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On the latest HockeyTalk podcast, Leeds Knights' fourth and final import signing Liam Peyton talks about his move to the UK, with head coach Ryan Aldridge explaining why the Canadian was the right fit for his team ahead of the 2025-26 NIHL National campaign
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00:00Hello and welcome to Hockey Talk.
00:24On this week's show, the first kind of podcast we've done in about 10 years or more probably,
00:29we chat to Leeds Knights new forward Liam Payton about his move to the UK for the 2025-26 NIHL
00:35Nationals season. We also hear from Knights head coach Ryan Aldridge on why he feels a 25-year-old
00:41Canadian brings the right game for his team at the right time.
00:47First we're going to hear from the fourth and final import signing made by the Knights and we're
00:50able to catch up with Liam Payton while he was spending his summer over in Nova Scotia from
00:54where he informed us that he was already in the midst of preparations for coming over to the UK
00:58for his first season overseas.
01:00Things are good, very exciting, very busy a little bit getting stuff done and getting
01:05organised to get across but things are really good, lots of excitement on this side of the pond.
01:10Excellent, excellent and where are you at the moment? Are you back in Nova Scotia now?
01:16Yeah, Nova Scotia is kind of home for me now. My dad is military so we bounced around all over the country
01:26and then hockey kind of took me on my own journeys too but the Maritimes is kind of where I've settled.
01:33So why Leeds and sort of why now?
01:36Yeah, so Leeds came onto the map. It was a little bit of discussion. I knew I wanted to come overseas and feel the hockey in Europe and between my agents and my family when Leeds came on the map there was just a lot of excitement.
01:54Like I said earlier, there's a tremendous sense of community and excitement that I could sense just from scrolling social media honestly in the castle and what you hear about the team and the organisation.
02:07It felt special and obviously a very competitive programme that's put together a winning team over the past few years.
02:14So the opportunity to come in and join that and add an element of Canadian hockey and bring that over to a very competitive spot is something that me and my family and everyone around me said it's a tremendous opportunity and the timing was perfect.
02:32I'd wrapped up university and playing in Canada and yeah, between the timing and the excitement and everything going on, it was a really tremendous fit.
02:42What are your expectations of hockey in the UK?
02:46How much have you done? Like you say, no doubt you've been online and you've looked at what Leeds nights are about and possibly have you got a sort of fair idea of what to expect from the National League?
02:58Yeah, I think the National League, as I've observed, it's been growing tremendously and I think the talent pool that's coming and the Brits that are developing,
03:09it's evident that the league is becoming very competitive and has been now for a couple of years.
03:15I have a couple of peers that I played with here in North America that have gone overseas and ended up in the National League, the National Ice Hockey League and tremendous players,
03:26like tremendous North Americans that have gone over and shared and expressed not only the competitiveness but just the passion over there.
03:34And yeah, so in terms of the hockey, I think stepping into it, it'll be competitive and it'll be exciting to step in and bring a solid, solid role to a competitive spot.
03:47Who are those players that have played in the National Ice Hockey League? Is it someone that's still going to be over here next season?
03:54Obviously somebody that you've played with or were against before previously in North America?
03:59Yeah, so there's a few that I've played against but a close peer of mine is Sean Miller who plays in Romford.
04:05So he's been the one that I've kind of been picking his brain and learning about the league and learning about, again, just the style of hockey and what to expect.
04:16And where did you play alongside Sean?
04:18Sean, I played with him at Dalhousie. We did three years together here and then played against him for a long time and he's from Halifax as well.
04:30So in the summers, we've kind of bounced around and crossed paths a good little bit and over time become quite good buddies.
04:37He spent obviously a few years in the Colbert Maritimes Junior League, which is a very good league.
04:41Obviously some cracking players have come through and obviously gone through to the NHL, Lafreniere being one of them.
04:48How was that in terms of your development, playing in that league against high-quality players, it would seem?
04:55Yeah, absolutely. I think it's something that's really interesting in Canada. It's a pretty young age.
05:01I jumped into the OHL at 16 years old and kind of was there for a cup of coffee and the initial experience and then came east and played in Charlottetown and then obviously finished with the Mooseheads.
05:15But the league itself, obviously, in Canada, that's the peak, the prestigious of development and the stepping stone.
05:22So you do definitely get the opportunity to play not only against but alongside some tremendous talent and I've watched a lot of peers move on to leagues like the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League and have quite fruitful careers.
05:37So I think just from a young age, you really see the steps required and the passion and commitment required to succeed and what it really takes to move on with the game of hockey.
05:48Obviously, then you went on to Dalhousie and U Sports for three or four years. How was that?
05:54Yeah, Dalhousie was a special experience. Obviously, we were a bit of a rebuilding program.
06:00So in terms of team success, we had some ups and downs for sure.
06:05But in terms of an opportunity to get my schooling and also continue to play at the highest level of hockey in Canada, the U Sports stream, especially on the Atlantic side,
06:17you're playing teams pretty prestigious like University of New Brunswick, St. Francis Xavier, St. Mary's, all teams that ice quite, quite competitive, competitive programs.
06:27And for me, it was another learning balance of just balancing a different kind of time frame or timeline with obviously then you're stepping into full-time academics and such.
06:38So, yeah, a very big balancing of priorities and still allowed me to pursue hockey and better myself as an athlete, but also get to learn a little bit more about yourself as a person.
06:52And then you turned pro. Obviously, you went to Trois-Riviers. Is that how I pronounced it right? Hopefully.
06:59Yeah, you've got it.
07:00Got a number of games in in the East Coast League. Funnily enough, I think a former import of Leeds went there briefly to sort of start his pro career and then came to Leeds.
07:10A guy called Zach Brooks, who's now playing in France or has been playing in France for a couple of years, obviously a bit before your time.
07:16But turning pro, as you did with the Lions, how did you find that transition or what were the differences for you as a player?
07:26Yeah, transitioning to pro, coming out of university, for me, that was the goal of going to play at U Sports.
07:33I knew at the end of my junior career that the East Coast League would have likely been on the table.
07:38But obviously, the CHL has a pretty special program offering scholarship when you finish playing major, junior.
07:46So I obviously wanted to take advantage of that, get my academics done, get my degree under my belt.
07:52So the goal was to get to play pro at the end of the year.
07:56And finalizing my season at Dow, I had the opportunity to step into a very successful team.
08:04They ended up going on to win the Kelly Cup.
08:07So it was a unique experience.
08:09I didn't stay with them for the playoffs.
08:12They got sent back, I guess, three or four American League players and kind of shifted me out of the lineup.
08:18But the opportunity to go to a pro setting where, again, like Leeds, the success is demanded.
08:26And the competitive, the program, the nature of it is extremely competitive.
08:31So for me, it was really special to kind of step in, especially after a couple of maybe down seasons in terms of success as a team at Dow.
08:39Going in and experiencing success on the pro level is just another eye-opener of seeing what it takes.
08:46And I'm hoping that I can bring that over to Leeds.
08:49Yeah, excellent, excellent.
08:50What kind of player would you describe yourself as, Liam?
08:54Passionate and competitive are the two words that come at the forefront of my game.
08:59I'm very fast.
09:00I like to drive offense with my speed and size.
09:04And a shooter, for sure, would be how I classify myself offensively.
09:10But reliable.
09:11A guy that can play anywhere in the lineup, all the way through power play, penalty kill,
09:16and somebody that I want to be.
09:18Somebody who wants to be trusted in every setting of the game.
09:21Yeah, you've obviously been speaking to Ryan and messaging Ryan over the past few weeks.
09:27What sort of clinked to the deal for you?
09:30Yeah, again, like I was saying, the competitive nature of Leeds was really the drawing point.
09:37I think the fans, the community, you can tell how much passion there is involved.
09:40And the castle is filled exactly with that every night.
09:44It seems to be a barn that's full of passionate fans that are there together.
09:49And that also is what drives success.
09:52So for me, seeing that and being able to have the opportunity to join that
09:57and bring my own element to it as well is something that I'm extremely, extremely excited for.
10:02And it was definitely a selling point.
10:04And has Ryan given you an insight into what his expectations are for you?
10:08Yeah, I think coming in as an import, obviously, there's definitely a weight of being a guy
10:17that can be relied upon in all situations and to carry a bit of the load.
10:21And Leeds, obviously, there's a young core there, which I'm tremendously excited about
10:27because I think that's a group that you can kind of help mold and bring the Canadian style over
10:32and teach a little bit and bring into their game.
10:34And so I think from that aspect, definitely a little bit of leadership and guidance for the young ones,
10:40but also just to come in and bring a steady, steady, consistent, passionate game.
10:45YorkshirePost.co.uk
10:47Well, we've heard from the player and now it's time to hear from Knightshead coach Ryan Aldridge
10:50who explained why he feels Liam Payton offers exactly what his team is in need of
10:54as they prepare for the defence of their third straight NIHL National League title.
10:59The references I had on him, I think I had eight in the end.
11:02And every single one of them started with, you'll never meet a better person,
11:06you'll never find a better guy, you'll never find a hard-working guy.
11:11It's about what he brings to the table.
11:15I think when we sit and look about what's moved on, what's retired, let's say.
11:22The players have retired.
11:23I've lost the two mats.
11:24I've lost my first two penalty killers.
11:26You know, defensive responsibilities.
11:30A guy, you know, Matty Barron, the guy that is prepared to play at the front of the net
11:34and be in the front of the net and I needed to replace that.
11:37I think Bally replaces that a little bit.
11:40I also think Liam will really replace that.
11:42He plays well and, you know, when you talk to people he's played with or played against,
11:48they say he's unmatched on the boards.
11:50He's strong, physical.
11:53Once he's on the boards with the puck, he comes away with it.
11:56So it's all those little things.
11:58He plays in the tough areas and plays a 200-foot game.
12:01It's just all the proper little hockey things that I think we need back in the line-up.
12:06You look at his stats, which people will, but it's not all about that, is it?
12:13No.
12:14If you've played Major Junior for four years, you're no scrub if you play four years at Major Junior.
12:20And every general manager and coach you've ever played for says,
12:24comments on the kind of person you are.
12:27So Quebec Major Junior, so it's basically on the level with the Western,
12:33the WHR and the OHR, the three best junior leagues in the world.
12:36So, yeah, you're no scrub to get to play that.
12:38You know, even in school, he's a team-first guy,
12:42so he does all the bits that everybody else doesn't want to do.
12:45So, you know, you can't go straight out of school
12:48and go and play for the East Coast team that ends up winning the championship.
12:53You know, you might not get points, but you're doing a job on that team.
12:56And many guys that can do a job.
12:59You know, you're not going to be very successful with 12 Kieran Browns.
13:03And you're not going to be, sorry, 20 Kieran Browns.
13:04You're not going to be very successful with 27 Gospels.
13:08Like, you need a mix of something to become a Hox team.
13:11Just in terms of the fact that he was at Trois-Riviers,
13:14or however you pronounce it, last year,
13:16I know he only got 11 games and they didn't go with him for the playoffs
13:20because I think he was saying that they got some people,
13:22obviously, as tends to happen at that time,
13:24they got some players come down from the AHL,
13:27which made them stronger for the playoffs.
13:28But the fact that he sort of made that transition
13:31on a quality team, like you say,
13:33from college hockey into his first days to pro,
13:38will stand him in good stead coming over here, won't it?
13:41Yeah, even that, you know,
13:43you've got a team that's going for a championship
13:44and they bring you in.
13:47He was obviously brought in to play a role and do a job,
13:49same as he is with us.
13:52So, it's obviously highly thought of
13:54if you even just go there and play 11 games
13:56for a team that's fighting for a championship.
13:58I haven't heard a bad thing said about him.
14:03I haven't heard a bad thing.
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