The Bespoke Guardians Swindon Wildcats can today confirm that Neil Liddiard has signed a contract until the end of the 21/22 NIHL Season. This however will be his final season playing for the Wildcats as the 43-year-old has decided to retire at the end of the campaign.

Heading into what will be his 29th professional campaign, Lidds will once again be a crucial part of the Wildcats defensive core and joins Stevie Whitfield on the blue-line for 21/22. His career began in the 1993-94 season icing in 28 games for the Wildcats in the BD1 league.

Neil has become a stalwart of British Ice Hockey after finding success in 14 trophies at a domestic level and winning Silver & Bronze medal in two of his five senior GB tournaments. In these 5 tournaments he iced 25 times for his country in World Championships and Olympic Qualifying campaigns.

Since returning to Swindon in the summer of 2015 from the Guildford Flames, Lidds has gone on to ice in 287 games for the Wildcats and must have blocked thousands of shots in that time.

Speaking after confirming one more year for his #44, Head Coach Aaron Nell added:

“Having Neil back for one more year is great for the team. He’s given so much to Ice Hockey in the UK and the fact he’s still playing as well as he is considering he’s 43 is incredible. He has achieved so much in his career and has been a vital part of our locker-room since coming back 6 years ago.

We want to challenge for trophies and titles every season, but the fact this will be Lidds’ final season playing the game will make the team want to win that little bit more. We want Lidds to enjoy every second of his final season and I’m sure there will plenty of fans wanting to wish him the best.

For now, though, he is already eager to get going and is counting down the days until he gets back onto the ice. It’s great to have Neil back for another year and I hope he has the most enjoyable season of his career!

Stay tuned to swindonwildcats.com for an exclusive interview with #44 later today where he talks about the reasons for hanging his skates up in 2022

For the 21/22 season Neil will also be sponsored by Face2FaceHR a company which provide tailored HR solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. In Swindon your consultant is Rachel Weaven a HR professional with over 15 years’ experience. For more information you can visit their website – https://face2facehr.com/hr-consultant-swindon/