Hull Seahawks Jack Musil looking to make up for lost time after finding the hunger again

Having come through the city’s junior system as a kid, Musil was barely 16 when he made the switch to North America.

Several years in juniors - split between Canada and then the USA - were followed by four seasons of NCAA hockey.

A return to the UK saw Musil sign for the Elite League’s Glasgow Clan in 2018 where a promising start was interrupted by injury issues that he struggled to fully shake the following season, one that was ended early by the pandemic.

He iced for Sheffield Steelers in the behind-closed-doors Elite Series in 2021, but until last summer, he barely touched the ice.

Back home and having got himself a Masters Degree in sports development at Leeds Beckett University, Musil eventually got the bug again last year.

A conversation with Hull Seahawks head coach Matty Davies – who he knew from his junior days in Hull – led to him making a competitive return. His first game back proved something of a baptism of fire, a 6-1 home defeat on Boxing Day to Yorkshire rivals Leeds Knights.

A few more tough nights followed for Davies and his team before Musil found himself part of a roster that proved almost unstoppable for the remainder of the season, playing an instrumental role as the Seahawks lost just one of their last 16 league games to finish runners-up - their highest-ever NIHL National finish.

When it came to the play-offs, Hull recovered from a sticky start to go all the way to the final where Musil ended his season as he had started it, with defeat to Leeds.

Musil contributed eight goals and 13 assists in his 35 appearances but, most importantly, the hunger and the enjoyment had returned - helped in part by playing alongside the likes of captain Bobby Chamberlain and defenceman Jamie Chilcott, two of his team-mates from his junior days.

There was little to consider when the chance to return for the 2026-27 season was presented by Davies, a deal that was announced towards the end of April.

“Those first few weeks were very difficult, you know, especially the skating side of things,” said Musil.

"To be honest, when I was away (from the game), I sort of tried to forget about it, if that makes sense. I'd follow it to a degree, I'd know how the Seahawks were getting on and I'd keep an eye on the sport in general.

"But I probably avoided watching and keeping up-to-date with it.

“Then once I started playing again and got back into the hockey environment with the team and some of my old friends, I realised how much I did miss it in that moment when I came back.

“And it brought back memories of why I had played it for so long. In hindsight, I wouldn't say I regret what happened in terms of taking those years off, but I'm certainly glad I'm back.”

To the point where there was little hesitation for Musil when the chance to return for the 2026-27 season came about.

“I enjoyed it so much last season that I didn't really need to think twice about coming back at all,” he added.

“I do think the group as a whole, we sort of came together. We just started to win games, even winning games we probably shouldn't have.

“And I do think the way that it ended (in Coventry), we've got something to prove and we've got a goal now.

“From my perspective, we have a clear goal of what we want, really. And I think it's going to fire us up a bit going into next season.

“It gives us a belief that we can win. Even in the semi-final when we played Swindon, we really started to believe that ‘yeah, we can do this’ - before that, we didn't really know what we were capable of doing.

“Something we really can build on is not be satisfied with that good run of form, but come back as a group and push on even further.”

On his nine years in North America, Musil recalls how he gained a new perspective on playing the sport – the kind of habits that have stuck with him to this day.

"It's a different environment going over from England, where it's almost like you're just playing for fun,” he explained. “It's more professional – they take it very seriously.

“And so I think I learned a lot from certain people who I was around, not just necessarily hockey-wise, but just in life, how to be professional and how to live your life – just certain habits and stuff.

“It definitely opened my eyes to different ways of doing things, especially in hockey, it was a different style, a different approach – more full-on.”

Seahawks boss Davies sees Musil as a key component for the team if they are to build on the achievements of last season and end their wait for silverware.

“I love that kid,” said Davies. “He's just such a smart hockey player and players like him, they are just not out there. He's just very, very smart, his hockey IQ. He knows the game really well.

“He's come back and he's done a great job for us. But he himself wants to do more, he wants to be better. I mean, he'd not been on the ice for three, four years - he'd fully quit the game.

“And then he was, like, thrust back into the game and ended up playing a big, big role for us.”