Sheffield Steelers’ youngsters blossom as Elite League ice time remains rare

AARON FOX believes Sheffield Steelers’ young guns have all improved this season, but admits he has struggled to give them the Elite League ice time they crave.
INJURY BLOW: Sheffield Steelers' prospect Kieran Brown missed most of the 2019-20 campaign with neighbouring Sheffield Steeldogs due to injury. Picture: Dean Woolley.INJURY BLOW: Sheffield Steelers' prospect Kieran Brown missed most of the 2019-20 campaign with neighbouring Sheffield Steeldogs due to injury. Picture: Dean Woolley.
INJURY BLOW: Sheffield Steelers' prospect Kieran Brown missed most of the 2019-20 campaign with neighbouring Sheffield Steeldogs due to injury. Picture: Dean Woolley.

Ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, Fox helped forge what for many was a long overdue working relationship with neighbouring Sheffield Steeldogs, the city’s NIHL National team, one tier below the Steelers.

The agreement enabled the Steelers’ younger players to ice for the Steeldogs at weekends, while still training with their parent club during the week.

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It meant the likes of Keiran Brown, Alex Graham and Jordan Griffin and, to a lesser extent 21-year-old Cole Shudra, were able to log big minutes in the UK’s second tier under the watchful eye of Steeldogs’ player-coach Ben Morgan.

Sheffield Steelers' head coach, Aaron Fox. Picture: Dean Woolley.Sheffield Steelers' head coach, Aaron Fox. Picture: Dean Woolley.
Sheffield Steelers' head coach, Aaron Fox. Picture: Dean Woolley.

Of the four players involved in the two-way arrangement, Shudra was the one who got to see regular ice time with the Steelers, although he often found his minutes limited.

Forwards Brown and Graham, along with defenceman Griffin, figured in pre-season for the Steelers, but spent the majority of the campaign across at Ice Sheffield.

Winger Brown, 19, was enjoying an impressive campaign before a serious injury forced him to miss the majority of the season, returning briefly before the coronavirus pandemic brought a premature end to the sport for all concerned.

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Graham, 17, stepped up to fill the gap left by the unfortunate Brown, finishing the season with 52 points in 40 games for the Steeldogs, including 21 goals.

BRIGHT FUTURE: Cole Shudra was a regular for Sheffield Steelers but sometimes found his ice time limited. Picture: Dean Woolley.BRIGHT FUTURE: Cole Shudra was a regular for Sheffield Steelers but sometimes found his ice time limited. Picture: Dean Woolley.
BRIGHT FUTURE: Cole Shudra was a regular for Sheffield Steelers but sometimes found his ice time limited. Picture: Dean Woolley.

His form and obvious progress eventually saw him rewarded with more minutes from Fox and led to him scoring his first EIHL goal in an 8-2 win over Fife Flyers at the end of February.

Griffin, while unable to get any regular season ice time with the Steelers, won regular praise from Morgan throughout the NIHL National campaign.

While their game time was limited under Fox, the Steelers’ head coach and GM was able to keep a close eye on all the team’s young prospects during weekday practices, impressed with the way each of them were able to develop their game further.

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“Having that close relationship with the Steeldogs has been really helpful,” said Fox.

Defenceman Jordan Griffin impressed during his season at Sheffield Steeldogs. Picture: Dean Woolley.Defenceman Jordan Griffin impressed during his season at Sheffield Steeldogs. Picture: Dean Woolley.
Defenceman Jordan Griffin impressed during his season at Sheffield Steeldogs. Picture: Dean Woolley.

“Being able to give those guys a place to play if they are not going to be logging big minutes with us has been huge. They’ve practised with us every day and if we’re not going to use them that weekend then they have gone and played huge minutes with Ben.

“It is in our own backyard, it’s been a really good relationship.”

Fox admitted that the competitive nature of the EIHL and its focus on the regular season title race above all else, had made it more difficult for him to grant ice time to the team’s youngsters, a situation he believes was replicated at all of the Steelers’ title rivals such as Cardiff Devils, Nottingham Panthers and Belfast Giants.

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“That was probably the hardest thing for me as a coach this year, having to coach every game as if it were a playoff game,” he explained. “That’s really hard for development and hard to develop young talent.

Teenager Alex Graham enjoyed an impressive season. Picture: Dean Woolley.Teenager Alex Graham enjoyed an impressive season. Picture: Dean Woolley.
Teenager Alex Graham enjoyed an impressive season. Picture: Dean Woolley.

“That’s why I ended up giving those guys so many games at the Steeldogs as I didn’t feel it was fair for me to sit them on the bench and play them for, say, two minutes or so.

“I mean, if things went well then maybe they would play 10-12 minutes, but if things didn’t go well early on in games then they are sitting there playing a minute or two minutes and that’s not a great spot for a kid to be in.

“The reality is that if you look at the top teams, how many kids legitimately get a ton of ice time on any of those rosters? The likes of Cardiff, Nottingham, Belfast? You just don’t see many kids in those line-ups getting huge ice time.

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“If we were 20 points off a league title with nine games left, then those kids would have played 20 minutes a night down the stretch.

“I’ve had conversations with people around the league about it and it is the hardest side of trying to develop talent and young kids at our level.

“There is such a premium put on winning the league, every game counts so much and you end up shortening your bench much earlier than you would in any other league.”

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