ADAM ROCKWOOD admits being paired with wingers Ryan Tait and Evan Jasper at Sheffield Steelers this season has so far proved a profitable combination.

In a season which continues to have a stop-start feel to it for the Steelers – they have reached the Challenge Cup semi-finals as Group A winners, but have lost half of their 10 Motorpoint Elite League regular season games played so far – the trio have provided one of the more positive storylines so far during the 2026-27 campaign.

Between them, the trio have plundered 19 goals, American-born Tait leading the way with 10.

On his blossoming relationship with Jasper and Tait - one that was interrupted through Rockwood’s injury-enforced absence for the 3-1 home defeat to Manchester Storm last Saturday - the 31-year-old Canadian, said: “I think the thing with them is they're both such puck hounds. They both really get how to play their role on the line and I think I do as well.

“I think I generally play well with guys who skate well on the sides. Also, they're just really easy to work with. They're just really good guys.

“I've formed a good friendship with them, too. I'm a very collaborative player. When I come back from the bench, I like to talk it out and they're really receptive to that.

“It's just been working. All three of us work well together. We work hard and it's a good balance.”

Centreman Rockwood – battling to be fit to return from injury for Saturday’s trip to Guildford Flames – has enjoyed a successful transition into his first season in the UK, having previously spent time in Sweden, Slovakia and Austria after making the move from North America back in the summer of 2020.

TEAMWORK: Adam Rockwood, in action with Sheffield Steelers' linemates Evan Jasper and (left) and Ryan Tait. Picture: Cerys Heslop/Steelers Media.

placeholder image — TEAMWORK: Adam Rockwood, in action with Sheffield Steelers' linemates Evan Jasper and (left) and Ryan Tait. Picture: Cerys Heslop/Steelers Media.

And while results are of paramount importance to Rockwood the same as they are to any other player or coach, he judges the performances that accompany those results just as importantly.

“Of course, results are important, but it's more the way we're playing that I am usually more concerned about,” said Rockwood, regarded as a “cerebral player” by head coach Aaron Fox. “Even the losses, we probably should have won those games - take the recent games in Cardiff and Nottingham.

“In Cardiff, I'd say 55 minutes of that game was in our hands - we just couldn't find the back of the net.

“I've always viewed the game of hockey like, ‘how are we playing?’ It's one thing to get trounced out of the building 6-0 and play really bad but when you're playing those games like we did in Nottingham and in Cardiff there's a lot to hang your hat on.”

PERFORMANCE: Sheffield Steelers' centre, Adam Rockwood. Picture: Hayley Roberts/Steelers Media.

The Steelers will look to bounce back from the defeat to the Storm when they head to Guildford Flames tonight.

The Steelers have enjoyed mixed fortunes on their two previous visits to The Spectrum this season, losing 7-4 in the league on September 23, 10 days after prevailing 5-4 after a shootout.

On Sunday, the Steelers are back at the Utilita Arena – again in league action – to welcome Coventry Blaze (4pm).