Romford Junior Raiders have announced the re-signing of defenceman Dan Hitchings ahead of the 2021/22 season.

The 19-year-old returns following a long lay-off after missing the majority of the 2019/20 season through injury and of course the 2020/21 season never took place due to the ongoing pandemic.

Head coach Mark Saunders insists the youngster is a key piece to the jugsaw.

"Dan returning to the team this season is another core building block of this team," Saunders said.

"His experience gained, despite still being a younger member of the team, will steer him well for the upcoming season as he takes on more responsibility and plays more situations come game nights.

"He is a Romford player through and through, knows what we expect as a team and is now fighting

fit and raring to get started to get back to his best while develop further too. I look forward to seeing him push forward as the 21-22 season gets moving."

Hitchings added: "I’m looking forward to getting going again for another season at Romford. It’s been along time coming now after being injured throughout the last campaign and losing the season to COVID the past year.

"After the last year it’s going be nice for everyone to get back in the rink and get back to normality.

"Hopefully with the team we have we can provide the entertainment and excitement back to the fans and work hard to achieve success throughout the season."

Hitchings joins the likes of Danny Milton, Alan Lack and Ewan Hill on the roster.