Bulldogs quickly building 2026-27 NIHL North Two roster

ALL ABOARD (from left): Paul Lane, Declan Kime, Sam Bolwell, Jacob Brownlie and Abbie Culshaw are among the signings confirmed so far by the Bulldogs for the 2026-27 season.

IT’S been a busy couple of weeks down at The Pound as Bradford Bulldogs player-coach Dave Williams and his coaching team go about piecing together their roster ahead of the 2026-27 NIHL North Two season. 

With just a few days to go before the first pre-season game of the season - when Deeside Dragons visit Bradford Ice Arena on Sunday, August 23 (face-off 5.30pm) - the Bulldogs squad is close to being filled, with just a few more names to be revealed. 

In net, there is the welcome return of Sam Bolwell as #1 goaltender for the coming campaign, returning to the Bulldogs after a two-year spell away, part of which saw her ice for 25-26 North Two champions, Sutton Sting, last season.

Two more goalies are expected to be announced in the coming days, with Jake Lowndes having moved across to North Two rivals Deeside due to work commitments.

In defence, the familiar faces of Ben Darbyshire, Kieron Furloing, Eden Cooper and Jacob Brownlie return for another season, alongside Williams, with Paul Litchfield making the step up from Bradford Ice Wolves for his first taste of Bulldogs hockey. 

With player-assistant coach Josh Stockton already confirmed back in July, he is joined on the forward core by Paul Lane, who will be looking to make a similar positive impact to the one he had on the team when he joined midway through the 25-26 campaign. 

Lane will also be working as the team’s conditioning coach with work starting last week on pre-season fitness workouts and assessments. 

Elsewhere up front, Kacper Andrukianiec, Lucas Vince, Abbie Culshaw and Tyler Hall return. 

We also welcome back Declan Kime, who has spent the past two seasons splitting his time between Leeds Knights 2 in North One and, last season, at Kingston Sharks and will be keen to emulate the form he showed when last with the Bulldogs in 23-24 when he scored 16 goals and 18 assists in 29 league and play-off games. 

So far there is one new face in the shape Chris Waites, who after playing last season at Leeds Lightning is looking forward to making the step up to North Two. 

“Things have been taking shape nicely during the summer,” said player-coach Dave Williams. “We’ve got a new coaching set-up and I really like the way the roster is coming together. 

“We were massively disappointed with the way last season went and the minimum aim for us this time around is to make sure we get into the play-offs. 

“To do that we need to make sure we are competitive in every single game and I’m confident we can do that.”

Other players to move on this summer are Joe Howie (Sutton Sting), Dan Johns (Kingston Sharks), Ollie Massey (Deeside) and Ben Fox (Deeside). We thank them for their time and effort while with the Bulldogs and wish them all the best for the future.

Aaron Jordan, who returned to the Bulldogs last season, has also moved on, taking up the exciting opportunity of the head coach role for Leeds Knights 2 in North One. We wish ‘Airz’ the best of luck in his new role.

More signings are expected in the coming days, so keep an eye out on our social media accounts for announcements.