Baking Pakozdi joins the Leeds Knights!

Balint joins the Knights after five strong seasons with the Swindon Wildcats, bringing experience and a relentless work ethic to the line-up and is expected to add depth to the Knights’ roster.

Head Coach Ryan Aldridge is no stranger to Balint’s qualities, having coached him during his junior development years and said “I coached Bali at OHA UK from 2013 to 2017 so I know him very well, I know the type of player and person he is. He’s a hard worker and brings a great attitude to everything he does so I’m really pleased to have him on board.”

Balint came through the junior ranks under the guidance of Head Coach Ryan Aldridge at Okanagan Hockey Academy UK, where he served as assistant captain. He represented Hungary at the U18 level before moving abroad to further his development. Following a season in Sweden at Visby Roma, he headed to the US to play for the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs for 3 season before returning to the UK for a short stint with the Sheffield Steelers during the 2020/21 season. Balint then spent the past five seasons in Swindon, where he established himself as a key contributor, securing a total of 186 points and proving his value as a consistent offensive threat in the NIHL National.

Balint is eager to get started and said “I am very excited for this new chapter in my career and moving up north to Leeds. I have known Ryan for a lot of years now and I have had some of my best years working with him when I was younger so I'm hoping to do the same this time around. I've always heard great things about the team and the city so I'm looking forward to meeting the boys and moving to a new city. To the fans, it's always one of the loudest buildings going up there as an away team so I'm excited to hear what it's like playing in front of you and meeting you guys. Let's add some more silverware!”