The pair, both expected to leave the Hull Arena this summer after just a season with the club, have been confirmed by their respective agents as returning to the leagues they joined the Stingrays from last summer.
In his sophomore season in Hull Knight hit professional career best figures, scoring seven times, adding 13 assists and 131 penalty minutes while emerging as a true fans favourite, particularly following tussles with the likes of Sean McMorrow and Brad Voth.
However, the 29 year old, who is not thought to have been offered a deal to return to Hull, will rejoin the CHL where he joined the Stingrays from last summer and where he is likely to be relied on more for his on-ice presence than the offensive numbers which coach Sylvain Cloutier and the EIHL on the whole require from non-British players. He will return to the CHL with an, as yet, unnamed team, where last time out he recorded two goals and two assists in over 50 games with Colorado and New Mexico, following a season in Hull in which he likely doubled his time on the ice during each game and improved as a player as a result.
Meanwhile, Hutchinson will return to the English Premier League (EPL) after a wholly disappointing spell at the Hull Arena. Big things were expected of 'Hutch' after he played a massive part in Peterborough's EPL championship winning side of 08/09, in which he contributed a huge 58 points in 54 games from the blueline, however, for whatever reason, be it the higher standard of competition or the Stingrays struggles, he neither troubled the scorers nor provided Cloutier with the defensive solidity required and like Knight, he was an unlikely returnee.
The favoured destination for the 26 year old North East native seems to be a return to Peterborough in an attempt to reignite the success of 08/09 under former Stingrays netminder Curtis Cruickshank, who has recently been named head coach of the Cambridgeshire based side.
While the Stingrays off-season news has so far been confined to the assumed return of coach Cloutier and Stephen Burns for the second year of their two year contracts, unlike messr Huppe, the rumoured re-signing of the better part of last seasons squad including Lee Mitchell, Craig Mitchell and Konstantin Kalmikov will likely come within the next week or two as Cloutier looks to build a squad capable of challenging and, at least, making the playoffs come April 2011.
