Hull Seahawks - Declan Balmer providing necessary foundation for hometown club to be serious contender

Earlier this week, the 28-year-old agreed a contract extension with the East Yorkshire club, who have put the troubles of their debut 2022-23 NIHL National campaign firmly behind them with an impressive second season which has already seen them secure a place in the National Cup final.

Barring a spectacular collapse from all three teams currently above them in the regular season league standings, the championship is out of their grasp, a 3-1 defeat at leaders Leeds Knights on Thursday leaving them 20 points adrift of their Yorkshire rivals with two other teams - Milton Keynes Lightning and Swindon Wildcats - also in between them.

But the two-leg Cup final - against the Lightning next month - and the play-offs that arrive in early April, mean Matty Davies’s team have a realistic chance of finishing the season with two pieces of silverware.

One of the main reasons they find themselves in such a promising position, according to head coach Davies, is defenceman Balmer.

Having started his hockey journey in the city’s junior system, he made the switch to Bradford Bulldogs aged 15 where he went on to make his senior debut in the old English National League Two.

As he moved up the pyramid, further stops came in Peterborough, Solway and Basingstoke before he broke into the Elite League with Manchester Storm, arriving in Altrincham two years after Davies had been there for the franchise’s initial relaunch when they replaced Hull Stingrays in the UK’s top tier.

Balmer remained in Cheshire for three seasons until the pandemic. When hockey returned, so did he, picking his career up again with Swindon Wildcats, where he helped them win the Autumn Cup at the Knights’ and Davies’ expense in 2021-22.

When Davies returned home the following Spring to launch the Seahawks, Balmer was one of the first calls he made.

“He’s massive for us - he’s brought everything I hoped he would do when I signed him up for that first season,” said Davies.

“When you get a player like that, from Hull, you need to keep hold of them. He’d play 60 minutes every night if I asked him to. He does everything that is asked and he’s a true, proper warrior and is someone that I would never consider letting leave.

“It also means a hell of a lot to him playing for this team - you can tell that when he’s out there on the ice.

“Coming through the junior system, he left early and went off and played in lots of different places, different cities so for him, last year was his first proper year back in Hull and now he’s going to be staying here for two more after this season’s done with.”

This season in particular has seen the full value of Balmer to his hometown club, forming - with import Brock Bartholomew - what some regard as the top defensive pairing in the league.

His Canadian partner may have caught the eye more with his offensive abilities, but Balmer has never been far behind.

Bartholomew has posted 18 goals and 29 assists in 41 league games. Balmer is just six points further back, having added 35 assists to six goals.

It’s no surprise Davies was so keen to keep Balmer at ‘home’ for as long as possible.

“He’s going to be here for a long time and is massive for this club - him and Brock this year have been pretty incredible together,” added Davies. “We’ve needed Dec in these first two seasons for the organisation and we’ll need him as much, if not more, going forward.

“He’s a good foundation for the team to be built around and, as I knew he would be, he’s a big leader for us both on and off the ice.

“He’ll play through anything - blocking shots, he’ll stick up for every one of his boys and he’s been so good for us both defensively and offensively this year

“As one of our assistant captains, he’s got a letter on his shirt for a reason and he’s proved why every single night for us.”