Former Sheffield Steelers boss Tom Barrasso inducted into Hockey's Hall of Fame for stellar NHL playing career with Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres

The 58-year-old American was behind the bench for the majority of the 2018-19 Elite League campaign, taking over after Paul Thompson resigned and going on to oversee a seventh-place regular-season finish before suffering a first-round play-off exit.

But it is what he did a long time before his arrival that he has been honoured for - most notably when playing as goalie for Pittsburgh Penguins when they won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991-92.

"It's a tremendous honour to have been selected by the committee,” said Barrasso, head coach of Italian team Asiago in the IceHL. “It puts a bit of a validation on what I thought along the way of my career.”

Barrasso was selected as the fifth overall pick in the 1983 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, effectively going from high school to the NHL. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, also picking up the Vezina Trophy for best netminder.

"It was an year, as an 18-year-old turning 19," Barrasso said. "I never achieved that level of success again in my career, which is crazy to say -- individually, anyway. It was just an amazing run."

Barrasso admitted he had almost accepted he wouldn’t be admitted to the Hall of Fame, despite his hugely successful playing career which saw him win 369 games for the Sabres, Penguins, Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues between 1983-2003.

"I was definitely not waiting by the phone," Barrasso told the NHL.com website. "In fact, they had a hard time getting a hold of me even after they had made the decision.

"I think as a player, you're competitive and you hold yourself in certain regard as how you think your career was.

"And then this, obviously the ultimate honor, and do you make that grade or not? It's not for you to decide. It's for others to decide. So as time goes by, you think, 'Well, it's not going to happen.'"

After retiring from playing, Barrasso eventually moved into coaching, starting out as goaltending coach for Carolina for two years before stepping up to be assistant coach to Paul Maurice where he remained for three seasons.

A short spell time in the KHL followed before he was appointed for the first time at Asiago in 2016.

Just over two seasons in, he accepted the position with the Steelers but struggled to make much of an impact after the team had got off to a poor start under predecessor Thompson.

He had a break from the game for a couple of years – a situation no doubt not helped by the global pandemic – before returning behind the bench in Italy’s second tier with Varese.

He returned to Asiago for a second time midway through the 2021-22 season.