2015
MAY:
Luke Ferrara signed a full time contract, last year he had been on a two way deal with Peterborough.
Mark Thomas , after completing his testimonial year, decided to call it a day after ten years. Then on the very next day Steelers announced their first new import signing, Russ Moyer from Swedish team Karlskrona.
Steelers continued to bolster the defence by signing Jace Coyle from Aalborg in Denmark.
They extended the contract, today, of Jason Hewitt who will now rank alongside Ron Shudra as the longest serving Steeler.
Frederik Vestberg from Swedish second division, Allsvenskan, was brought in as a forward with Zach Fitzgerald adding toughness to the blueline as he was brought from Braehead Clan.
Geoff Woolhouse retired and Brad Day (from the Steeldogs) replaced him.
To complete the Defence Rod Sarich returned for another year.
JUNE:
Levi Nelson joined the forward line from Idaho Steeldogs. “We needed a player like this” said head coach Paul Thompson “Levi will bring a physical element to our offence. He will get under the skins of opponents, finish hits and go to the ‘dirty’ areas. He can score and make plays. He adds another dimension to us. He competes every shift, every night and I expect him to score important goals for us.
And Sheffield’s final signing was that of netminder Tyler Plante. His last two campaigns have been with Lørenskog, where he sustained a 91 per cent save ratio. “I know it sounds crazy but I am a Steelers fan” said Plante jnr. “I watched my Dad play in Sheffield for Peterborough Pirates. I was in awe of the Steelers. The big Arena, the flashing lights and the rock tunes . I thought the Steelers were in the show (NHL) and I guess from then on I’ve always followed them and so when (coach) Paul Thompson got in touch there was an immediate interest.
AUGUST:
Steelers intro for this season
Sheffield had to complete their roster early this year because in May of this year the Champions Hockey League draw took place and Steelers had just two months to prepare to face mighty Frolunda Indians in August.
In the game in Sweden they went down to a heavy defeat but were not disgraced.
Two days later they were up against top Finnish side JYP Jyvaskyla and in the return leg they matched the Finns only going down by two, one an empty net goal.
OCTOBER:
A historic day in Steelers history, for one man in particular, was 14th October when, against Edinburgh Capitals Jason Hewitt beat Ron Shudra's record of 626 appearances. Hewitt was made captain for the game.
Another milestone was achieved by Jeff Legue, reaching 500 appearances and becoming the highest scorer in Major leagues for Sheffield.
NOVEMBER:
Steelers were forced to bring in Czech international netminder Marek Pinc when Tyler Plante was forced to rest an injury.
DECEMBER:
Sheffield Steelers have rewarded Zack Fitzgerald with a ground-breaking two-year new deal...after just 30 games with the club. The contract extension secures the 30-year-old skater’s future and is a unique investment by the club’s ownership. Coach Paul Thompson said: “Wearing my general manager’s hat we have a player that everyone from fans to ownership adore, a player who represents our club in the most professional and respected way possible. He is committed to the club and most of all to winning.
Sheffield Steelers' north American goalie Tyler Plante has left the club for Germany - meaning Marek Pinc will be the man entrusted to help them retain the League title. Plante recently sustained a high ankle sprain and has missed the last month with injury - but it was always thought he would be the favourite to regain his position at Sheffield. "With Tyler back fully fit and Marek playing so well I was going to have to make a difficult decision" said head coach Paul Thompson. "Marek's current deal is up in two weeks and at that time one would stay and one would have to leave us. "I was honest and explained this position to Tyler. I couldn't guarantee him anything. In the mean time a deal has come up in Europe and having spoken at length with Tyler we agreed it was best he moved on and took the deal on offer."
2016
JANUARY
A forty-year-old winger, who started his ice hockey career back in 1992, will get the chance to prove age is just a number after signing for Sheffield Steelers. Swedish veteran Conny Stromberg will be the oldest player to have donned the Steelers’ kit since coach Mike Blaisdell came out of retirement to play four games in the 2000-1 season .But, with Colton Fretter out for a month or more, Thompson has given the six-foot forward the opportunity to prove he can do the business. He has put pen to paper on an initial one month trial.
The challenge Cup caused debate again today. When the cup began in September it was stated by the eihl that the highest ranked team from the group would have home advantage in the resulting final stages. Statement from EIHL
This appears to have been forgotten as a storm ensued as Nottingham Panthers decided to take the second leg of their semi final draw against Sheffield because they had been drawn out first.
Because of this Steelers were naturally aggrieved and issued the following statement:
" The Sheffield Steelers will play the Nottingham Panthers in the semi final of the 2016 Challenge Cup. The Steelers did everything possible to accommodate this home fixture at the Sheffield Arena. The Arena. Ice Sheffield and the Manchester Storm all did everything possible to to make this game take place at the Arena; with Manchester even prepared to move their home game to assist us. We tank them all for their efforts. In the past the Steelers have accommodated clubs when they have struggled with ice availability. The Steelers have even played second legs of cup finals on the road after play off games when other teams could not arrange suitable home ice"
FEBRUARY
Sheffield Steelers announced that Zack Fitgerald would be returning having signed a deal keeping him at the club until 2018.
They also swooped to retain the services of Tyler Mosienko. "He is our heart beat, he comes every day determined to be the hardest working player we have. He scores goals, creates plays, kills penalties. his work rate is incredible an he drives us all on" said Paul Thompson
MARCH
Sheffield added to their core of payers by extending the contract of winger Guillame Desbiens. Head coach Paul Thompson said "we spoke about him being a long term addition when he joined (mid-season) and now we can confirm he will be with us again next season."
The very next day Steelers added British forward Rob Dowd to the list of renewals giving him a three year contract extension. Dowd said "it's no secret that I adopted Sheffield as my home from a pretty young age. So when management came to me with a contract offer I pretty much accepted immediately."
The week was topped off with a new two year deal for youngster Luke Ferrara who joined Steelers from Peterborough Phantoms in 2015.
The Sheffield Steelers won their fifth EIHL title when they defeated Fife Flyers on the last day of the season. The previous night they had beaten Nottingham in a title defining game which left them only needing a point in their game in Scotland.
This meant that for the first time in the history of Sheffield Steelers they would be in Europe for a second successive year, being in the Champions Hockey League again.
The night they won the league video
The resulting play off games were to be their last in a Steelers shirt as Sheffield bowed out of the play offs at the hands of the Coventry Blaze.
In the same week came the news that legends Jason Hewitt (most capped Steeler) and Jeff Legue (most points for Steelers) were to retire at the end of the season.
Then the news broke that Rod Sarich was to retire himself and with 577 appearances for Sheffield his skating ability will be missed.
Paul Thompson said of him, “He is a smart hockey player and he has a hockey brain. That will be a tough component to replace this summer. I’ve coached against Rod and he was a pain in my side. Like Hewey and Legge it was a privilege to coach him this past season. Gerad Adams did a terrific job persuading Rod back into the game after his year out. I’m delighted he ended his Steelers career with two league titles. “In years to come he will be talked about as one of the Steeler greats and quiet rightly so. He had many skills, many strengths and many qualities. His relationship with Jeff Legue on the power-play was a reason this club won for so many years. You knew what they were both going to do but you just couldn’t stop it."
The Steelers held their budget meeting today and as a result decided to dispense with the services of Pinc, Moyer and Stromberg. However they then handed out a new two year deal to winger Levi Nelson. Head coach Thompson said "I think Levi is in his prime. He is 28 years old and had a fantastic season for us he and Robert Dowd have a great chemistry - there is something there that we want to continue. He hits and whacks and is a general pain to play against. He has a great skill level, he scores and he creates."