Leeds Knights: Matt Haywood excited by opportunity of fresh start with Knights in NIHL National

The 31-year-old Doncaster-born centre last played in the second tier of the British game back in 2009-10, a season spent with Sheffield Scimitars which also saw him step up and make a handful of appearances for the Elite League’s Sheffield Steelers.

Then, aged just 20, he took a chance on furthering his career by moving more than 250 miles north to Glasgow to take on a roster spot with new EIHL franchise, Braehead Clan.

He never came home, establishing himself as a firm fan favourite and going on to captain the side during the Covid-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

MORE – Hull Seahawks make sure they have quality goaltending options in deal with Sheffield Steelers

But the 2021-22 season was to prove his last. On Monday night Haywood released a statement through his Twitter account announcing his departure from the club after 12 memorable years, a move confirmed by the club’s own statement shortly after.

His statement revealed his clear disappointment at the way his exit was handled - at one point stating ‘I am not interested in being strung along at the bottom of the barrel’ - but he is determined to move on.

And, in Leeds Knights, he is confident he has found the perfect next move.

“I came up to Glasgow as a 19-year-old and I’ve left with a wife, two kids - it has shaped my life, so it’s going to be weird not playing there,” he said.

“But I couldn’t be more excited about a fresh start and getting going in Leeds and making sure I enjoy my hockey there moving forward.

“I know from experience and talking to other people that this is a very competitive league and I’m not taking anything for granted, or thinking that it’s going to be easy in any way.

“I’m a hard-working two-way guy and hopefully I can help my team-mates and my linemates out to score some points and make sure we have some success next season. After being in Glasgow for so long, I’ve definitely come out of it as a better, all-round player.

“I’m a lot better at doing the simple things that make a big difference to your team-mates

“People say I do a lot of the little things that people don’t really notice - I take great pride in that.”

The capture of Haywood, whose older brother Lee played for Sheffield Steeldogs last season, is a significant statement by the Knights, who already have netminder Sam Gospel, defenceman Sam Zajac and forwards Lewis Baldwin and Kieran Brown secured on their 2022-23 roster.

Head coach Ryan Aldridge believes adding Haywood is going to have a considerably positive impact on their next campaign.

“I’d been let down by a couple of British players this year and if they had taken those agreements that they’d initially agreed to, then this would probably never have happened,” said Aldridge, who was first introduced to Haywood by Zajac, his former Clan team-mate of three seasons.

“So I think this was something that was meant to happen and I’m delighted it has. His personality is going to have a bigger and more positive impact on our team than those other guys anyway

“He wants to play. He knows he’s going to play big minutes for us and be a big part of our team, he’s thinking about it for the long-term, too, not just for the short-term - he’s interested in being a big part of what we’re trying to build here.”