The Invicta Dynamos have confirmed the arrival 19 year old Christopher Cooke after the blue liner signed on a 2-way contract with the EPL’s Guildford Flames.

His move to Gillingham is in a bid to secure more ice time and continue his development.

Chris Cooke has risen through the ranks in Guildford and his junior years culminated in him donning the ‘C’ of captain throughout 2011/12 as he helped guide his under 18s side to league glory – winning all but 2 of 18 fixtures.

As well as shoring up the strongest defence in the division, Cooke also contributed at the other end of the ice with 9 goals and 6 assists from his position back on the blue line.

His excellent promise inevitably saw him step up to the EPL roster in 2012/13 but, despite 35 appearances for the side in the league above, the skater found his campaign hampered by injuries.

Nevertheless he played a role as the Flames swept their way to league and cup glory – the team’s second in as many years.

In the summer Cooke then signed on for Guildford for another season but, despite pulling on the jersey 27 times and posting 1 assist and 4 penalty minutes, the defenceman has found his ice time limited and now joins the Dynamos in a bit to get the playing experience he needs to progress even further.

Speaking to guildfordflames.com, Chris Cooke’s current coach Paul Dixon described the blue liner’s move as the ideal step for the skater who will now primarily ice in Gillingham.

Dixon said, “Chris remains under contract with us, and we have the option to bring him back as required, but at the moment we feel, and he agrees, that he is not getting nearly enough quality game ice time.”

“That is not a good situation for him or the Flames organisation in terms of moving his development forward. He will continue to train with us but we simply need to get him more playing time than we can offer at this moment”.

Dixon then said Cooke was raring to go when he added, “Chris is very enthusiastic and is eager to move his game to the next level. This will allow him a much better immediate opportunity to get some games in, build some strength and confidence while continuing to seek his opportunity to be a more regular figure in the Flames line-up”.

Meanwhile Invicta Dynamos Head Coach Kevin Parrish was equally pleased by the move when he said, “I’m very happy to have Chris join us in Kent and I’ve no doubt he will be a valuable asset on the Mos blue line.”

“He is young but arrives full of promise and the hunger to get to work and improve his game yet further. He has an excellent pedigree following his impressive displays for the Guildford juniors and then his year and a half in the EPL and, having already seen him in training, I think he’ll be a great addition to our roster”.

Chris Cooke’s arrival at the Dynamos bolsters the team’s squad to 18 with the Mos now in a position to ice 6 defencemen for the first time since the departure of Adam McNicoll.

The blue liner should make his debut this weekend as the side travel to Chelmsford to take on the Chieftains before hosting the Wightlink Raiders in Gillingham a day later with faceoff at the usual time of 5.15pm.

Photo supplied by Dave Steadman.