In an interview with the Hull Daily Mail, Hull Stingrays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier confirmed on Thursday that defencemen Shane Lovdahl and Dmitri Rodin would not be returning to the club next season and will likely be retiring from the sport this summer.
38 year old Rodin re-joined the Stingrays in January after starting the year in the English Premier League between the Sheffield Steeldogs and Telford Tigers - where he notched just one goal and four assists in 27 games in the second tier.
The offensive defenceman - who possesses a big slapshot and even bigger hip check, which typically made him a favourite with home fans - added a goal and seven assists this season to his first season totals of nine goals and 18 assists.
Indeed, it was the Estonian's offensive abilities from defence which undoubtedly played a huge part in the Stingrays record 11/12 campaign as they reached the EIHL Playoff Semi-Finals in his first season at the club.
While he was undoubtedly in the twilight of a career which saw him ice in the IHL and AHL in North America and Russian, Slovakian, Czech, Polish and Hungarian top flights, and he had obviously lost a step or two over 23 seasons and 900 games, Rodin's quality with the puck on his stick remained.
Though he has aspirations to become a coach in the future, it is thought he will retire from the sport and move to London this summer after captaining Estonia at the IIHF World Championships Div I Group B in Ukraine this week, ending a 23 career that began with Narva HK PSK in Estonia in 1990.
In contrast, Alaskan native Lovdahl has confirmed his retirement at the age of 28 after four seasons and 275 games of professional hockey.
An alumni of the USHL - where he spent three seasons as a junior with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders - and the University of Alaska-Anchorage - where he hit eight goals and 25 assists in four years and 110 games - he made his professional debut with the Quad City Mallards of the IHL in 09/10.
He went on to spend two further seasons with Quad City in the CHL and a summer in Australia with the Adelaide Adrenaline before a move to Hull and the Elite League materialised last summer ahead of what would turn out to be his swansong in the sport
A quiet, unassuming but effective blueliner, the highlight of his season came on 3 March as he led the club offensively and physically with two goals and a fight in a a crucial 3-1 win over conference rivals the Fife Flyers.
It is often said of defensive defenceman in general that the more inconspicuous they are on a game-by-game basis the better they are performing and that was certainly the case with the solid American - who very rarely stepped out of place.
He confirmed his intention to retire to the Hull Daily Mail earlier in the season and will return to Alaska from Europe.
Meanwhile in other news, it is believed the club are close to announcing the signing of 26 year old French-Canadian forward Guillaume Doucet as their first new addition for 13/14.
His agent, 37 Hockey, confirmed last week that he has signed a contract to play in the Elite League in 13/14 and it was later revealed by BritishIceHockey.co.uk that Hull is likely destination.
After graduating from Canadian college McGill University in 2011 with 53 goals and 108 points in 112 games, the diminutive winger has gone on to spend the last two seasons in the French top flight Ligue Magnus with Morzine-Avoriaz Penguines accumulating 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points in 46 games.
38 year old Rodin re-joined the Stingrays in January after starting the year in the English Premier League between the Sheffield Steeldogs and Telford Tigers - where he notched just one goal and four assists in 27 games in the second tier.
Indeed, it was the Estonian's offensive abilities from defence which undoubtedly played a huge part in the Stingrays record 11/12 campaign as they reached the EIHL Playoff Semi-Finals in his first season at the club.
While he was undoubtedly in the twilight of a career which saw him ice in the IHL and AHL in North America and Russian, Slovakian, Czech, Polish and Hungarian top flights, and he had obviously lost a step or two over 23 seasons and 900 games, Rodin's quality with the puck on his stick remained.
Though he has aspirations to become a coach in the future, it is thought he will retire from the sport and move to London this summer after captaining Estonia at the IIHF World Championships Div I Group B in Ukraine this week, ending a 23 career that began with Narva HK PSK in Estonia in 1990.
In contrast, Alaskan native Lovdahl has confirmed his retirement at the age of 28 after four seasons and 275 games of professional hockey.
An alumni of the USHL - where he spent three seasons as a junior with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders - and the University of Alaska-Anchorage - where he hit eight goals and 25 assists in four years and 110 games - he made his professional debut with the Quad City Mallards of the IHL in 09/10.
A quiet, unassuming but effective blueliner, the highlight of his season came on 3 March as he led the club offensively and physically with two goals and a fight in a a crucial 3-1 win over conference rivals the Fife Flyers.
It is often said of defensive defenceman in general that the more inconspicuous they are on a game-by-game basis the better they are performing and that was certainly the case with the solid American - who very rarely stepped out of place.
He confirmed his intention to retire to the Hull Daily Mail earlier in the season and will return to Alaska from Europe.
Meanwhile in other news, it is believed the club are close to announcing the signing of 26 year old French-Canadian forward Guillaume Doucet as their first new addition for 13/14.
His agent, 37 Hockey, confirmed last week that he has signed a contract to play in the Elite League in 13/14 and it was later revealed by BritishIceHockey.co.uk that Hull is likely destination.
After graduating from Canadian college McGill University in 2011 with 53 goals and 108 points in 112 games, the diminutive winger has gone on to spend the last two seasons in the French top flight Ligue Magnus with Morzine-Avoriaz Penguines accumulating 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points in 46 games.
Photos copyright Dean Woolley
