ZACH Sullivan has had a great week. He has won an award as the Best Young Player in the English Premier League and re-signed for the Basingstoke Bison.

It is often forgotten he is still only 18 as he excelled on the Herd’s blue line last season and is a great start to the team’s defence for the forthcoming season.

He is a solid performer and played up against the top forward lines of the EPL alongside Alex Symonds, who signed for Swindon last week. The Great Britain junior international certainly looks on course to one day wear the senior national shirt and Bison boss Doug Sheppard is delighted to have him back for another season.

Sheppard said: “He is a pleasure to coach and is a great talent. His positioning is so good for a young player and he will only improve even more this season.

“I think the award he picked up is very deserved.”

Sullivan was pleased with the award, voted for by fans of icemen-epl.com, and to be back at the Bison.

“I must thank everyone who voted for me and I can’t wait for the new season to start,” he said. “I will be working hard over the summer and strengthen up a few areas of my game.”

Sullivan will be in action tomorrow night alongside the Bison’s Cam Wynn and Matt Selby as England under-19s take on Scotland in the curtain raiser to the annual conference weekend in Hull.

Looking forward to the game against many of his GB teammates, the defenceman said: “You have to put aside friendships off the ice when you play and there is pressure on us as England have always won.”

The rest of the weekend in Hull will see the conference sides of South West, South East, Midlands, North and Scotland battle it out.

Six Bison junior players have been selected for the South West teams. They are: Lucy Beal, Travis Penny and Sam Childs in the under-11s, Beal and Emily Harris for the under-16s and Jordan Lawday and Hallam Wilson for the under-15s.