players give 100% but my first impressions of the league were that you could quite clearly see a lack of coaching from a junior level, and I mean from every team, which I was a little disappointed in. I was quite surprised that the players at this level can be so up and down! One week they’re great, then the next they’re non-existent. We don’t pay players so this is mostly directed at other teams. I still find it hard that there is a massive difference between home and away results. I was quite surprised that many of the players don’t know the basic hockey knowledge required to play at even the level of the NIHL. This is something the EIHA really have to improve on. They have hundreds of thousands in the bank and really need to bring in top coaches at junior levels to improve. Too many teams rely on imports which is very disappointing at this level. The NIHL should be a homegrown league. As for playing and coaching, I find it a lot harder than I thought I would but I’m very lucky to have Dave Holland to see the stuff that I miss. He’s coached in the Elite league and is very switched on. For someone that hasn’t played at a high level, he really knows his stuff and we bounce off each other really well. I think I’ve been very lucky to start off my coaching career with Dave.

What are your aspirations for Whitley Warriors this campaign and what impact do you feel changes to British ice hockey have had on the NIHL?

Our aspirations are to finish as high as possible but realistically, probably sixth, seventh or eighth. I don’t think the changes are a good thing for Whitley Bay. It’s pretty hard for us to compete with teams that spend thousands when we don’t pay our players. I would imagine the leagues will find a balance over the next couple of seasons and hopefully we don’t have teams going on thirteen-game losing streaks just because they have a bad run of fixtures against the top teams, like Billingham have had.

Is there anything that has surprised you about the form of other teams across the league?

I’m not really surprised by anything in the league. The top three will be the EPL teams followed by Solway and Solihull then Blackburn, Whitley and Billingham will battle for places six to eight. We just don’t travel with enough of our top quality players to sway games and to get any higher up the league.

What do you make of the progress of Mark Turnbull and Kyle Hindmarsh-Ross since their return from Canada and did you ever consider such an opportunity in the early stages of your ice hockey career?

Kyle and Mark have improved massively since they were in Canada and they have shown that in the games so far this season. They have turned into two very important players for us. I had chances to go over and play major junior hockey but I never really fancied it to be honest.

Whitley appear to be far more disciplined than they have in recent seasons. What impact has this had on your team?

We’ve tried to limit penalties for the last two seasons and it finally seems to be hitting home with the players. We still have tough players but the game has changed and there are big suspensions handed out. Any players that play for us now have to fit in to how the team play.

Which of your players do you feel has made the most progress with the club since you became coach in 2015?

The player who has improved the most is probably Jordan Barnes. He’s started to concentrate on playing more than fighting and he’s seeing the benefits of that.

Looking back on your ice hockey career which spans twenty nine seasons, what has been your ultimate highlight?

My ultimate highlight would be that I was the first player to get one hundred caps for Great Britain and the first and only British player, up to now, to play in the Swedish Hockey League. The Swedish league was much quicker and a lot more physical than British hockey.

Of the five hundred and eighty two goals you have scored so far, which is your favourite?

My favourite goal was either my first goal in Sweden for Djurgårdens in the Globe Arena against Timrå IK or my first goal for the senior national team in Bratislava against Slovakia.

Looking back on your ice hockey career, and based on what you know now, what one piece of advice would you have given to your younger self?

The advice I would have given myself would be to not turn down a long term contract with Djurgårdens in Sweden but I suppose everything happens for a reason and it gave my kids a chance to get into sport in England.

How do you envisage your future in ice hockey at present?

At the minute, I’m not planning anything to be honest. I’m just going to try to enjoy this hockey season.

Thank you to David Longstaff for taking the time to be interviewed by NIHL Northern Trio.

For more photos from IceHockeyMedia, please visit: http://www.icehockeymedia.co.uk/.