Hull Pirates have confirmed forward Josh Gent will be rejoining the club for the 2016/17 EPL season.

The Pirates had previously announced the 23-year-old would be leaving, but an agreement has now been reached for Gent to take his place on the roster.

Gent said: “I’m looking forward to the new season. Last year was quite a learning curve with it being my first in the EPL – it was definitely a step-up from the NIHL.

“I’m excited by the direction the team is going in and I’m looking forward to it. Last season was quite a shock to be honest – I didn’t expect it to be as tough as it was and in truth I really underestimated the step-up to the league.

“I think the top four would be an ideal thing for us this year. A lot of people are underestimating us based on last season’s performance, but we’ve got a bigger and better team now.

Player/Coach Dominic Osman added: “Josh was a guy who was giving 100% on the ice and played to the best of his ability.

“We haven’t seen the best of him yet – he’s one of the guys we spoke to about playing a certain way and a certain role and he’s committed to it.

“All-in-all we’re happy to have him back next season.”

(Image permission: Arthur Foster)