Last season Thunder and MK Storm Junior Ice Hockey Club announced a formal partnership – ‘Project Thunderstorm’ – that would guarantee development opportunities for talented MK developed players with Thunder alongside their ongoing junior commitments, to help inspire and prepare them for the transition to senior hockey. Initial impacts of the project was felt strongly on both sides, with a number of our prospects featuring heavily during the 2024-25 NIHL 1 campaign, as well as players training with Thunder having significant impact on both the U16 and U19’s successes. Most importantly, we saw significant growth and confidence in all of our young athletes over the course of the season and are now delighted to announce the initial selections for the 2025-26 Season, which also include the addition of ‘Prospect Plus’ status, where those players dual registered with the U19’s will wear their own Thunder jersey with name and number.

Thunder General Manager, Lauren Cox and Head Coach, Will Fry were delighted to attend the MK Storm end of season awards on Sunday 8th June to inform all age groups and parents of the first year achievements of the project, and also to welcome our prospects in front of their peer groups. The prospect selections are as follows:

Prospect – MK Storm U16 – ALFIE ADAMS

2010 born Alfie joins Thunder as a prospect where he will train with the club until he is eligible to play after his 16th birthday. After playing a key role for the Championship Winning U16’s last year Alfie also made 3 appearances for the U19’s who he will undoubtedly feature for more next season.

Prospect Plus – LEWIS CONROY

Lewis spent last season training with Thunder as a U16 prospect, and is now eligible to make his debut for the club when the 2025-26 season starts. Brother of Charlie, the 2009 born forward had a stand out junior season in the 2024-25 campaign where he led the scoring for both the U16’s and U19’s with a combined 82 points in just 27 games. He also iced for Guildford U18’s 6 times registering 3 points in 6 games. Lewis is also a member of the England NTDP programme and has represented England in each of the past 3 seasons.

Prospect Plus – ALFIE DUGUID

Also 2009 born, Netminder Alfie will be eligible to feature for Thunder in NIHL 2 next season. Having trained with the club for the entire 2024/25 season he made the net his own for the U16’s accumulating an impressive 0.922 SVV, conceding less than a goal a game in the regular season on the way to winning silverware. He also played regularly for the U19s with an SVV of 0.864 over 4 games. Alfie has also been selected to represent Great Britain BIPHA u17s team in Italy in July (Inline Puck).

Prospect Plus – JOSH FURNELL

Josh turns 16 in August (2009) and will be looking forward to the opportunity of icing for Thunder next season as he also trained with the club for most of the 2024-25 season. During this period he has made the transition from forward to defenceman, and impressed with 29 points in 14 games for the U16’s during their national championship run. Playing up for 15 games with the U19’s – providing 8 goals, Josh also represented Peterborough U16’s 8 times as well.

Prospect Plus – HARRY FOSTER

2008 born Harry has already made his senior debut with Thunder as a U18 prospect last season, and will transition to Prospect Plus for the year ahead. He featured in defence 12 times in the 2024-25 NIHL 1 campaign and demonstrated his raw talent on a number of occasions. Unfortunately his season was cut short through injury but we are looking forward to welcoming him back for next season and all parties are excited to push him forward into a bigger role as his abilities develop.

Thunder Head Coach, Will Fry, commented on the selection of next season’s prospects, as well as the addition of the ‘Prospect Plus’ role:

We’re very pleased to be able to announce the initial selections of our prospects for next season, and delighted that we are already seeing so many benefits of ‘Project Thunderstorm’ after just one year. We are already seeing the impact that exposure at senior level is having on these young athletes, and the trickle down effect that is having as they return to train and play with the junior teams. Our partnership with the junior club is stronger than ever, and the dynamic of our Thunder roster is already trending in the direction we all want it to – with a core of players trained and developed in the city that are inspiring and leading the next generation. This will only get stronger with time and we will continue to work with Storm across a number of areas to push the project forwards and produce high end local talent.

The addition of the prospect plus role for this season will strengthen the inspirational pillar, enabling these young players to earn their own Thunder jersey is a fantastic reward for their hard work, commitment and dedication through juniors. But also links to our offer for free entry to all junior members, who will be able to easily recognise them on the ice, witness first hand their impact and share the experiences, solidifying the aspirational pathway and hopefully encourage them to follow in the footsteps of their peers.

Alfie Adams trained with us shortly for the end of the season and we really like the potential in his game, so the next year will be similar to the path that Lewis and Josh took last year in terms of learning elite details and habits in training, and applying them in his Junior matches. Lewis, Josh and Alfie Duguid are all ready to step onto the ice for us competitively now, something which all of them deserve for their hard work and growth over the past 10 months. All three are players which we feel will make a huge jump forwards through the experience they will gain in playing senior matches for the first time. Harry Foster iced for us last year and demonstrated his capability and potential, still a bit rough around the edges but engaged and has a great skillset and brain, it was unfortunate his season was cut short due to injury but we are excited to have him back ready to go in September.

All prospect plus jerseys will be available for Own & Loan at a price of £80 per jersey. Please email mkthundericehockey@gmail.com to reserve yours – squad numbers will be confirmed in the coming weeks following further player signing announcements.