Blackburn Hawks have hailed the signing of Finnish forward Sami Narkia as a ‘great coup for the club’.

The star import joins from EHC Red Devils in Helsinki and bagged a brace on his debut in Saturday’s 6-4 victory at home to Whitley Warriors.

Hawks spokesman Graham Lomax said: “We are over the moon with this signing and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in making it happen.

“Jared Owen and I have been heavily involved from start to finish and have had to be extremely discreet over the last month or so in securing Sami’s services. Other clubs had been interested in him and we therefore feel it is a great coup for the club.

“We have been lucky in the respect that it is a nice fit for both parties.

“Sami is currently studying at Wolverhampton University and is therefore able to travel up to the North West with Jared and Danny Brittle for training and match nights, without either interfering with his studies.”

After Saturday’s win Hawks made it back-to-back wins with an 8-2 victory away to bottom-of-the-table Solihull Barons 24 hours later.