16 Luke Thirkettle

Bio:

Homegrown forward Luke Thirkettle is a product of the junior setup in Gillingham and rose through the ranks before making his senior debut for the Invicta Mustangs as a junior in the NIHL South’s second tier in 2015/16. In the seasons that followed the skater split his time between his junior sides and the Mustangs before committing to the Division 2 side full time in 2017/18.

In 2018/19 Luke Thirkettle then had his first taste of icing for the Dynamos as he stepped up to fill the void left by a number of injuries to the roster. His battling displays in eight late season outings suitably impressed and he was signed up to the Dynamos on a full time basis for the 2019/20 campaign. Last term the forward dressed in all but one of the team’s 42 fixtures, scored 4 goals, claimed 6 assists and so amassed 10 points. His work rate and desire to wear the team shirt saw his Player-Coach select him as his Coach’s Player of the Year at the end of season awards and now he returns for 2020/21 looking to continue his development.

Coach’s comments:

“Luke is a young, homegrown player with a hunger to play for this team and there was never of question of letting him move elsewhere for 2020/21. Luke is still developing but last year he showed he has a role to play at this level of the game. He grabbed a good number of points but also put in the effort that made him a worthy winner of the Coach’s Player of the Year award. I know he’s determined to continue his progress and he has a passion for this team that we wouldn’t be without. I look forward to working with him again when the new season gets underway.”