Former boss Dampier backs Steelers to prosper

The reigning Elite League champions have gone into liquidation twice in as many years and are now under their third owner in nine months, with local businessman Tony Smith recently taking on full ownership from Paul Ragan.

Dampier oversaw one of the Steelers’ most successful periods during the 90s, winning two league titles, three play-off trophies and a Benson & Hedges Cup. The best season under the 60-year-old Canadian came in 1995-96 when the club won a memorable grand slam, which saw them playing in front of crowds averaging 6,000-plus.

Dampier was back in Sheffield last weekend to help the club celebrate its 20th anniversary, coaching a Steelers Legends side in back-to-back home and away games against a Cardiff Devils side full of their own former stars.

Dampier is well aware of the Steelers’ recent off-ice problems and acknowledged that a fragile economy made it difficult for clubs to prosper – with crowds regularly struggling to get beyond the 3,000 mark.

“This (Sheffield) is a great town, and the new owner (Smith) knows that,” said Dampier. “There is a great loyal support out there and I’m sure they’re going to support him and the club. He’s a local guy and I know him from years ago – he’s a fine man.

“Consistency is key both on and off the ice. You need to get back into the local community and I think Mr Smith is going to address that. Once the fans buy into the fact that the Steelers are here and are solid, things will work out well for the club.”

Dampier, who now works in real estate, helped steer the Steelers’ Legends to a 7-3 win over their Cardiff Devils counterparts on saturday afternoon, before the return match in Cardiff 24 hours later saw them go down 6-4. He said the fact so many former players came back for the club’s Festival of Hockey was testament to the popularity of the organisation.

“I’m sure there are other teams who would have called players and they would have said they were busy or something but every one of these players, when they got an opportunity to come back, was just all over it and very excited about getting back to the Arena,” he said.

“I still have a lot of close friends in the city and I really enjoyed coming back - it was a real buzz coming into the Arena again and seeing the some of the staff still working here that were there when I first came in all those years ago.”