AARON Nell has turned his back on the Elite League and committed his immediate future to Swindon Wildcats.

The forward has put pen to paper on a one-year deal after turning his back on Sheffield Steelers.

The 24-year-old found his opportunities limited at the Steelers and with new rules increasing the number of imports in the Elite League coming into affect from next season, Nell is determined to help Cats thrive.

“We should have a good young squad next season and hopefully we can continue from where we left off last year,” Nell said.

“There are lots of reasons why things didn’t work out in Sheffield, but there are lots of reasons why I want to be at Swindon.

“I was sitting there (at Sheffield) and not doing much so there was no point me sitting up there not playing when I could be back in Swindon helping.

“When I came back you could see the good work that was being done and we had a really good end to the year and getting to Coventry and that was success in itself.

“Now we have to take it a step further, we can’t just be happy with getting to the play-off finals, we have to start winning things.

“And if we can keep most of he squad together then hopefully we can have an even better season.”

Head coach Ryan Aldridge added: “It’s great to have Aaron back at the club for next season - there’s no doubt he’s a fantastic player.

“We know the quality we’re getting with Aaron and he knows what the club is all about so it’s great to have another piece of the jigsaw in place for next season.“ Nell is the fourth player of last season’s squad to commit to Aldridge’s side following on from Jan Kostal, Alex Symonds and Stevie Lyle.

And the forward, who scored 30 goals in 25 Cats appearances, believes that Kostal’s move into a player-coach role can only benefit the club.

“Keeping Jan was massive,” Nell said. “He is the best player Swindon have had since the old Icelords days in the last millennium.

“When he first came here you could see how professional he was and I’m sure that he will be fine on the coaching side of it as well.

“He is always helping the younger players and I’ve learnt so much from him during my time.”

As well as committing his future to the Link Centre side, Nell will also be working with the Swindon Wildcats in the Community programme aimed at growing the EPL club’s work in the area.