Hull Seahawks have guaranteed a place in the NIHL playoffs – we headed along to shine a light on what the team brings to the city
The Hull Seahawks are currently carving out a significant space in the National Ice Hockey League having guaranteed a place in the playoffs. Competing alongside ten other teams from across the UK, spanning from Scotland to London, the squad maintains a rigorous schedule, travelling nationwide for games at weekends.
This intense rotation is balanced against the players’ personal lives, as most balance their time on the ice with full-time careers or education. Callum Gladding, Hull Seahawks Commercial & Media Manager, explained the level of dedication required, saying: “It’s a huge commitment for these guys who are studying or working throughout the week, especially those with young families. It’s not like rugby or football where you can do it full time and retire off the back of it, potentially they have to do it as well as a trade or job around this commitment too.”
The dedication of the team is matched by a growing and passionate local fanbase who turn out for the games at Hull Ice Arena. Callum said: “On average we have around 1,350/1,400 fans join us every single week which is phenomenal. The arena seats 1,550 and with two sell-outs already this season we are hoping for a few more before we finish at the end of April.
“It’s very loud on match days, especially if the game’s close or if there’s a fight. Ut’s brilliant and people need to come and watch and experience the atmosphere for themselves – you wouldn’t even realise that this happens in Hull.”
The club’s impact extends well beyond the rink through an active community and school outreach programme. Callum said: “We visit schools on a weekly basis and deliver assemblies which raise the awareness of the sport. We get the kids to try on the kit, shoot some pucks into goals, get all the kids cheering and we give them a special offer to come watch the games as well where kids go free and adults get a really reduced rate.
“We have also just started a hockey coaching programme, where the players go into schools for a six-week programme. They teach the school kids hockey from week one dribbling through to week six where they hold a proper game of hockey. We’ve had great positive feedback from this and we see the school kids coming to the games – it’s brilliant.”
Charity work is also a cornerstone of the Seahawks’ identity. This season, the club collaborated with KCOM for its annual ‘Air the Bear’ event in early December. Callum said: “We had just under 450 bears which we donated to the KCOM charities, and we then visited the charities and handed them out which was phenomenal, giving back and putting smiles on faces.
“We also went to Hull Royal where a young fan had a burst appendix so some of the players went along and took her a card and a jersey from the game that she missed out on. She’s back in the rink now which is really nice but we have such a community and family vibe here.”
Leading the team on the ice is Hull-born captain Bobby Chamberlain, who turned professional at 16. Reflecting on his journey, Bobby said: “Originally I played for Hull when I was 16 and it was the Stingrays. That was when Matty the coach played as well, I played a couple of years for them then moved away, then came back playing together again with the Pirates. I moved away again during Covid and then came back and I’m now in my third season with the Seahawks.”
Bobby believes the sport offers something unique to the city’s sporting landscape, saying: “It’s something different, it’s not the football or rugby which people are used too, it’s skating on ice at speed. People that do it and learn to play appreciate how hard it is to be good at it. It’s really good atmosphere in here on match days, the fans are good and they get right behind the team.”
The roster is a blend of local talent and international experience. Josh Hodgkinson said: “I’ve been playing ice hockey for 20 years, since I was 4. I grew up in Belfast, played in America for a year and this is my third season with Hull Seahawks. There’s a lot that gets people interested in the sport, from the goal scoring to it being a family night out.
“We have players from all over the world – we have three Canadians, a guy from the Czech Republic and our new goalie is from Finland. The coach does a lot of work outside of the rink to bring these guys in and bring the standard up in the UK.”
Noah Kääriäinen, a player of dual British and Finnish nationality, echoed the sentiment regarding the sport’s appeal. He said: “My Dad played ice hockey, he took me along to a game when I was really young, probably about 3 or 4 years old and I’ve never looked back since. It’s always been a part of my life. It’s fast paced, it’s aggressive, it’s unique in its own way.”
The driving force behind the club’s resurgence is coach and founder Matty Davies. With 30 years in the sport, he stepped up to lead when the future of professional hockey in Hull looked uncertain. “I was coming towards the end of my career”, he said. “I had a bad knee and at that time there was nobody looking like they would take it over so I thought if I don’t do it I don’t think anyone else will and I felt I had enough grip on what it needed to be so here we are four years down the line.”
Since the club’s founding in 2022, progress has been steady. Matty noted: “The first year we finished at the bottom which was tough but we had got the ball rolling. After that I started bringing back people like Bobby and some other Hull lads too who I had played with so we gradually built it back to a squad that can challenge, compete and win.
“We have finished fourth for the past two years, the top eight make playoffs and we’ve made that comfortably for the past two years and just made the playoffs again for this season. The goal now is to push and win the playoffs.”
Matty is proud of the club’s status as a family-friendly alternative to traditional sports. He said: “I don’t think people realise how big of a sport it is, it’s the most watched indoor sport in Europe. It’s heavily watched and although it isn’t in the media much anymore we are comfortably the fourth biggest sport in the city – the football, the two rugby teams and then us. Our big marketing strategy is to drive to get more kids in, the game in itself has a lot of stops, a lot of whistles, and when the stopping happens there is music on, for kids it’s like one big party.”
Matty also acknowledges the high expectations of the local crowd: “Fans in Hull will let you know when they are not happy but they are fiercely loyal and they get behind us and want us to win. People from Hull are very passionate and they want us to win, there is pressure that comes with that which you put on yourself to have the best team and wanting to deliver the best results.”
Despite the international recruitment, Matty remains committed to the club’s roots. He said: “Being from Hull coming through the junior system here I am really big on getting Hull lads into the team. We have many Hull lads and I have a lot of young lads coming on training with aspirations to get to the next level. We do a good job with the young lads of Hull and are keen to give them that chance.”
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