Manchester Storm have signed defenseman Paul Swindlehurst on loan from Nottingham Panthers.

The 22-year-old Great Britain international joined the Panthers last summer having spent the previous two seasons with Dundee Stars.

He has already made nearly 150 Elite League appearances and spent time with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks for a rookie tournament in 2014.

Storm Player/Coach Omar Pacha commented: “I’m delighted. Paul is a young, quality British ‘D’ man, who is still massively keen to keep learning and develop as a player.

“He will get that opportunity here at the Storm to develop his game further and, from what we have been told, he is a superb teammate, so we expect him to fit right into our side with ease.

“We are in the middle of a huge play-off push presently, and Paul’s addition will help this push greatly.”

Storm GM Neil Russell added: “When Corey (Neilson) and I spoke I was very excited at the prospect of us signing such a quality young ‘D’ man in Paul for the remainder of the season.

“The player was travelling back from international duty with GB on Monday, so we only managed to get this deal sorted quite late on in the night.

“The fact that Paul grew up watching Storm as a kid and being from the Greater Manchester area, with his family still living locally, made this move a no-brainer for us.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have Paul on board with the Storm, and I’m sure all the fans will give him a fantastic homecoming reception tomorrow night.”

Swindlehurst will make his debut tomorrow evening at home to Sheffield Steelers.

(Image permission: Karl Denham)