Sheffield Steelers planning ahead with confidence, says Robert Dowd

At the end of the 2018-19 campaign the Steelers were a team in some disarray, one which ended with no trophies for the second year running and which had undergone a coaching change.

Under two-time Stanley Cup winner Tom Barrasso, results did improve overall, but a seventh-place regular season finish followed by a first round playoff exit was still a backward step.

The season before under Barrasso’s predecessor, Paul Thompson, had ended on a low note with playoff final defeat to the Cardiff Devils. It was all a stark comparison to previous seasons under Thompson and, before him, Gerad Adams, which had produced two playoff trophies and two league titles in four years.

But last season, under new head coach Aaron Fox, silverware returned when the Steelers landed the Challenge Cup after a thrilling 4-3 win against Cardiff in South Wales.

And although Cardiff were very much in the box seat, the Steelers were also still involved in a five-way battle for the league championship when the curtain came down two weeks early on the regular season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Regardless of the early conclusion to the campaign, the Steelers had fulfilled their remit of closing the gap on Cardiff and 2019 league winners Belfast Giants.

It leaves 31-year-old forward Dowd, whose own season was brought to an early end in December through injury, feeling confident the Steelers will add to their trophy haul when the action returns in September.

“The way the season finished for the team, there is plenty to build on,” said Dowd. “We set a platform and we know where we can go, we know where we can be better and we know where we did well. There is a lot of optimism around the place.

“That gap between ourselves and the Devils and Belfast was definitely closed, I would say. As the season went on it was tight, we led in spells, they led in spells – but we really did close that gap to the point where I don’t think there is one anymore.”

Unlike last year when Fox oversaw a major overhaul of the Steelers’ roster, this summer is expected to be quieter, although, inevitably, there will still be some new faces coming in.

“We were very good last season and there is a lot to build on,” added Dowd. “There will be the usual tweaks but nothing like last summer because I think we’ve got a really good core.”

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