ZACH SULLIVAN is happily embracing the extra responsibility he has been handed at Leeds Knights.

The 31-year-old defenceman spent the last 11 seasons plying his trade in the Elite League, first with Glasgow Clan before spending six years at Manchester Storm.

And while he attests to enjoying his time in the UK top tier on the whole, making the summer switch to the Knights in the NIHL National has opened up more on-ice opportunities for him.

As one of the more experienced players on the team, Sullivan can expect to be getting anywhere between 20-30 minutes a night on the ice, compared to the 12-13 minutes he averaged, for example, with the Storm over the past three seasons or so.

NEW CHALLENGE: Leeds Knights' defenceman, Zach Sullivan. Picture: Charlotte/Knights Media.

placeholder image — NEW CHALLENGE: Leeds Knights' defenceman, Zach Sullivan. Picture: Charlotte/Knights Media.

It is a step up in duties he has welcomed.

“I’m absolutely loving it,” said Sullivan. “It's just kind of getting used to being asked to play hockey again.

“Instead of just going back and doing the simple play, I’m now being asked to create and make a play. It’s nice to kind of have that backing from the coach, the staff and the boys.

“So, I've just got to find that and I think I've been improving game on game and hopefully keep improving until Ryan is finally happy with me.”

Leeds open their regular season campaign on Friday night against Hull Seahawks and on Saturday make the first of three trips to Milton Keynes Lightning, now coached by GB head coach Pete Russell.

The ability for teams to add a fifth import to their roster should bring another step up in the quality of the UK second tier and, as a result, Sullivan acknowledges that a good start is needed by the Knights.

He added: “We’ve got two big games on this first weekend and I just think that with the quality of the league improving every year, we need to start the season fast and we need to put points on the board as quickly as possible.”