Sheffield Steelers

Richard Craine aka Doom from Steeltalk previews the season for the Steelers

Once again it has been a difficult start to the summer for the Steelers faithful. Financial issues dominated with the news that the operating company of the Devils and Steelers had gone into liquidation and season ticket money for the coming season would be lost with the old company……Déjà vu anybody?
Last season at this time I was singing the praises of Coach Ben Simon for keeping the squad of players together during a very uncertain period. Simon proved throughout the season not only to be an excellent Coach, but a leader on the ice, so it was a great disappointment to Steelers supporters when it was announced that Ben would not be returning for this coming season.
The replacement for Ben proved to be a bit of a surprise, none other than Steelers agitator of the past Ryan Finnerty. Now I have to confess I would never have thought of Ryan Finnerty as coaching material, so this is definitely a wait and see appointment as far as I’m concerned. Is it one final mistake from the departing owner or an inspired appointment? – I guess time will tell.
Although I was sceptical at the quality of squad Finnerty would recruit, especially after talk of large budget cuts, I now find myself quite satisfied with the squad of players he’s put together.
I always say that the most important position in any team is the netminder, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that they win more man of the match awards than any other player. For next season the job of backstopping the Steelers goes to John DeCaro, a netminder with plenty of CHL experience including one season where he managed a magnificent 94% save record. I think DeCaro will be challenging Kowalski for top netminder and that has to be good news for the Steelers prospects.
Defensively the Steelers look as good as any other team in the league. The balance looks about right with Sarich and Birnstill providing the transitional play whilst Huttel and Stephenson do the full time defensive job.
The biggest problem with the defence could be the time they take to gel as a unit, with 3 of the 5 being new to this country and playing in front of a new netminder. At least Sarich and Thomas can provide plenty of experience, both now being amongst the longest serving Steelers of all time.
The key signing in defence is likely to be Chad Huttel, not because he’ll be the best player, but because he’s the budget signing and an unknown quantity taking his first steps into professional hockey. If Huttel performs then the defence should provide the basis of a possible title challenge.
One final observation on the defence is their size, only Huttel is less than 6 foot.
It’s in the forwards where the Steelers will probably fall short, or more specifically in the lack of goal scoring depth. The balance between size, speed and skill looks as good as any team in the league and probably better than most. However, whilst Nottingham can genuinely expect 8 of their forwards to break the 20 goal barrier, Sheffield are probably only looking at 5.
Jeff Legue and Mike Ramsay will be expected to carry the main goal scoring threat, whilst Colt King and Neil Clark will provide the size and toughness.
The loss of the excellent Rob Dowd to Belfast during the summer has left a big hole in the Steelers goal scoring. It’s unlikely that the loss of Dowd’s production will be picked up by any individual player, that responsibility will have to be a collective one shared out amongst the Steelers British contingent.
It was fun watching Rob develop from the Scimitars into one of the best British players in the country, hopefully next season young Tom Squires will make similar strides.
As always though the main responsibility will fall on the ageing shoulders of Ashley Tait, he will once again be expected to lead the Steelers British forwards with his usual blend of skill, grit and determination to succeed.
One thing the Steelers should avoid this season is being pushed around; in Colt King they have a genuine heavyweight fighter who will be capably backed up by Neil Clark and Matt Stephenson.
The Steelers powerplay should also be amongst the best in the league, with the likes of Legue, Ramsay, Sarich and Birnstill they should be able to put out two very good units.
Overall I don’t think the Steelers have enough to win the league title, although unlike a few weeks ago I now believe they can win it. The key to any success is going to be keeping players fit, if the Steelers can get full seasons out of Tait and Legue then they certainly stand a chance of a top 3 finish, but if either of those two is missing for any length of time then it will probably be 4th or 5th.

As for the final league standings, here’s how I see them finishing:

1. Nottingham Panthers
The best netminder in the league, a solid looking defence and scoring depth make Nottingham the favourites for me.

There are weaknesses though. I’m not convinced they’ll get the same transition from defence as the likes of Belfast, Coventry and Sheffield and the lack of a power forward could prove costly in the smaller rinks.

Overall though I think with Kowalski in goal they’ll just edge Belfast out.



2. Belfast Giants.


Belfast can certainly match Nottingham in most departments, except the most crucial, netminding. Don’t get me wrong, Murphy is a decent goalie, but I just don’t see him having the same level of consistency throughout the season as Kowalski.
In defence the Giants have made some very impressive signings and look to have the best balanced defence along with Sheffield.

There are certainly plenty of options in attack for Belfast, like Nottingham and Coventry they should be able to put out 3 quality well balanced scoring lines.
The fight fans in Belfast should be happy, because I can see Keefe being the most active fighter in the league.

3. Sheffield Steelers
See above.

4. Coventry Blaze
I think the Blaze will be the most exciting team to watch next season. There’s certainly plenty of attacking options both in the forwards and the defence, but therein lies the problem, I think the Blaze will concede too many to challenge the top two.
Hirsch was a solid netminder when he backstopped them to the title in 2009/10, but having not played much since I’m not convinced he’ll be as solid as he was. I’ve also got a feeling Jurynec could be good fun next season, probably a bit of a pantomime villain.

5. Cardiff Devils
I’m surprised some people are tipping Cardiff for the championship. I think they’ve gone backwards from last season with the loss of a few key players.
The netminding looks average, the defence doesn’t look as strong as the likes of Sheffield, Belfast and Nottingham and although Pierce looks a useful addition, I just don’t see enough goals in the squad to make a title charge.
No doubt the big blue tent will be a fortress, with the always intimidating Brad Voth rampaging around in what is likely to be his last season. Despite all the history between Voth and the Steelers, I for one will miss him when he’s gone…..Everybody likes a pantomime villain.


6. Braehead Clan
I suspect Braehead Clan will once again be the best of the rest.
Defensively they have both quality and experience and in my book that’s a successful combination. I was impressed with Bannister when he played against the Steelers, it will be interesting to see how he combines playing with coaching.
Jade Galbraith adds some top line quality to the forwards, although at the time of writing it’s difficult to judge the overall quality of the Clan forward lines because they remain incomplete.
I expect the Clan will sign a good quality netminder, but that remains to be seen.


7. Dundee Stars
Last season at this time I had Dundee to finish bottom. They’d put together a roster with plenty of toughness, but very little quality and that quickly showed with some very heavy early season defeats.
This season there looks to be more quality in the Dundee roster with a solid looking defence in front of a decent netminder. Overall I expect Dundee to concede far fewer goals than last season.
The forwards aren’t quite as impressive, but in Konkle Dundee do have a genuine top end goal scorer who should be capable of 30+ during the season.
One thing I do find confusing is starting the season with only 8 forwards, I’m not quite sure what Dan Ceman’s thinking is on that one.


8. Hull Stingrays
Last season I liked the look of Hull, this season I don’t.
With Boucher in goal and a less than impressive looking defence in front of him, I can see Hull conceding far too many goals.
Defensively Hull is only going with 3 imports and 2 relatively inexperienced British players. None of the imports stand out, although Mizerek looks to be the pick of the bunch. Unless the two Eastern Europeans turn out to be real gems then I think it’s going to be a long season for the Hull faithful.
In attack Hull look to be better, but not much. Hanging on to Tendler must have been a big relief for the Hull supporters, last season he carried the attack superbly. Although I can’t see Tendler repeating last season’s incredible exploits, he should still be a consistent scorer next season.
Osman also looks a capable goalscorer and should provide some support to Tendler, but I can’t see where else the goals are going to come from.
Campbell should prove to be a useful pick up and will provide his own usual brand of entertainment for the regulars. Not only will he provide protection for the Hull roster, but he should also contribute nearly 20 goals if he avoids suspension.


9. Fife Flyers
Fife have certainly made a couple of top end signings in Matt Cohen and Matt Sidall, but their problem is going to be the depth of the squad. I can see Fife starting the season with 5 or 6 quality players, but that’s just not going to be enough at EIHL level.
I certainly think they will cause problems for most teams on their home ice with that partisan crowd behind them, but I can’t see them having much success on the road.
As with Dundee last year, I see this season being one of transition for Fife whilst they find their feet.
It will certainly be good to have them back.


10. Edinburgh Capitals
It looks like it’s going to be another long hard season for the Edinburgh faithful.
Unless the Slovakian quartet punches well above their salary level, I really can’t see anything other than last place for the Capitals.
With Craze in goal they will have the option of an extra import outskater, but is Craze really good enough to be a number one netminder? – I guess time will tell.
With a team full of Eastern Europeans it will be interesting to see how Edinburgh progress, hopefully if they can keep all the squad together they will avoid last season’s farcical situation. The Edinburgh faithful certainly deserve better.