The diminutive 22 year old forward becomes the 17th player to commit to Sylvain Cloutier's side ahead of the 12/13 EIHL campaign and will undoubtedly become a key Brit for the club following the departures of fellow British forwards Tristan Harper, Jack Watkins and Andy McKinney.
Davies hit a goal and ten points during his first full season of top flight hockey in 09/10 and went on to improve to 16 points in 26 games in 10/11 - only to controversially quit the club mid-game and mid-season in a disagreement over playing time.
He and Cloutier ironed out their issues last summer and he returned with the promise that he would play a prominent role in the Rays offence. The former Great Britain junior international was given top two line minutes last term, however, the offensive output failed to materialise as he hit just 17 points in 51 games.
A concussion sustained on a hit from Dundee's Jeff Hutchins in February at Hull Arena then brought his season to a halt. However, he made a surprise swift recovery in time to help the Stingrays to their first ever EIHL Semi-Final and Final Four weekend - scoring a fortuitous, but key goal in the Playoff Quarter Final Second Leg victory over the Sheffield Steelers with help from the stick of the Steelers Jason Hewitt.
Either way, as ice hockey in Hull has seen in the past with Stevie Lee, Dave Phillips, Kevin Phillips and, to an extent, Lee Esders, the experienced gained by young Brits at such a young age will likely provide a huge learning curve and one that will stand the debutants in good stead moving forward.
At just 22 Davies isn't exactly a veteran himself, however, Cloutier admits his skill, experience and passion for the club could be key in the season ahead.
"It is excellent to have Matty back, he is a big part of our team. He is still young himself but he has a lot of experience. Matty wants to play for Stingrays, he cares a lot about his hometown club and he wants the team to be successful. Matty has the skills to put up points in this league. He had a bit of a rough time last year but I believe he can do it."Speculation early in the off-season suggested that Davies was initially looking to return to the EPL and a lack of news in the meantime appeared to give the rumour further credibility.
However, despite the doubts, Davies has returned and admits he always favoured a return to his hometown:
"I always wanted to come back. It was a great end to last season which saw us reach the play-off finals weekend. It gave the fans something to cheer about and that is something we want to do again this year. I like the new league format, it will mean us playing a lot more competitive and meaningful games. It was tough for me last season and I didn’t do as well as I wanted to. I want to prove I can produce in this league. I am itching to get out there and get going now. I am really excited about the season ahead and hopefully we can have a good one."With 17 players now on the roster including one netminder, six defenceman (five full-time) and ten forwards (eight full-time), Cloutier is now in the closing stages of putting his roster together.
Theoretically - with the import quota complete - the Rays require just a British back-up netminder to complete the squad with last season's capable back-up Andy Brummitt favourite to return.
However, given the three two-way contacts given out to defenceman Robson and forwards Ward and Towner - who will also play for the Stingrays NIHL affiliate - it may be that there is another British signing or two to follow to round out the roster.
