Hull Seahawks coach Matty Davies prepared to be patient in quest for NIHL National success

As they prepare for a tough opening weekend against Swindon Wildcats and Milton Keynes Lightning, not only are the second-tier newcomers still waiting for the visas that will allow key import duo Emil Svec and Andrej Themár to finally travel to the UK, but they will also be missing Davies himself, as well as homegrown captain Sam Towner

Davies continues to be troubled by a niggling lower-body injury that he would rather not risk in case of making the issue worse, while the influential Towner is still suffering from a head injury sustained during a pre-season warm-up game against Leeds Knights.

For Davies, the last two weekends playing in the Yorkshire Cup against Leeds and Sheffield Steeldogs have provided an invaluable insight into life behind the bench - no doubt earlier than he anticipated.

When he first started the venture back in April with co-owners Ian Mowforth and Joe Lamplough – the trio determined to acknowledge the past with their adoption of the Seahawks name - Davies fully intended being alongside his players out on the ice. And while he acknowledges the size of the task facing his below-strength team over the next 48 hours, he is excited about the chance to put professional hockey back on the map in his hometown on a long-term basis.

“You know, it’s not brilliant to be without so many key players for our first league game, but it is not the end of the world either,” said Davies, whose life has been pretty much non-stop since news of the Seahawks’ formation was first released.

“We know it’s going to be tough this weekend, up against two of the best teams this league has to offer. But if we come out of this with nothing to show for our efforts, we’ve got plenty of time to make up points over the course of this season.

“We played well last Sunday in Sheffield and we’ll have to match that and we’ll make sure that the lads are well-drilled in terms of how we want them to play.

“It’s asking a lot of the lads, particularly the younger ones, but it is what it is. We’ll come out of this a lot stronger.”

It’s not clear when Davies will make his return to action, but he believes he has adapted well to life behind the bench.

“It’s something that I’m comfortable with,” he added. “In my job at my gym I’ve been coaching people for years, obviously this is different but essentially it is still about getting your message across to people to get them to go out and do what you want them to.

“I feel like I’ve let the lads down a bit by not being at full-strength but, on the other side, it’s probably a good thing that I am just on the bench at the minute. It’s easier to get my message out there and I can just concentrate on the coaching.”

The last two weekends have brought several testing moments for Davies and his players – not least an 8-1 home defeat by Leeds – but the 32-year-old former GB international centre has seen enough signs to give him encouragement for the weeks and months ahead.

"This weekend is where it all starts for real,” he said. We’ve had a big summer of planning and getting it to this point and looking back on it now we’re on the eve of the season, it’s pleasing that we’ve actually made it happen.

“We’re at the point where we have got a team, we’ve got shirts, we’ve got fans who are coming to watch us and everything behind the scenes is getting better day by day.

“We have a club, Hull is back and I feel like we’ve done a good job of getting it to this point.

“Now it is just a case of building on the work we’ve done and getting it to as good a place on the ice as I can. We can get all the lads here that we are having in and then with that comes fans and, hopefully, success.”

The reaction to hockey being back at Hull at second-tier level has been pleasing for the ownership group, who were quietly confident that an acknowledgement of the past – and in particular the original Humbershide Seahawks – would be warmly welcomed.

Davies and his partners are under no illusions that if they are to stand any chance of success, the local fans need to buy in. For that to happen, on-ice success helps, but they will almost certainly be given a large dollop of slack from fans just grateful to have pro hockey back in town.

"The response has been brilliant,” said Davies. “We knew it was going to being some good nostalgia back, getting the name back and the colours back to the original colours.

"But you never really know until it happens and to see the response from the old fans that used to come, and the Pirates’ fans also and even going back to Seahawks fans, I know people that haven’t been or years are now wanting to come and asking about us.

"And there is a buzz about it – we’re trying to make this club back to where it was, in terms of being a powerhouse in this league and that’s our objective.

"And that all starts this season with getting the fans on board early on and buying in to what we’re trying to do and it’s imperative that we get that.”

Regardless of results this weekend, tomorrow’s opening home opener against the Lightning will provide an evening of celebration when former Hull Stingrays’ forward Jereme Tendler returns to see his No 27 jersey retired at Hull Ice Arena.

Tendler plundered 299 points – including 178 goals – in just 240 games during four seasons with the Stingrays between 2010-14.

Davies, centreman to Tendler’s free-scoring winger, said: “He was one of the most loved players to come through here.

"But that was as much to do with how he was off the ice as on the ice – he was such a nice, relaxed guy. He had the best shot and the biggest knack for scoring goals I’ve ever seen. He fully deserves this.”

LEEDS KNIGHTS will look to carry their unbeaten pre-season form into their home opener against defending NIHL National regular season champions Telford Tigers tonight.

Ryan Aldridge’s team are much-changed from last time out, adding 13 new faces, including Canadian import forwards Grant Cooper and Zach Brooks. Tomorrow brings them a road trip to Raiders IHC.

Sheffield Steeldogs, meanwhile, head to Milton Keynes Lightning tonight before opening up their home schedule against Swindon Wildcats tomorrow.

In the Elite League, Sheffield Steelers host Manchester Storm in the Challenge Cup tonight (7pm) before resuming league action at Dundee Stars tomorrow.