Thunder are delighted to welcome back Will Rees and Ivo Gaytanski, who will continue their development and transition into senior hockey with the club after impressing over the last season, where they both held ‘prospect’ status in partnership with MK Storm Juniors.

Both players enjoyed their first seasons with Thunder last year. Will, appeared in 10 games for the club and Ivo 12, including registering his first senior point with an assist at Romford late in the season. As part of our first wave of Project Thunderstorm prospects, the forward pair progressed their game extensively over the course of the season, whilst still fulfilling their commitments to the Storm U19’s – Will, who was U19 captain, registered 13 points in 16 games. Ivo also played 16 games for the U19’s, providing 20 points during a successful season for the side who finished second in the league.

Ivo is looking forward to his first full season of senior hockey:

I’m excited to stay with Thunder for my first full year in seniors. Last year as a prospect I felt like my game developed a lot and I am looking forward to continuing to see progress and contribute more. We’ve got a great group and I think this will be a really progressive year for us.

Will commented on his decision to stay with Thunder:

Really looking forward to getting back with Thunder ahead of the new season. I got so much out of my prospect season and I’m relishing the chance to move into senior hockey full time, and continue to push my game to new levels.

Head Coach Will Fry is looking forward to working with the two young players again:

Will and Ivo really bought into our prospect program last season and worked tirelessly to gain maximum value from the experiences we could offer them. We had to lean on both heavily at points last year due to injury and availability but they came in and performed well in some really tough games in NIHL 1, proving that they have the capability already to do well at senior level. We’ve made a commitment to pushing these young players hard and demonstrating the talent that Milton Keynes has in the junior system, we’ll now be looking at Will and Ivo to continue the progress they’ve already made and support them to transition to senior hockey full time into what will hopefully be a long and prosperous career with the club or beyond.

Will and Ivo’s Home & Away jerseys are available for Own and Loan now, at a cost of £80 each. Will has chosen to wear the number 17 for the upcoming season, and Ivo will wear number 86.

Please email mkthundericehockey@gmail.com to reserve yours.