How Sheffield Steelers are getting the best of both worlds from Cole Shudra - according to Sam Jones

Sam Jones believes Sheffield Steelers are seeing the benefits of his time away from the club that he first joined as an apprentice back in 2016.

His first season in West Yorkshire - in 2021-22 - was the product of a two-way deal between the two teams, the Knights given first call on the Sheffield-born left-hander.

In a campaign both hampered by injury and in which he also iced 11 times for the Steelers - Shudra posted 51 points in 39 games.

The second season saw Shudra all-in with the Knights and, after enjoying an injury-free campaign, he trailed only former Steelers’ team-mate and close friend Kieran Brown for points.

In 60 league and play-off games, Shudra averaged two points per game, 53 of them goals.

Nobody was expecting that kind of return once he came back to his hometown club in the summer but, so far, the move has proved positive for all three parties.

The Knights will have found it tough to replace such a prolific scorer, but they appear unharmed by Shudra’s exit overall, currently sitting second in the regular season NIHL National standings and with games in hand on leaders Milton Keynes Lightning, another of Shudra’s former clubs.

The Steelers sit top of the Elite League standings, four points ahead of second-placed Cardiff Devils – who they face at home on Saturday – and with a game in hand.

As for Shudra, he is having his most productive season yet in a Steelers’ jersey.

He has posted five goals and eight assists in 26 games, splitting his time between playing defence and as a forward and averaging around 11 minutes of ice time.

One of each came in Wednesday night’s routine 5-1 win over Manchester Storm in the second leg of their Challenge Cup quarter-final, sealing a 10-2 aggregate win for the Steelers.

At times he has played alongside GB defenceman Jones as a pair, a combination the 26-year-old former Fife Flyers blue liner has enjoyed.

If Shudra continues his current progress, there is every reason to expect him to be named in the GB squad for the pre-Olympic qualifiers that take place in Cardiff in February.

“Cole has been phenomenal,” said Jones, currently out until early January with a lower-body injury. “Any time you come from the NIHL to the EIHL it is a big difference and it took him a little while to get used to that again and find his spot within the team.

“But the last few weeks especially he has been phenomenal and the fact that he can switch so well is testament to how good a player he really is.

“I’ve always said I would not do very well jumping from a forward to D, or back again. It is a tough job. I don’t think people realise how hard it is to do that and how valuable those kind of guys are on a team until they actually try it themselves.

“So I’m really happy that he’s starting to get rewarded for it. I said the other day that he should have been in this league a long time ago and he should have.”

As Jones continues his recovery it is Shudra who has often been required to move back into defence to help cover his absence.

At other times this season, he has impressed when part of a fourth forward line comprising himself, fellow former Knights’ forward Brandon Whistle and import Mark Simpson.

“The way Cole played in Leeds is that he was very much a two-way player and those are the type of guys who can slot into an Elite League line-up and who can play different roles,” added Jones.

“He’s obviously skilled enough to play a top-six role but he can also wear teams down because he is a big body, he can hit, he can play physical and do all the little things right as well.

“It’s those kind of things that allow him to come in and really be an effective third or fourth line guy.

“Obviously he will one day want to move up to be a top six guy and he has that skill set and because he plays the game right, he can himself earn that opportunity.”