Leeds Knights feeling the benefit of Bálint Pákozdi's positive vibe

Everything he has seen since then from the 26-year-old forward has merely confirmed he made the right decision.

It wasn’t as if his ability to put points up was the main reason for Aldridge bringing him north from former club Swindon Wildcats.

It helped that over four years in Wiltshire - where Aldridge first worked with the left-hander at the Okanagan Hockey Academy - Pákozdi was a consistent performer, last season seeing him post a senior career-best of 62 points, including 17 goals, from 61 league and play-off games.

In Leeds, he has picked up where he left off in Swindon - bridged by time spent during the summer with New Zealand’s Botany Storm - and is currently joint top points-scorer with Kieran Brown, both players boasting three goals and six assists.

After a tough opening weekend which brought defeats to Telford Tigers and Peterborough Phantoms, the Knights bounced back in style last week with back-to-back 8-2 wins over perennial strugglers, Bristol Pitbulls.

In many ways, it was perhaps the perfect opponent for a Leeds team that looked out-of-sorts on opening night at home Telford and which left themselves too much to do in Peterborough despite dominating the second and third periods.

For Aldridge, Budapest-born Pákozdi is proving a hugely influential figure both on and off the ice.

“I am really pleased with the impact he has had,” said Aldridge. “I just wish I’d had him earlier.

“From the minute he walks into the locker room, to the minute he walks out at night, I love everything he brings to the table.

“It’s not just his general positivity, it is his effort level, his relentlessness - he always wants to be better.

“He makes people around him work harder and makes people around him better people - both on and off the ice.

“Also, he’s not scared to say when things aren’t good enough - and I think we’ve probably missed that. Actually, since I’ve been here, I don’t think we’ve really had that kind of character - one that isn’t scared to step up and say ‘this isn’t good enough’.

“He is getting points right now which is great to see but that isn’t why he was brought in here. I brought him in for his character - he’s the one person around the league that if you get to pick somebody for your team, I’d pick him every time.”

Leeds will look to back up their four-point haul against Bristol with another double-header this weekend, one that takes them to Romford Raiders on Saturday night before the teams do battle again 24 hours later at Elland Road Ice Arena.

Aldridge will be without defenceman Jordan Griffin who is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury as well as forward Mac Howlett who is laid low by an illness.