Invicta Dynamos joint owner Kevin Parrish has announced that the club has begun plans for the 2020/21 season with the return of Player-Coach Anthony Leone and Slovakian forward Tomas Banovsky.

After eight seasons with the Dynamos as a player, Anthony Leone took over the reigns as coach in the summer of 2019 and led the side to a fifth place finish in a campaign that was cut short due to Covid-19. On the ice he had one of his most prolific years to date – finding the target 32 times and claiming 28 assists for 60 points in 39 outings.

Now he will be hoping for more success as he continues to call the shots from the bench and lead the team on the ice for 2020/21.

Speaking on the return of Anthony Leone during an interview on the club’s livestream on Friday evening, club joint owner Kevin Parrish said, “Having spoken to Anthony following the end of the season I am more than happy for him to continue in the role as coach and he is more than happy to carry on.”

“I feel he did a great job last season after adjusting to how tough it is to recruit players in the summer, he’s a person I know we can trust and he has the club’s best interests at heart. I look forward to working with him in 2020/21”.

Alongside the return of Player-Coach Leone, Parrish also delighted supporters with the news that Slovakian forward Tomas Banovsky would be staying put in Gillingham for another campaign.

Banovsky arrived in Kent in December as a midseason alteration to the roster and instantly became a fans’ favourite with what would become his trademark coast-to-coast goals.

He finished the hockey year having found the net 21 times and chipped in with 17 assists for 38 points in 19 games. His performances naturally drew the attention of teams in the league above but the Dynamos have moved quickly to secure his services for another term and ensure he continues to wear number 92 in Gillingham.

Talking on the return of Tomas Banovsky, Kevin Parrish said, “Tomas is back with us for the new season and we’re delighted to have him back. He wants to make a life for himself over here and he enjoyed the time he had with us last season.”

“He’s a highly skilled player, he fitted in well, he’s passionate about the sport, he got on great with the boys and I’m very happy that he agreed terms. When you sign a new import player it’s always a bit of a gamble but you could see from his very first training session that he was a class player with vision, speed and a great work rate and we were fortunate to get hold of him.”

“I know the fans will be delighted to see him back and we look forward to having him in the 92 jersey for the full campaign”.

With two names on the roster for 2020/21 already, Parrish has confirmed that the club will continue to plan for the new season as normal despite the current uncertainty caused by the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.

Picture supplied by Dave Trevallion.