2016
APRIL
In the middle of the month came the news that Jerry Andersson was to be the assistant coach of the Steelers next year.
At the latter end of the month came five signings for the new season.
The first was Davey Philips from Manchester, ostensibly to fill the place vacated by Jason Hewitt. Explaining the reasoning coach Paul Thompson said “I was looking for a right handed shot D man and Davey fits the bill. He has size and plays a physical game as well as making a good first pass. I’ve coached him before both with Coventry and GB and I want to get him back to the top of his game, we are a club that can do that. With Jason leaving us I needed to bring in a quality top end British player. We need to do that if we want to play fast, exciting four line hockey. By adding Davey to the blue line it leaves me scope to add another import up front to balance the lines out”
The very next day came the news that the goalkeeping section was sorted as the signing of returnee Ervins Mustukovs and an extension on his contract for Brad Day. Speaking of the deal Thompson said “I think it’s well known that I tried to bring Moose here last year” said Thompson “unfortunately we weren’t able to do the deal then but we are delighted to have landed him this summer “Moose is such a competitor. He stops the puck and he will bring a level of consistency to our goaltending that we need if we are to challenge and retain our league title. It helps that he knows Sheffield and enjoyed his previous spell here. It helps me that I know him. Know what to expect from him. Moose was excellent for me in Aalborg. He came to play every night and in my opinion was the best goalie in the league that year. I hope he doesn’t have the workload next season that he had in Denmark. I like that we know what we are getting. Mr consistent, Mr 92%”
A day later came the news that Vestberg would not be returning but in his place fellow Swede Markus Nilsson signed. “Markus is a mini Fredrik” said Thompson “someone both Jerry (Andersson) and I know well. Jerry has worked him for years and I coached him at Troja during my time there. Both Jerry and I spoke about what we needed, we talked about Markus and agreed he would be perfect for us. Jerry then went around to see him and opened up negotiations. He is looking for a new opportunity and we are delighted he has chosen us. He has an incredible work ethic and his highly skilled. Markus is younger than FredAdie was at 25. This is a perfect fit for both club and player and I think our fans will enjoy what Markus brings every night”
A busy week closed with the news that, even though he had finished his university course Colton Fretter would be returning.
MAY
Sheffield Steelers today confirmed the appointment of right winger Jesse Schultz from the DEL. “His stats say it all” said coach Paul Thompson “he has put up outstanding numbers wherever he has played, in whichever league he has played in. Just two seasons ago he was the third highest scorer in the East Coast league. His experience is vast both in North America and Europe. He is a perfect fit for us and a great addition to the team that we take into the Champions League in August”
He spent most of his career in the AHL but was called up for a brief spell with Vancouver Canucks in the NHL. He was in talks with Coventry Blaze but chose Sheffield instead.
INSIDER knowledge will prove a vital ingredient for Sheffield Steelers if they are to enjoy any success in the Champions Hockey League next season. Last season’s debut in the European competition proved a tough introduction for the Steelers, who lost all of their group games against Frolunda Gothenburg and Finland’s JYP Jyvaskyla. And it will be hoped Steelers new assistant coach Jerry Andersson - brought in from Sweden by Thompson – can provide the inside track on HV71, although he was quick to warn his new charges of the challenges they will face come late August. “HV71 are a young side – very skilled and very quick,” said Andersson, who lives just an hour away from the HV71 rink in Sweden and has plenty of information on Steelers’ future opponents. Jerry Andersson, Sheffield Steelers assistant-coach Jerry Andersson, Sheffield Steelers assistant-coach “When you go to the Kinnarps Arena you have to be very prepared because they will be. Their team has lots of speed and skill, very fast breakouts. “They have some fabulous players Mattias Tedenby and Martin Tornberg are both forwards with national team games under their belts.” Steelers will head into the competition once again as underdogs, with no British club yet to progress beyond the group stage. They will be met by at least one familiar face when they take on HV71 in late August and early September after Frolunda defenceman Christoffer Persson switched to HV71 in the close season. " When you go to the Kinnarps Arena you have to be very prepared because they will be. Their team has lots of speed and skill."
The Steelers today added to their defence with the signing of Anders Franzon from Indy Fuel in the ECHL.
“I’m very pleased with this addition” said Thompson “we have improved on our size on the back end whilst maintaining our mobility with Anders signing “His size and mobility is what attracted us towards him. I watched a lot of video and instantly thought he would be an ideal fit. “He see’s the ice well, good vision and a good first pass. I like his decision making. He is also a right hand shot, something I wanted to add to the group of six on the blue line”.
Franzon himself said “I’d like to think I’m a smart D man, and play a good passing game, I make good passes quickly to the forwards.
“The last two years in Indy I was used more of a shut down defencemen playing against teams' top lines, so I can play that role as well with, I hope, an added offensive upside.
Steelers added defenceman Mike Ratchuk. The experienced blue liner has played 156 AHL and a further 273 ECHL games in his North American career. It will be Ratchuk’s second visit to Europe having played the 2006-07 season in Austria with Olympia Ljubljana.
JUNE
Supporters appear to like what is going on behind the
scenes at the Steelers - around 1,800 season tickets have been snapped up
already, a 15 per cent hike on the same time last year.
Steelers head coach Paul Thompson has confirmed the signing of 28 year old
Canadian Centre
John Armstrong on a two year contract. 6’3 Armstrong was a 3rd round pick of
the Calgary Flames in the 2006 NHL draft.
The captaincy for the new season was decided as coach Paul Thompson will keep Jonathan Phillips as captain, while Zack Fitzgerald and Mathieu Roy should retain their assistant captaincy roles. Phillips is in his testimonial year with the club, after ten seasons at Sheffield. But there is no sign of the right winger slowing down. “If anything Jono is going the other way” said Thompson. “He is a fitness fanatic and keeps himself in phenomenal shape - the harder we make it for him in training the more he seems to like it. "I thought Jono was the best I have ever seen him down the stretch at the end of last season, making great plays and great goals. He is a player who has just got better and better. He embraces his role whether it is penalty kill or anything else we throw at him. “As a captain he is not a screamer or a shouter but he knows how to get his point across. One hundred per cent sure he will be our captain again this year...his experience will be invaluable again.”
Steelers completed their defensive line up with the Swede Christoffer Björkland.
Björklund, 28, was an assistant captain last season with Mora IK, in the second division of the Scandinavian country’s hockey system. Björklund describes himself as a solid two way defencemen. “I think those words sum up my game. I can play in all situations” he said. Paul Thompson said of him “I believe he will bring us great calmness on the back end. I like his intelligence and the fact that he led the Allsvenskan league in minutes-played as a defencemen last year. That show’s me he has a good engine."
JULY
Rod Sarich will break his 15-week ‘retirement’ from Sheffield Steelers and play in their Champions Hockey League games. The 35-year-old veteran had said he was hanging up his skates after the club he’d served for 10 seasons won the Elite League championship. Thompson has suggested that Sarich may even stay longer. But the defenceman said: “I really can’t and probably don’t want to come back full time. There are just too many other things going on. But the CHL will be a brilliant way to finish.”
And the team that he re-joins will include none other than Cole Shudra, offspring of the venerable Ron, who remains the biggest fan favourite of all time at the club. The 17-year-old chip-off-the-block will be given his chance to shine on the Arena stage this season, along with Liam Kirk.
In the third week of this month Steelers completed their roster with the addition of Swedish forward Andreas Valdix.
“The wait has been worthwhile,” said Steelers Head Coach Paul Thompson after confirming the signing of 31-year-old Swedish centre Andreas Valdix. “He has incredible puck possession and passing qualities, he is a perfect fit for us. I’m a very happy coach right now. This has been a very long few months putting this team together. I can’t wait to get them on the ice in two and a half weeks time so we can prepare for the games against Aalborg and then the CHL games against HV71 and Red Bull Salzburg.”
AUGUST
To promote the Champions Hockey League Steelers brought out this video.
SEPTEMBER
Steelers pulled off one of the most impressive wins of their 25-year history on Sunday night. Sheffield turned the hockey world order upside down by beating multi-million pound aristocrats of Red Bull Salzburg 5-2.
Sheffield Arena have responded to complaints from ice hockey fans raised in The Star about poor ice conditions. Last weekend, when Steelers were taking on Swedish giants HV71 in a televised match, there were alarming puddles on the pad and at least one dangerous hole. Today, Rob O’Shea, general manager of Sheffield Arena, said: “We recognise there were issues with the quality of the ice at Sheffield Arena for the Sheffield Steelers fixture against HV71 and, unfortunately, this was exacerbated by the warm outside temperatures. "We are working hard to rectify the situation for this weekend" he said, a reference to Sunday's Challenge Cup game against Manchester Storm"
Sheffield Steelers have been rocked by the news that Levi Nelson could be out for six weeks. The firey winger suffered a broken bone in his wrist, as he blocked a shot against Braehead Clan, last Saturday. If an operation is necessary, it could be mid to late November before he is available. At this stage, it does not look likely that a short-term replacement will be brought in. Indeed, if there is to be any player traffic you would perhaps expect that to involve the defence, which has conceded 21 goals in the last five games. For Nelson, it is lousy luck - he suffered a knee injury last month which took him out of the line-up.
OCTOBER
The Sheffield Steelers defence has shipped in 21 goals in the last five games - a win three lose two period. “It is not good when you are letting in four or give goals every night. No one wants that” says Ben O'Connor the super-skilled defenceman who scored five points last weekend. But defence is a team thing...it’s not just six d-men out there, it’s the whole team. “We have got to come back hard.”
The Steelers organisation was shaken at the end of October by the news that Tyler Mosienko wished to leave the club immediately.
Head coach Paul Thompson confirmed “Tyler came to see me earlier in the week and explained that he wished to leave and head back to mainland Europe. “His decision came as a surprise as we were happy with him and certainly wished him to remain as a part of out team going forward. “As a club we have tried everything within reason to retain him as a Steelers but his wish is that he leaves us and returns to the mainland.
We thank Tyler for his contribution here for the past two and a half seasons where he has never failed to give maximum effort. The club is already underway in seeking a replacement though this weekend will play a man short”
Goal no 4 of nine against the Coventry Blaze on the 29th of the month was a special one. That was when Liam Kirk,16, became the youngest ever player to score a goal for Sheffield Steelers at 16 years 10 month.
“I thought the reception was stunning” said head coach Paul Thompson “The crowd quickly realised it was Liam and the cheer turned into an emotional roar. The bench was up and excited, the old vet’s remember what it was like to score your first goal. It is a big deal and everyone of them was as happy as the fans in the stands to see Liam find the back of the net.
NOVEMBER
Steelers acted quickly to replace Mosienko by bringing in Swedish centreman Yared Hagos. Hagos has a wealth of experience in the AHL, Swedish SHL and German DEL where he played last season in Krefeld. “He has played at an incredibly high level his whole career. In Sweden but he has also left the home comforts for North America and Germany. I think too that he might be the first Swede to play for us who has played for his Country at all age levels including 20 games for the mens senior team. We are getting a very good all round player, a competitive centre who I hope will be able to take care of business at both ends of the rink. Yared should be in by the time we go to Scotland next weekend”
With two forwards out injured Paul Thompson reacted by bringing back defenceman Jace Coyle. He had initially left to pursue other options in the U.S. but when that didn't work out he was pleased to accept Thompson's offer to return.
DECEMBER
To celebrate the Boxing day game, against Nottingham the Steelers brought out this video.
The Sheffield Steelers confirm that they have released forward Jesse Schultz and that he is presently serving his two week notice period. Schultz joined the Steelers in the summer and in 31 games with the Steelers registered 14 goals and 31 points. His full record for Sheffield can be viewed here.
2017
JANUARY
In an statement to everyone Tony Smith infuriated supporters by deciding not to give people the option of the supporters club (SSSC) providing away travel. It appeared, although there was no evidence to support it, that this was impacting on purchasing merchandise. This seemed illogical to many fans and a few days later Smith issued this short statement, "We have certainly heard the sensible arguments made by many Steelers fans regarding away travel, especially many disabled supporters who obtain their tickets for away fixtures through the SSSC. After much consideration and dialogue with the clubs ownership, management, supporters club and travel partners we confirm that we will be advising the SSSC to immediately commence their away travel organisation once again. We note that our earlier position did cause concern to many supporters whose opinions we value strongly. MD Tony Smith said “I got it wrong and apologise to our fan base for the upset I have caused."
FEBRUARY
Steelers today signed right winger Geoff Walker from Fassa in the Alps League. A delighted Steelers coach Paul Thompson “We are thrilled that Geoff is joining us. To bring a player with his ability and quality to the club so late in the season is a great addition. I wanted a player who would be an impact and I believe very much he will be. Geoff will be in Sheffield on Monday and will skate with the team on Tuesday ahead of playing his first game as a Steeler this Wednesday against Fife.
Steelers head coach Paul Thompson has confirmed that Rod Sarich will return to the clubs ranks for the remainder of the season. Sarich announced his retirement from the sport at the end of last season though did return and play a part in the clubs Champions Hockey League games in September. “This is the perfect fit for us” said Thompson “with Bjorklund moving on deadline day it left us no time to look for and bring in a permanent replacement. “Roddy is the right move as well, we have missed him as a person and a player, his experience and his presence were respected by all of his peers. This is his club remember, 11 years here as a player. “The role is a simple one. We have a full quota of import players and Roddy is joining us as a spare in case of injury during the run in. Both Jerry and I will also use his vast experience and Roddy will be an ever present at games home and away joining us on the bench “Things happen for a reason and whilst I remain disappointed at Christoffer’s departure but I’m excited to be joining up with Rod again for the rest of the year”
MARCH
A rather disturbing occurence took place at the Sheffield Arena during the kiss cam part of the game against Coventry. This prompted this statement from the club.
The Sheffield Steelers would like to issue the following statement with regard to the incident at the Steelers V Coventry Blaze game at the Sheffield Arena on Saturday 4th March :- During the Game our overhead cameras were panning the arena for our fans to take part in our “kiss cam”. The idea of “kiss cam” is for people to turn to each other and kiss – the best kiss of the night then receives a prize. We also do this as a “dance cam” similar process but the best dancer of the evening wins a prize. The camera picked out people at random in the crowd sitting next to each other, the two males leaned over and kissed their female companions to the left and right respectively. The two males then turned and kissed each other – this was met with applause as a way of the crowd showing their appreciation for those taking part and joining in the fun on the night. The match night announcer, David Simms, called the kissing of the two males “disgusting” and asked that they be removed. This was a most regrettable incident which the Steelers realise has caused tremendous upset to some fans and in particular the LGBT community, many of whom are Steelers fans. The Steelers wish to place on record their sincere apology to anyone who was upset by David’s comments and as an organisation we in no way condone them. David Simms says he is very sorry that his comments have upset people, including those in the LGBT community, but that was not his intention. Steelers Managing Director Tony Smith said ” David’s actions on Saturday night were foolish and thoughtless – I have spoken to him at length and he is very sorry for all the hurt and upset he has caused to the LGBT community. Yesterday I spoke with Neale Gibson of LGBT Sheffield explaining the events which surrounded the incident on Saturday night, Neale has very kindly offered advice which we are taking. I have also been in contact with Stonewall to discuss an LGBT programme the Steelers could participate in. Their policy and motto “acceptance without exception” is one the Steelers have always tried to follow. I must stress David’s actions do not reflect the attitude or policy of the Sheffield Steelers towards the LGBT community – we are a family and welcome each and everyone to the Steelers games without exception and hope this regrettable incident brings the Steelers and the LGBT community closer together in the future.”
Sheffield Steelers advanced to the play off finals in Nottingham. After overturning a three goal defecit from the night before they ran out overtime winners against Nottingham Panthers in probably the most atmospheric encounter at the Arena for some months.
Jonathan Phillips announced that he would be returning next year. On Saturday, the play off semi final against Belfast Giants Phillips made his 682nd appearance in a Steelers uniform, equalling the all time record presently held by Jason Hewitt.
Head Coach Paul Thompson said “His career isn’t close to ending. He is in great shape, his still motivated like never before and this club needs him at the helm. We saw on Sunday that come those big moments he is a man we can count on scoring that super important short handed goal for us. We also saw just how much it meant to him. Well this club means that much to him, it’s his club and we are thrilled to be bringing him back next year”
Seven days after seeing of Nottingham the Steelers were in the play off final, thanks to a 2-0 win over Belfast, and then deep into the second overtime period Levi Nelson scored the winner to put Steelers level with the Murrayfield/Edinburgh franchise on ten play off wins.