Chris Allen To Play In Nottingham
Chris Allen (right) with Nottingham coach Matt Bradbury – Photo from NottinghamLions.co.uk
Last season, Allen was the league’s top scoring defenseman with the Solihull Barons, collecting 12 goals and 24 assists in only 20 games.
“Chris’ signing has already created such a buzz around the dressing room with the younger and older players – They will have never sampled anything like this before and it will take a little time for them to adjust but this is all part of their learning and there will be no one better than someone like Chris to support them along the way,” said Nottingham Lions head coach Matt Bradbury in a team news release.
Allen, who had a brief sting in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Florida Panthers, is the first player with NHL experience to suit up for the Nottingham Lions in club history.
“From what I saw last season the Lions look to have everything together, they have a very good core in the dressing room and throughout the staff. – You can always tell which teams are professional and the Lions are, they won the league championship for a reason,” said Allen via the team’s website.
“I’m very excited to be joining as I feel they will be a contender to win another league title – I missed out with the Barons by only a few wins last season and it was very frustrating – I felt the leagues top four teams were very close and everyone had a chance until the last month or so – I feel it will be a repeat this year with the current talent in the league.”
Allen, who is 35-years-old, has experience in four North American professional leagues, and seven European countries.
Allen played for the Blenheim Blades in 1992-1993.