Milton Keynes developed Sam Purcell will return to Thunder for next season, and despite having another year of U19 eligibility will be prioritising senior hockey for the first time. The 17 year old featured in 28 games for Thunder in last season’s NIHL 1 campaign, registering 3 points including his first senior goal. He also had a strong season with the MK Storm U19’s registering 22 points in 14 appearances.

Sam is looking forward to returning to Thunder for what will be his third season representing the club, but his first without prospect status, making his debut as a full squad member. Sam said;

For my last junior year, I’m choosing to prioritise Thunder over U19’s, and I’m really excited to return for the 25/26 season. Last season was a tough one, but I can’t wait to get working and hopefully get some better results this season, and dropping down to NIHL 2 will allow us to compete more effectively, which should result in a much better performing environment – I can’t wait to get going!

Thunder Head Coach – Will Fry, was impressed with the development seen in Sam’s game last season, and made sure to act quickly to secure the youngster’s signature for the upcoming season;

We saw a huge amount of growth and maturity in Sam over the course of last season. We started the year with a talented but rough around the edges player that we weren’t quite sure long term what sort of role he would grow into. It’s testament to Sam’s work ethic and dedication that over the course of a challenging season for the club he embraced the adversity and used it to accelerate his learning into a reliable first line option by the end of it. We wanted to move quickly to get Sam back with us, not only did he demonstrate quality on the ice, but led by example to other prospects and senior players in the room as well – demonstrating leadership skills and exactly the type of mindset and focus that we want from our players. I think this year will be a huge one for Sam’s development and Thunder fans can be excited by the prospect of seeing a truly home grown player reach new levels.

Sam is the first of many exciting announcements over the coming weeks, so keep an eye on Thunder Media channels to avoid missing out!

Sam’s Home & Away jerseys are available for Own and Loan now, at a cost of £80 each. Please email mkthundericehockey@gmail.com to reserve yours.