VIDEO: Cloutier confident of success with Stingrays

Player-coach Sylvain Cloutier is determined and, more importantly, confident, however, that will not be the case this time around.

Come the early end of last season, Cloutier wasn’t long in deciding who he wanted to retain and who would be heading for the exit door.

What he believes he has got for the 2013-14 season is his most experienced and deepest roster, capable of lifting the Conference title they came within two points of lifting last time out as, along with the four Scottish teams, they ensured the race for regional honours went down to the the wire.

For too long Hull have relied on the goalscoring prowess of forward Jereme Tendler, who has led the goalscoring charts in each of the three seasons he has been at the club and who, despite the understandable interest from other teams, has remained fiercely loyal to the East Yorkshire club.

Consistent secondary scoring has often been a problem for the Stingrays, the reliability of Jason Silverthorn aside. Last season, American winger Dominic Osman, was second to Tendler with 21 goals.

He has not been brought back for a third season but, in Guillaume Doucet, Cloutier believes he may have found the answer to his secondary scoring conundrum, the Canadian having already been prolific in pre-season ahead of Saturday night’s opener at last season’s treble winners Nottingham Panthers.

Elsewhere, the return of Derek Campbell for a second spell will have been well-received, the 33-year-old making himself a fans’ favourite last time out, both for his willingness to stand up for his team-mates, as well as his obvious skill and goalscoring prowess - something noticed mopre than ever with his hat-trick against former club Sheffield Steelers in Hull’s famous play-off victory two seasons ago.

The development of of British players such as Matthew Davies and Tom Squires is another plus point for Hull, who seem determined to bring through more youngsters, preferably from the local area, with Sam Towner, Bobby Chamberlain and Jamie Chilcott shining examples.

Last season’s failure to reach the post-season will have hurt Cloutier, particularly after the thrill of reaching the play-off semi-finals in Nottingham 12 months earlier.

But, as he embarks upon his fifth season in charge at Hull Arena, Cloutier is more optimistic than he ever has been before a campaign.

“We’ve had our fair share of ups and downs with ownership issues - it’s been quite an experience at times,” admitted Cloutier. “But I think this year might be the most experienced roster we’ve had during my time in Hull and the most depth that we’ve had (in that time).

“I’m really looking forward to this season the most since I came in here. I really think we have a chance in our Conference, even though we’re not the favourites, I believe we do have a chance and the guys in the room believe we do.”

For any coach, recruitment is key and Hull’s new-look team will be facing a baptism of fire at the National Ice Centre. But Cloutier believes he has got the balance right.

“I’m really happy with the guys that we’ve recruited,” added Cloutier, whose team follow up their trip to Nottingham with their first home game of the season against Conference rivals Braehead Clan on Sunday.

“Doucet I’m sure is going to be a fan favourite before the season is over, he brings a lot of speed and skill up front and he’s been showing that he’s got a good scoring touch around the net.

“That’s only going to help (Jereme) Tendler too, take some of the pressure off him - he’s been scoring loads of goals for us each season and it would be nice if somebody else can chip in and when Carl Lauzon comes in I would say that’s going to add even more to our offence.”

As for beginning their season at the home of the defending champions, Cloutier expects Corey Neilson’s team to come out all guns blazing.

“It’s their home opener, you know they are going to come out hard,” he said. “They are the best team in the country and they are the biggest club. Corey Neilson has again built a team to win all the trophies again and we know it’s going to be tough.

“We’ve got to go there and be sound defensively and make sure we don’t take any chances and give them any odd-man rushes. The key word will be discipline because we know how good their powerplay has been in the past and, with the players they have added, it is only going to be as good this year.”