Leeds Chiefs

The Leeds Chiefs are a professional ice hockey team based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team is a member of the National League and plays at Planet Ice Leeds.
==History==
The team was announced, along with the new National League, on 16 March 2019. However, rumours of a Leeds based team playing out of the 1800 capacity Planet Ice Leeds arena were circulating months beforehand. In joining the league, they became the first ever hockey team to play out of the city.
The Chiefs name was selected by Planet Ice following the results of a fan poll. The 'Chiefs' moniker won the poll, results of which were announced on 16 May 2019, having beaten the alternatives; Cotton Kings and Mighty Mammoths.
Former Whitley Warriors Defenceman Sam Zajac was announced as Player-coach of the team on 10 May, 2019. Zajac's first signing for the Chiefs was former Manchester Phoenix captain, Defenceman Luke Boothroyd.
In November 2019, head coach Sam Zajac launched an urgent appeal after a large amount of the team's equipment was stolen from an apartment block in Batley. This included new helmets that hadn't even been worn yet, along with sticks and gloves used by the players all season. Despite this, the Chiefs confirmed their weekend games would go ahead as planned via a statement on Twitter.
In their first National League season, the Chiefs finished 10th. They won 13 games, losing 36, achieving 28 points overall. The season was curtailed in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first five months of the season, the Chiefs were required to play home games elsewhere, due to a delay in the opening of their rink. The first game at their Elland Road arena was against Sheffield Steeldogs on 31 January 2020.
==Club roster 2020–21==
Netminders	Netminders	Netminders	Netminders	Netminders 	Netminders 	Netminders 	Netminders	Netminders	Netminders	Netminders
No. 	Nat. 	Player 	Catches 	Date of birth	Place of birth 	Acquired 	Contract 	 	 	
31 	 	Sam Gospel	L 	 	Nottingham, England	2019 from Nottingham Panthers	20/21 	 	 	
Defencemen	Defencemen	Defencemen 	Defencemen	Defencemen 	Defencemen 	Defencemen 	Defencemen	Defencemen	Defencemen	Defencemen
No. 	Nat. 	Player 	Shoots 	Date of birth	Place of birth 	Acquired 	Contract 	 	 	
4 	 	Sam Zajac 	R 	 	Whitley Bay, England	2019 from Manchester Storm 	20/21 	 	 	
14 	 	Lewis Baldwin 	R 	 	Billingham, England 	2019 from Solway Sharks 	20/21 	 	 	
TBA 	 	Jordan Griffin	R 	 	Crewe, England 	2020 from Sheffield Steelers	20/21 	 	 	
Forwards	Forwards	Forwards 	Forwards	Forwards 	Forwards 	Forwards 	Forwards	Forwards	Forwards	Forwards
No. 	Nat. 	Player 	Shoots 	Date of birth	Place of birth 	Acquired 	Contract	 	 	
9 	 	Joe Coulter 	R 	 	Dumfries, Scotland	2019 from Solway Sharks 	20/21 	 	 	
18 	 	Lewis Houston	R 	 	Dumfries, Scotland	2019 from Solway Sharks 	20/21 	 	 	
TBA 	 	Kieran Brown 	L 	 	Bradford, England 	2020 from Sheffield Steelers	20/21 	 	 	
Team Staff	Team Staff	Team Staff 	Team Staff 	Team Staff	Team Staff 	Team Staff 	Team Staff	Team Staff	Team Staff	Team Staff
No. 	Nat. 	Name 	Position 	Acquired 	Place of birth 	Joined From 	 	 	 	
N/A 	 	Sam Zajac 	Player-Coach 	2019 	Whitley Bay, England	Manchester Storm, EIHL 	 	 	 	
N/A 	 	Simon McGuinness	General Manager	2019 	Manchester, England 	Blackburn Hawks 2, NIHL 2	 	 	 	
== 2020/21 Outgoing ==
Outgoing	Outgoing	Outgoing	Outgoing	Outgoing 	Outgoing 	Outgoing 	Outgoing	Outgoing	Outgoing	Outgoing
No. 	Nat. 	Player 	Shoots 	Date of birth	Place of birth	Leaving For	 	 	 	
==References==
==External links==
* Leeds Chiefs official site
* Leeds Chiefs on Twitter
Category:Ice hockey teams in England
Category:Established in 2019