Canadian duo head home having left lasting impact on the Knights

For Ryan Aldridge, in an ideal world, Matt Barron and Noah McMullin would both be returning for a third season at Leeds Knights come September.

- by Phil Harrison

But, after two hugely successful years in West Yorkshire, a spell that brought two NIHL National league titles and a first-ever National Cup for the team, the import duo are retiring from playing heading home to Canada permanently, taking up career opportunities they feel are too good to turn down.

While neither will continue to showcase their talent and skills on the ice, both will remain in the game in a coaching capacity.

For Barron, that means working under coaching dad Laurie for what Knights' head coach Aldridge believes will be the start of a very successful coaching career. McMullin, meanwhile, will be forging a new career in golf course managementhis other great sporting lovewhile keeping his hand in coaching with his older brother at U-14. AAA level.

Combined with the retirement of veteran centre Matt Haywoodwhose last game came in Saturday's thrilling, yet heartbreaking 5-4 overtime defeat to Milton Keynes Lightning in the play-off semi-final in Coventry - Aldridge has a busy summer ahead trying to fill three big holes on his roster.

There will no doubt be changes elsewhere, too. Aldridge said after the defeat in Coventry that the Knights would undergo a summer "rebuild", something that will contrast sharply with the minor tweaks he made last year.

It is nothing new to a man who has delivered three years of unrivalled success in the second tier of the UK game and is a challenge he will embrace.