Leeds Knights: Import Noah McMullin hails Knights fans for being loudest he's ever known

The Canadian defenceman has proved a huge hit since arriving for the 2023-24 NIHL National campaign, overcoming an early injury blow before the regular season commenced to play a pivotal role in the Knights retaining their league title.

Now he is hoping to add to that by helping the Knights also retain their play-off crown, with just a point required from this weekend’s double-header against already-eliminated Bees IHC in order to make it to the final four at Coventry’s SkyDome Arena next week.

One thing 25-year-old McMullin knows he and the team can rely on this weekend - and next should they secure their passage to the West Midlands - is the backing of the Knights’ fans.

“Oh, they are loud,” said McMullin after practice earlier this week at Elland Road Ice Arena. “Even in games coming down the stretch there, where we’d already won the league and they perhaps didn’t mean so much, they were still shouting as loudly for us as they have all season.

“They are a rowdy bunch in there.”

McMullin has also been a winner back in home in Canada where, together with current Knights’ team-mate Matt Barron, he lifted an MJAHL Championship with Yarmouth Mariners in 2018-19.

But even though fans there were fulsome in their backing of the Mariners, McMullin says Leeds’ supporters are next level in terms of the noise they generate.

“I’ve never heard a building quite this loud wherever I’ve played before,” added the left-hander about ‘The Castle’.

“In Yarmouth, where Matty and I played together, that would get loud, but not like this. It’s a special group of fans here and we’re very thankful for the support they give us.”