Leeds Knights benefitting from Thomas Barry's NIHL National 'nous' and experience, says Sam Zajac

Approaching something resembling a mini-crisis in terms of defensive options in early December, Knights’ head coach Ryan Aldridge moved quickly when he realised the experienced Barry might be available.

The 25-year-old started off the season with NIHL National rivals Peterborough Phantoms before heading back to Widnes Wild in NIHL North One, where he had spent part of the Covid pandemic playing in a couple of behind-closed-doors cup tournaments.

But his second stint in Cheshire was short-lived as, via a whistle-stop appearance for Basingstoke Bison, he found himself heading back to the second tier with Leeds.

With Jordan Griffin and Zajac out injured at various points at the time, it was a necessary signing, one which Aldridge quickly realised he had to make permanent.

And the stay-at-home defenceman has rewarded the faith placed in him by his coach, even though he himself was forced to watch from the sidelines for a handful of games after sustaining a nasty hand injury against former club Sheffield Steeldogs in late December.

Fellow defenceman Zajac said Barry’s arrival was made all the more easier thanks to the number of familiar faces that greeted him in the Knights’ locker room with Kieran Brown, Adam Barnes, Lewis Baldwin, Jordan Griffin and netminder Harrison Walker all having played alongside him at Widnes.