BLACKBURN Hawks look set to compete in the newly formed British ice hockey Northern Premier League.

And manager Mike Cockayne still hopes that "at least six or seven" of last season's Division One runners-up stars will be back at the Arena in August.

And that could mean a return to Lancashire for skipper John Haig and Ukrainian goal-ace Oleg Sinkov despite Super League Kingston's claims to have signed the Blackburn pair. The new set-up, with the previously-reported annual wage-cap of £75,000 per club, proposes a limit of three imports per team with a minimum of three British-trained players on the ice at any time during a match.

"We would be looking to bring in three Eastern Europeans, most likely Ukrainians, as our imports," said Cockayne. "And that means Oleg could still be part of the equation. There is considerable talent available in that part of the world.

"John Haig is not a lost cause either - I would hope we will see six or seven faces from last season's squad back here.

"We will also be looking to appoint a player-coach again after the success of last year, but it's too early to mention names - we need all our proposals ratifying by the BIHA before we can begin to put personnel into place.

"As usual in British Ice Hockey, the time-scale between the finalising of the fixtures and the actual start of the season is going to be very short, leaving us with a lot to do in a short space of time.

"But there's no panic - some clubs are a lot worse off than us. Milton Keynes ice rink closed down last week due to increasing losses and Paisley Pirates, who were due to join us in the nine-team Northern Premier League, have gone into liquidation.

"Peterborough are another team who have always struggled and there are a number of teams in difficulties. Though some people have been panicking, Blackburn Hawks are in a healthy state compared to these clubs and there will be competitive hockey here again next season.

"Players like Paul Fleury, Jon Cotton and Lee Cowmeadow all fall into the category of players we will be talking to before the season, and George Powell will be back here, too.

"Malcolm Bell is having a difficult time with the shoulder injury he's been carrying and it's possible he might require surgery later in the summer."

The Northern Premier League clubs will play each other four times a season - twice each home and away - and Cockayne believes that the 'collective responsibility' shown by the clubs in agreeing the wage ceiling will foster healthy competition.

"If everybody sticks to the rules it should be a well-balanced league with no one team dominating," explained the Hawks' boss. "With the wage limit we will be looking to shift the emphasis from players relying on the game for their living more towards players earning a second income from the game.

"The 'three imports' and the 'three Brits' rules will be good for the sport and encourage teams trying to foster junior development. We are working along those lines and have players coming through our junior ranks we could call on next season - it's important that these youngsters have something to aim for."

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