Sheffield Steeldogs: Injury concerns ease as Steeldogs embark on start of new era

Walking out of Elland Road Ice Arena on the back of a 7-1 Yorkshire Cup defeat to Leeds Knights and with several players added to the injury list, Morgan was understandably frustrated.

But, ahead of the trip to Cambridgeshire on Sunday, Morgan is missing just two players, forward Ivan Björkly Nordström - injured during a fight in pre-season - and Charlie Thompson, sidelined long-term.

With import forward Sam Tremblay back from his time with parent club Sheffield Steelers in the Champions Hockey League, it means Morgan will have a full complement of imports, with Walker Sommer and Elmeri Hällfors recovering from injury.

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Given the breadth of change on and off the ice for the Steeldogs this summer, Morgan admits it has been a stressful few months, but is now looking forward to turning the club into a contender for honours once again.

“Our pre-season has been about change and rotation and trying different things out,” said Morgan.

“We’ve had a big turnover in terms of personnel, so we haven’t really stuck with any particular lines from last season, D-pairings have changed throughout and netminders have got rotation.

“But the injuries in pre-season left us with our hands behind our backs a little bit.”

Given the travails of the 2023-24 campaign that saw the Steeldogs miss out on the play-offs, Morgan - restored to the helm in the summer by the owners - has made it clear he wants his team to be in contention for silverware this time around.

“I spoke to everybody at the induction evening about the need for us to be competitive,” added Morgan. “For me, competitive means playing against the top teams, the likes of Leeds, MK, close rivals Hull and doing the business in their rinks, too.

“If you are going to be a serious contender for any kind of silverware, you have to be able to go into those kinds of barns and pick up points.”