MATT Suderman insists receiving an opportunity "too good to turn down" from Brampton Beast was not a factor in leaving Hull Stingrays.
The 30-year-old defenceman played his final game for Stingrays last Sunday and flew to Toronto.
Only 48 hours later he was unveiled by the Central Hockey League side as their new signing, to the surprise of Stingrays' management.
Now, in a statement issued to the Mail, Suderman said: "After landing in Canada I met with a good friend and former team-mate, who presented an opportunity to play for Brampton Beast of the CHL, a league in which I'm very comfortable and enjoy playing in. The lure of playing in my home country, something I haven't had the chance to do in nearly 12 years, was too much for me to turn down, but was never a factor in my decision to leave the EIHL. I was simply unhappy in the situation I was in and had to move on before it got worse.
"My acceptance of the opportunity has led to negative remarks and criticism from Stingrays' management, which I find very disappointing, and I'm hoping in the near future resolutions to the issues left between the two sides can be found in a professional manner. I'd like to thank the Stingrays organisation, and specifically coach Sylvain Cloutier, for the opportunity to return to Great Britain.
"It regrettably did not work out, and as I stated, I'm hoping the issues between me and management can be worked out so we can all move forward with as few negative feelings and memories as possible."
Stingrays initially announced last Sunday their captain was leaving the club for "personal reasons".
Suderman told the Mail "things didn't work out" and he "wasn't having fun", taking a side-swipe at some Stingrays fans and the standard of officiating.
Cloutier then commented to Radio Humberside "the keyboard warriors have got to him and he's decided to go home" and "the kind of abuse he took was totally unfair."
Suderman had looked very unhappy following a post-match meeting with team owner Bobby McEwan and Cloutier after being ejected on a "travesty of the game penalty" against Cardiff on November 23.
However, in his new statement he added: "My departure may have come as a surprise to many, but it was something I'd been contemplating for quite some time and was a very difficult decision.
"Just prior to my departure I made some comments regarding a small group of fans that has turned into the reason I left, which was not the case.
"As a professional I understand criticism comes with the job and I've since received overwhelming support from across the country. The majority of the fans in the UK, including those in Hull, are as passionate and loyal as any country I've played in."
Read the contents of Suderman's statement, McEwan said: "As far as we are concerned, Matt has moved on and so have we and we've finished publicly discussing the situation."
