Sheffield Steelers: Robert Dowd the ideal leading man on and off the ice, says Cole Shudra

Taking on the role in the footsteps of a club legend such as Jonathan Phillips simply adds to the pressure.

Robert Dowd has proved the perfect fit for the role, according to team-mate Cole Shudra, as his lifting of two trophies already in his first season with the ‘C’ on his jersey clearly proves.

But it isn’t just about securing overdue silverware for a team that hadn’t won anything since a Challenge Cup back in 2020 that makes Dowd’s suitability for the role so right.

It’s as much to do with what he offers team-mates off the ice, as much as it is on it, says Shudra.

The Steelers have endured some difficult times in the past months, the sudden, unexpected and heartbreaking death of young forward Alex Graham last summer, before the horrific accident that took the life of Nottingham Panthers’ forward Adam Johnson during a Challenge Cup group game at the Utilita Arena in October.

It is at exactly at those kinds of moments that a captain needs to step to the front of the line. Dowd clearly has.

“He already had all the qualities of a great leader and that has definitely shown this season,” said Sheffield-born Shudra.

“With everything that this team has been through this season, it’s not been easy to lead a team through that and when we were going through a few tough times, he’s been the one checking in on everyone, making sure they are okay - really leading the team.

“It’s a massive pressure to be Steelers’ captain, it’s the biggest organisation in the Elite League. There is a lot of pressure to win and in his first season as captain, to get two trophies so far is unbelievable.

“Even without the captaincy when Jonno was there, Dowdy would still be one of those people to speak his mind, giving the boys advice and stuff.

“But it’s also just about the way he plays the game, he plays it the right way. He plays physical, he can score goals and gets you going as a group. He’s not afraid to fight and drop the gloves, either, he will stick up for his team-mates in that way, too.”

The Steelers close out their regular season campaign on Saturday night hoping to repeat the success they had over hosts Belfast Giants on Friday.

An overtime winner from Patrick Watling sealed a 4-3 win for the Steelers to move them 16 points clear at the top of the standings.

Only 38 seconds were on the board before Mark Simpson gave Aaron Fox’s team the lead, although they found themselves behind going into the first intermission courtesy of strikes from Josh Roach and Cameron Pound.

After a goalless second period, Kevin Tansey dragged the visitors level at 53.03 before they took the lead again through Mitchell Balmas’ power play strike at 57.19.

But Giants’ David Goodwin levelled with just 108 seconds remaining, before Watling stuck the killer blow just 44 seconds into overtime.

A Steelers win on Saturday would see them finish with 93 points from 54 games, their highest-ever regular season tally in the EIHL era.

Their current best is from the EIHL’s inaugural season in 2003-04, when they won the championship with 92 points, 16 clear of Nottingham Panthers, in a 56-game regular season schedule.

Belfast hold the record for most points in an EIHL season, their 2011-12 championship-winning campaign seeing them amass 95 points from 54 games, finishing 11 points clear of second-placed Steelers.

Steelers’ captain Dowd enjoyed his most productive domestic campaign ever while in Belfast that year, scoring 32 goals and 32 assists in 45 regular season games.

He added 22 goals and eight assists in the Challenge Cup, plus three goals and three assists in the play-offs. The following season saw him go to IF Troja-Ljungby in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan league, before he returned to the Steelers in in 2013-14.