Hull Seahawks boss Matty Davies gives update on imports and roster for 2023-24 NIHL National season

Although it may be some time before the identity of Hull’s second and third import players are revealed – Czech forward Emil Svec has already been confirmed as returning – player-coach Davies is miles ahead of where he found himself at the same time last year.

Then, Davies and his co-owners were rushing to launch a new franchise both on and off the ice, at times feeding off scraps in terms of the squad having started their recruitment so much later than their second-tier rivals.

But already, with more than three months still to go before the start of the season, Davies has 14 confirmed signings, adding that he is ‘more or less’ there with the remainder of his roster.

“There was no way we were going to go through what we did last year,” said Davies, whose team finished bottom of the regular standings in their inaugural campaign. “It was all a little bit rushed and last minute and I was having to get people in on two-way deals and stuff like that.

“And it was around late January, early February when I realised we weren’t going to make the play-offs, that I started to plan ahead for next season.

“We’ve got all three imports sorted, two forwards and a D-man. Emil was great for us last year and has obviously already been announced and the other two guys are North Americans and I’m really excited about getting them in, too.”

And while the Seahawks are upgrading in a bid to ensure they are a contender next time out and a shoo-in for the play-offs, so too are their rivals.

“There are a couple of teams who haven’t announced many signings yet, Telford being one, but this league is looking like it’s going to be a really good league again this year, probably better than last year,” added Davies.

“From what I’ve seen, every team has got better. I’m really impressed with recruitment around the league and that is only going to make it more competitive across the board. That can only be a good thing.”