Familiarity breeds contentment for Sheffield Steelers and Martin St. Pierre

The South Yorkshire club's latest addition to their roster for the 2019-20 campaign - announced yesterday afternoon - has certainly proved a hit with fans. And who can blame them.

At 35, the Ottawa-born forward certainly qualifies for veteran status but, one quick look through his cv shows how much the Steelers have upgraded on anything they had in their possession last season.

And while the Steelers' GM and head coach Aaron Fox was certainly attracted by the quality on offer, it was his already-healthy relationship with St.Pierre that helped prove a major factor in clinching the deal.

Back in the summer of 2014, when working as sporting director for Medvescak Zagreb, Fox was the man responsible for taking St. Pierre back to the KHL. After contributing 33 points including 10 goals from 57 games, he was moving on, spending three seasons with Barys Astana before a stint last year with a third KHL side in Kunlun Red Star.

Just over five years on from first coming across Fox and with he and his agent finding the market more difficult for imports across Europe, St. Pierre was open to offers from perhaps more unfamiliar locations. He was eventually being swayed by Fox's persuasive powers for a second time to make what will be his first visit to the UK outside of London when he lands early next month to report for pre-season training at Ice Sheffield.

"Aaron was the guy who took me to the KHL," explained St.Pierre. “The hockey world is a small one, so when he reached out to me this summer I was immediately interested. We had remained in touch and had a good relationship.

"The European market for imports has slowed down a little this year and for guys who are my age especially. So the UK became a really interesting proposition. I reached out to defenceman Aaron Johnson for a player’s perspective and the word back from him was excellent. I’m excited, I’ve only ever been to the airport in London."

As for Fox, he is excited about the prospect of what a centre with over 600 AHL games and more than 250 KHL appearances to his name can bring to a team like the Steelers.

"Martin is a high-end skilled forward who has put up big numbers at every level,” said Fox of a player who scored 610 points in 625 AHL appearances, including 168 goals.

“He really excels on the power play and is more of a pass-first centre. He should come in and make a big impact from day one."

While the majority of his career has been in North America's second-tier before his move to the KHL with Fox, St.Pierre also got a taste of life in the big league, making 39 NHL appearances. That included a handful of games for hometown Ottawa Senators, although the majority of his appearances came with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins.

"He’s another great veteran character guy for the dressing room," added Fox. "He will really add some depth to our centre options - he will definitely help us."

At 5ft 9ins, St.Pierre acknowledges he is often not the biggest guy out on the ice, but is confident that in his 16 years as a professional he has learned to play smart enough to prosper at almost every organisation he has played for.

"Over the years, I’ve learned the tricks of the trade - I’m experienced," he added. "I’ve always been an offensive guy, I like to make plays. I’ve worked hard on the defence and I’d like to think I play a good all round game, I don’t like to get scored on."