Leeds Knights - Finn Bradon making the most of the older, wiser heads around him
THE fact Finn Bradon is regarded as one of the most talented young British players around in NIHL National is down to a number of factors.
Hard work, dedication, supportive coaching and natural ability have all undoubtedly helped, but so does the support and guidance provided by more experienced team-mates.
In Bradon’s case, given he is still only 19, there is no shortage of older heads around him on the bench.
But, given he plays centre, it perhaps comes as no surprise that his chief guiding light at Leeds Knights over the past couple of seasons has been veteran Matt Haywood.
With 11 seasons in the Elite League at Glasgow Clan behind him - and three more campaign with the Knights - Haywood is not short on experience or advice when it comes to those around him, an attribute Bradon has taken full advantage of.
“That has helped me a lot, just with the little things that you wouldn’t necessarily think about - particularly when you’ve been playing in juniors and stuff,” said Bradon, who signed a new two-year deal with the Knights earlier this week.
“Matty (Haywood) has been really great with me, with his experience it’s been great to learn from him and play alongside him as well.
“He just has a calm reassuring presence - a proper dad figure. And as one of the youngest players, I feel I benefit from that a lot.
“It’s not like you have to go and ask him all the time, either, he’s straight there if there’s something he feels he can help you with.
“Matt Barron and Matt Bissonnette, too, they are all really helpful.”
One of the reasons Haywood was persuaded to make the switch from Clan to Leeds was the team’s need for a veteran presence, something he has provided bucketloads of since arriving in the Autumn of 2022.
“We’ve always known that Finn is a talented kid, he’s obviously got the whole package and the skills and he can score goals,” said Haywood, who is back on the ice tonight when the Knights host Sheffield Steeldogs at Elland Road Ice Arena (7.30pm).
“He sees the ice very well and he’s very willing to learn, too.
“Putting him in that centre spot on that third line, cementing that line, has really seen him thrive and he’s also been on the power play for quite a while. I’m really pleased for him, he’s a good kid.”
Leeds go into Friday night’s derby on home ice looking to extend their unbeaten hold over their Yorkshire rivals to 14 games, the Steeldogs not having enjoyed local bragging rights for more than two years.
The Steeldogs will be keen to bounce back from Tuesday’s night’s 6-0 reverse at home to the Knights when they were a distant second-best.
That came on the back of a crushing 5-4 defeat at Hull Seahawks, a game where they had been 4-3 ahead with five minutes remaining.
Prior to that, they had enjoyed a four-game winning streak and remain well-paced for the play-offs, five points back off fourth-placed Hull in sixth.
Imports Walker Sommer and Elmeri Hallfors will be relied upon more since the loss of Sam Tremblay to the Elite League with Sheffield Steelers for the remainder of the season.
Sommer reached 50 goals for the season with two markers in the defeat at Hull and tops the league’s goalscoring chart, four ahead of Peterborough’s Canadian forward Cameron Hough.