Matty Davies confident his forward thinking at Hull Seahawks will bring NIHL National success

Teams in the UK’s second tier are allowed an extra overseas player during 2025-26 compared to the three they have been allowed in the previous two years.

It is expected the vast majority of teams will opt for at least one import defenceman on their roster, but Davies has gone the other way in what some observers perceive to be a foolhardy, all-out attacking approach.

Other than their inaugural campaign, Davies’ team has been regarded as one of the most attack-minded teams in NIHL National.

But it is a style that has so far failed to yield any silverware, a situation head coach Davies is desperate to end.

And after his decision to bring back Czechia-born forward Emil Svec for a third season was confirmed last week – adding to fellow returning imports Owen Sobchak and Johnny Corneil plus newcomer Jordan Stallard – Davies’ has found his recruitment policy come into question, moreso from outsiders.

Davies, however, is adamant that strengthening his forward options is the best way to increase his team’s chances of success, with an ability to regularly roll four lines meaning he is less likely to ‘over-play’ his top six forwards, something he acknowledges proved costly too often last season.

“For me, the biggest change I could make to the team this year was this,” said Davies. “I felt like if I signed an import D-man and I didn’t sign the British forwards that I wanted to get in, then we would have been a very similar team to last year.

“In my opinion, the changes I have made to the team this summer will have a bigger impact than what an import D-man would have had - that’s my take on it.

“The proof will be in the pudding, it either works or it doesn’t - but I think we’re going to be able to play a much more intense-style of game, both throughout the full 60 minutes and throughout the whole year because we will have so much depth in our line-up.”

So far during the off-season – as well as former Fife Flyers’ forward Stallard – Davies has added Leeds Knights’ experienced centre Ethan Hehir, as well as Caly Robertson from Solway Sharks, who has more than 120 Elite League games under his belt.

The weekend saw Hehir joined in Hull by Knights’ team-mate, Latvian-born defenceman Krisjanis Fulganis – often on the periphery during games for Leeds – while it was confirmed that experienced centre James Spurr and Scottish D-man Calum McGill would not be returning.

With his top players less ‘gassed’ as a result of the changes he has made so far, Davies is also confident he has the necessary talent among his defensive core – marshalled as they will be by former GB, Sheffield Steelers’ and Belfast Giants’ defenceman, Dave Phillips – to keep his team competitive.

Hull-born Phillips missed almost half of last season through injury, but Davies expects him to play a full role next time out, aided by an able supporting cast that so far includes the likes of Josh Hodgkinson, Tommy Spraggon and Tom Stubley.

Davies takes exception to the suggestions made by some observers on social media that he is leaving his team too exposed on the back end, having concentrated his import quote up front.

“It’s easy for people on the outside to look at what we’ve done and say ‘ yeah, but you’ve just got lots of forwards’ – but what I say to that is, I know the players that I’ve got,” insisted Davies.

“I know what the downsides are to those players, I know what didn’t work last year and, essentially, a lot of it came down to minutes played and the minutes that they had to play and that is where we fell off in my opinion.

“And to suggest that our D is worse than other teams in this league is crazy. I rate our D very highly.

“We’re going to have six-seven D-men that can all play, that are all good skaters and that can all move the puck well.

“I just find it funny that people are saying the D we have are worse than what other teams have – I just don’t see it that way.”