THE Basingstoke Bison have bolstered their blue line brigade with the re-signing of hard-hitting defenceman Joe Baird.

He is the third member of last season’s defensive core to return, as Kurt Reynolds and Declan Balmer have already re-signed.

The Southampton-born player began his career in the Bison junior set-up, making his senior debut at the age of 14 in season 1994/95.

As a teenager, Baird played in the Bison’s final year in the Superleague and then their first three seasons in the British National League.

During this time he was part of the Herd’s Benson and Hedges Plate triumphs against Slough and Guildford, scoring in both finals at the Sheffield Arena.

He then had spells at the Wightlink Raiders, Bracknell Bees and Swindon Wildcats,.

During this time, he guested for the Bison in 2008, helping them to the final of the Elite League Knockout Cup.

The 34-year-old blue liner returned to the Herd in their double-winning season of 2013/14 and was a big part of their defensive unit again last season.

He returned eight points, hitting the net once, and also amassed 64 minutes in penalties.

Bison player/coach Doug Sheppard is delighted to have Baird back and said: “He did a great job for us last season and I like his physical style of play.

“He is the leader of our D core and also got some minutes on the powerplay at the end of the season.”

Sheppard added: “Having three of last year’s defencemen back is great for us, as one of the big factors in our success last season was how tough teams found it to play against us.”

Baird linked up well with fellow Bison Brit Reynolds last season, so the team have a ready-made defensive pairing.

Sheppard did not rule out putting them together again, but also said: “This is one pairing which did very well for us last season, but once everyone is signed we will look at our options and work out the best combinations we have.”

Baird is delighted to be back and said: “I grew up playing in Basingstoke as a junior, so it is a place where I like playing.

“Hopefully we can do better than last season and win some more trophies.”

Talking about fellow defence men Reynolds and Balmer, Baird added: “Declan (Balmer) is a very good young player and Kurt (Reynolds) is as solid as they come.

“We have the makings of a very good defence already.”

Bison boss Sheppard is happy with the way his recruitment is going in the blue line department, but he confirmed that there will be few more additions, including an import defenceman and also a couple more home players.

Sheppard added: “I always like to have at least a five-man defensive unit and one of these will be an import.

“If things pan out, we may be able to go with six-man D, which would give us the depth to cover for injuries.”