Cloutier keen to make most of Stingrays' lifeline

The 36-year-old Canadian player-coach arrives back in the UK on Wednesday morning, although on Monday he wasn't expecting to be in a position to bring his family back with him after the demise of the Stingrays was announced last Wednesday by long-standing owners Mike and Sue Pack.

But, less than a week later, the former Coventry Blaze captain - who has spent the majority of his impressive career in the AHL – is back doing what he loves best, thanks in no small part to his former employers in the West Midlands.

The takeover orchestrated by the Blaze management team of Mike Cowley, Andy Buxton and head coach Paul Thompson – all well-known by Cloutier following his two-year spell at the club between 2006-08 – leaves the Hull boss around six weeks to complete his roster before the season is expected to start for Stingrays in early October – a month after the league schedule begins for their rivals.

'No conflict of interest for new Stingrays owners'

It's believed the majority of the Hull roster signed up during the summer by Cloutier – a number of which were already returning from last year – will remain.

Only three of the 16-strong line-up are known to have signed for other clubs with British forward James Archer – signed on a two-way contract last season with Sheffield Scimitars – going to former Elite League outfit Manchester Phoenix, who are now plying their trade in the EPL.

Defenceman Matt Suderman quickly signed for league newcomers Dundee Stars, while Guillaume Lepine, the blue-liner lined-up to replace Stephen Burns who quit midway through his two-year deal, has been snapped up by Nottingham Panthers.

Cloutier – brought in by the Packs last summer for his first player-coach role - admitted the last week had been an unusual experience but added he was keen to focus on putting out a quality product on the Hull Arena ice come October.

"It's been a strange few days – particularly when I've been over in Canada away from it all and then I got that phone call saying things weren't going to happen this season," said Cloutier.

"But my sole focus is to make sure that we get the best product out there on the ice.

"I'm disappointed that we've lost a couple of guys because of what happened last week. You work so hard to get guys over for the season, so that's kind of hard to swallow.

"But there won't be a shortage of quality players available to bring in. There's a lot of players on try-outs with teams over in Europe and in North America and a lot will become available in the next few weeks."

While last season proved yet another disappointment for Hull fans, there was still a general sense of optimism around the club due largely to the kind of hockey Cloutier's side were able to produce by the end of the season, despite finishing bottom and then losing to Coventry over two legs in the first round of the play-offs.

Cloutier admitted Tuesday was a particularly hectic day after it became clear that the Blaze takeover of Stingrays was definitely going ahead. Whereas he was originally planning to make the trip alone, he happily packed a few more cases in order to bring his family back over to the UK with him.

"We're just glad we can come back to Hull because my family love it there – it's been a bit hectic here but it's going to be worth it," he added.

"It's a great area to live, my kids are set to go back to school, and it's a nice place to play hockey."