Leeds Knights set to lose leading points scorer Grant Cooper as he targets move to Elite League - with Belfast Giants and Glasgow Clan in the frame

The Knights confirmed the news on Tuesday morning, in a move which will leave many of the team’s fans shell-shocked given the 26-year-old’s sensational impact since arriving in the summer.

In just 28 games, Cooper has broken through the 60-point mark, that milestone arriving via a hat-trick in Sunday night’s 7-2 win over Yorkshire rivals Hull Seahawks. He leads the NIHL National in scoring.

Rumours started to emerge over the weekend that Cooper may be on his way, when the Knights were engaged in league games against Sheffield Steeldogs and Hull Seahawks.

Head coach Ryan Aldridge said he was disappointed to lose Cooper – who has been linked with both Glasgow Clan and Belfast Giants – particularly with the Knights so well-placed to land silverware in only their second season.

They currently sit top of the regular season standings and are due to play Yorkshire rivals the Steeldogs in the semi-finals of the NIHL Cup later this month.

The reassurance for Aldridge is that he has four other players – Kieran Brown, Matt Haywood, Cole Shudra and import forward Zach Brooks – who have also scored 50 points or more this season.

A replacement is already lined up and who it is hoped he will be in place before Cooper exits later this month. No firm date has been fixed for Cooper’s exit, but he is expected to ice in this weekend’s double-header against Bristol Pitbulls.

“It’s a tough time to lose any player,” said Aldridge. “Especially at such a crucial time of the season with a cup semi- final on the horizon as well as us pushing for the regular season title.

“Grant has been seeking an opportunity in the Elite league and he feels now is the right time for him to make that happen. He has obviously had a massive impact for us since coming in.

"It was always the plan for him to come over here and that by playing with us he could try and earn himself an Elite League deal for next season. The opportunity to do that just happens to have come along earlier for him than anyone planned.

“We would never stand in the way of any player who has an opportunity to play at a higher level, regardless of who they are. We wish him well going forward and thank him for all his efforts here and being a professional while playing out his notice.”

Cooper, who came to Leeds on the back of a solid debut season in the East Coast league with Reading Royals, is believed to have handed in his notice shortly before Christmas.

Whoever comes in at this mid-season point has big skates to fill, with the pressure on to help the Knights maintain the kind of scintillating form which sees them enter the second half of the campaign in such a strong position in both cup and league.

Cooper has been a big part of that, hitting the ground running in pre-season challenge games and Hull and Sheffield and continuing his impressive form once things got underway for real in mid-September.