Chelmsford Chieftains
City	Chelmsford, Essex, England
League	NIHL
Division	Division One South
Founded	1987
Home arena	Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre
Colors	White, Amber & Black
Head coach	Mark Saunders
Affiliates	Peterborough Phantoms, NIHL National Chelmsford Warriors, NIHL 2
Franchise history
1987 – Present	Chelmsford Chieftains

The Chelmsford Chieftains are an Ice Hockey team based in Chelmsford, Essex that is currently playing in the NIHL South Division 1. Since the team was founded in 1987, the Chieftains have played their home games at the Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre.

Chelmsford's first ever game at the Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre was a challenge match against Peterborough Titans on Saturday 5 September 1987. The Chieftains won the game 11–4 in front of 300 spectators. Stuart Steeves (Chelmsford) scored the first ever goal at the venue at 2.07 in the first period.

After competing in the English Premier Ice Hockey League for eight seasons between 1998 and 2008 (having been absent from the league from 2000 until 2002), the Chelmsford Chieftains withdrew from the league at the end of the 2007/2008 season, and instead entered the English National Ice Hockey League. The hockey governing body in the UK, the EIHA, informed the club that they would be playing in Division 1 for the 2008/2009 season. However, at the league A.G.M., many of the clubs supported a motion to overturn the league's decision and the Chieftains were placed in Division 2. The Chieftains had already assembled a squad capable of playing in Division 1 and at such a late stage, the squad could not be rebuilt. The outcome was that the Chieftains started the season in a very strong position.

In the entire 2008/2009 season, the Chieftains allowed a single point, to the Invicta Mustangs at the start of the season. From then until the end of the season, the Chieftains won every game, with an average score of 8–2.

In 2009/10, they finished fourth in the league.

In the 2010/11 season, the Chieftains contended for top spot. Only in the final few weeks did the Wightlink Raiders cement their place at the top of the table. The Raiders had been the only side the Chieftains had failed to beat during the regular season.

The Chieftains after their ENL1 South play-off win over Wightlink Raiders.

At the conclusion of the 2010/11 season, Dean Birrell announced he would be moving to the role of Director of Coaching in Chelmsford, which would oversee the coaching of the Chieftains and Warriors. Taking his place would be MK Lightning forward Gary Clarke, who takes over in a player-coach role for the 2011-12 campaign.

Trophies

1989 Essex Cup
1990/91 Autumn Trophy
1992/93 British League Entry Playoffs
1996/97 Essex/Kent Cup
1996/97 Essex Cup
1999/00 English League Premier Division Playoffs
1999/00 Data Vision Millenium Cup
1999/00 English League Premier Division
2008/09 English National League South Division 2
2010/11 English National League South Division 1 Playoffs
2011/12 English National League South Division 1 Playoffs
2011/12 Essex Cup
2012/13 National Ice Hockey League South Division 1
2012/13 National Ice Hockey League South Division 1 Playoffs
2013/14 National Ice Hockey League South Division 1
2014/15 National Ice Hockey League South Division 1
2018/19 National Ice Hockey League South Division 2

Runners up in major competitions excluding league

1996/97 Playoff finalists
1997/98 Playoff finalists
1995/96 Autumn Trophy Finalists
2010/11 English National League South Division 1
2011/12 English National League South Division 1
2012/13 National Ice Hockey League South Cup
2012/13 South East Cup

2017/18 National Ice Hockey League South Division 2

League history

^[1]

Club roster 2022-23

(*) Denotes a Non-British Trained player (Import)

Netminders
No.	Nat.	Player	Catches	Date of birth	Place of birth	Acquired	Contract
35		Luca Tessadri	L	(2005-02-10) 10 February 2005	Basildon, England	2021 from Raiders U18	U18 Junior
39		Petr Čech	R	(1982-05-20) 20 May 1982	Plzeň, Czech Republic	2022 from Guildford Phoenix	22/23
44		Sonny Phillips	L	(1997-04-27) 27 April 1997	Hornchurch, England	2014 from Chelmsford Warriors	22/23

Defencemen
No.	Nat.	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth	Acquired	Contract
12		Jaden Boolkah		(2003-10-01) 1 October 2003	England	2019 from Chelmsford U18	22/23
36		Callum Burnett	R	(2001-01-19) 19 January 2001	England	2022 from Raiders IHC	22/23
4		Neil Liddiard	R	(1978-05-07) 7 May 1978	Swindon, England	2022 from Swindon Wildcats	22/23
47		Daniel Fay		(2000-03-04) 4 March 2000	England	2022 from Raiders IHC	22/23
93		Daniel Hitchings	R	(2002-02-18) 18 February 2002	England	2022 from Raiders 2	22/23
91		Casey Wilson		2002 (age 20)	England	2022 from Raiders 2	22/23
40		Archie Salisbury	L	(2006-08-08) 8 August 2006	England	2022 from Peterborough Phantoms	Two-Way

Forwards
No.	Nat.	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth	Acquired	Contract
3		T.J. Fillery	R	(1996-05-18) 18 May 1996	Harold Wood, England	2017 from Chelmsford Warriors	22/23
8		Cameron Bartlett	R	(1993-11-22) 22 November 1993	Romford, England	2018 from Invicta Dynamos	22/23
9		Grant Bartlett	R	(1993-11-22) 22 November 1993	Romford, England	2018 from Invicta Dynamos	22/23
10		Kieran Raynor	R	(1998-03-23) 23 March 1998	Glasgow, Scotland	2021 from Peterborough Phantoms 2	22/23
11		'Sasha' Maltsev*	R	(2004-11-26) 26 November 2004	Pyriatyn, Ukraine	2022 from MHK Sokil U20	22/23
14		Bailey Chittock	R	(1997-06-20) 20 June 1997	Chelmsford, England	2021 from Raiders 2	22/23
15		Justin Dennison		2006 (age 16)	England	2022 from Peterborough Phantoms 2	Two-Way
16		Leo Markey		2004 (age 18)	England	2022 from Peterborough Phantoms 2	Two-Way
17		Harry Harcup		(2000-01-17) 17 January 2000	England	2022 from Slough Jets	22/23
20		Ross Clark	R	(2002-04-16) 16 April 2002	Peterborough, England	2022 from Raiders IHC	22/23
24		Ollie Baldock	R	(1998-01-15) 15 January 1998	Chelmsford, England	2022 from Raiders IHC	22/23
		Mason Webster	R	(1994-08-06) 6 August 1994	Basildon, England	2022 from Invicta Dynamos	22/23
		Brandon Webster		(2000-05-26) 26 May 2000	Basildon, England	2022 from Invicta Dynamos	22/23
74		Chris Beckett	R	(2005-03-17) 17 March 2005	Basildon, England	2021 from Chelmsford U18	U18 Junior
89		James Pentecost	R	(1989-10-09) 9 October 1989	Peterborough, England	2021 from Haringey Huskies	22/23

Team Staff
No.	Nat.	Name	Acquired	Role	Place of birth	Joined From
		Mark Saunders	2022/23	Head Coach	Kingston upon Thames, England	Raiders 2, NIHL 1
		Neil Liddiard	2022/23	Player-Assistant Coach	Swindon, England	Swindon Wildcats, NIHL National

2021/22 Outgoing

Outgoing
No.	Nat.	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth	Leaving For
11		Darren Brown	R	(1988-08-02) 2 August 1988	Chelmsford, England	Retired
17		Stanislav Lascek	L	(1986-01-17) 17 January 1986	Martin, Slovakia	Invicta Dynamos, NIHL 1
21		Andrew Munroe	R	(1982-08-02) 2 August 1982	Ashington, England	Retired
26		Julian Smith	R	(1987-02-06) 6 February 1987	Peterborough, England	Retired
43		Ethan Reid	R	(2002-06-03) 3 June 2002	Scotland	Raiders IHC, NIHL National
88		Matt Turner	R	(1988-11-18) 18 November 1988	Romford, England	Retired
91		James Ayling	L	(1992-05-15) 15 May 1992	Chelmsford, England	Retired

References