Manchester Storm retain Declan Balmer

Manchester Storm have announced that defenceman Declan Balmer will return ahead of the 2019/20 Elite League season.

Balmer joined the club in 2017, having previously spent three years playing for Basingstoke Bison.

After re-signing for the club, Balmer said: “Manchester is an amazing city for starters and I feel as a coach, Finner (Ryan Finnerty) is perfect for my constant development and the style he likes to play.

Did you see Fridays news!? 👇

🚨DECLAN BALMER RETURNS!🚨

The British defenceman returns to the club for his third season! ⛈

More on #️⃣9️⃣4️⃣ here 👉🏻🌐https://t.co/S2u4BALP7L#WeAreStorm ⛈ | #EIHL | #Manchester | #ATTWWY pic.twitter.com/YJhEbLpX3v

— Manchester Storm (@Mcr_Storm) May 19, 2019

There’s also been at outgoing for the club; Linden Springer won’t be returning to Storm next season.

Springer spent two seasons with the club after making the move from Canada.

Head coach Ryan Finnerty said: “Springs wanted a significant pay raise once he returned back home. We negotiated and agreed on a number. I felt we came outside our comfort zone, but we loved what he brought to our programme to justify the increase.

“It was of course disappointing to hear he had chosen to move on and sign with another club after agreeing terms with us recently. Things like this happen in hockey and we will move on.