COVENTRY Blaze have announced the return of British forward Nathan Ripley for the 2023/24 Elite League season.
Ripley joined the club on a full time basis last season and scored 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 66 Elite League competition games.
The 21-year-old joins Tyler Kirkup and David Clements as confirmed returnees on the Blaze roster for next season.
Head coach, Danny Stewart, said: “Rips showed an incredible amount of improvement last season. It was a big jump for him, but he handled it very well and we are glad to have him back.
“We feel he can take the next step this season and have more responsibility in our group. He’s a great kid that wants to get better, and we know he will.”
Prior to moving to the Elite League, Ripley registered 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 40 regular season games in the NIHL with Sheffield Steeldogs.
And that campaign saw him lift the play-off trophy after an excellent campaign with the Steeldogs in 2021/22 having won the NIHL Cup the previous term with Sheffield.
He progressed through the Sheffield junior system and also spent two years in the Canadian Ontario Hockey Academy.
