Sheffield Steeldogs set to pay tribute to tragic Alex Graham as delayed start to season arrives

The protracted takeover by Sheffield Steelers’ owner Tony Smith may have delayed preparations for the 2023-24 NIHL National season for the Steeldogs – they have been made to wait a further 24 hours due to the cancellation of Saturday’s scheduled opener at Swindon Wildcats – but Hewitt and his players are primed and ready to go.

Today’s meeting at Ice Sheffield (face-off 4.30pm) against Milton Keynes Lightning will be tinged with plenty of sadness for all present, as the Steeldogs pay tribute to former player Alex Graham, who tragically died suddenly earlier this summer, aged just 20.

Graham was a mercurial talent destined to become a star with parent club Sheffield Steelers in the coming years and, before the game today, his #21 jersey will be retired in front of an anticipated big crowd.

The youngster will be missed both on and off the ice by all connected with the club and it will be a poignant moment for all those there.

Throughout the week, the club has posted several personal messages from Graham’s Steeldogs team-mates, including player-coach Hewitt, who said: “You’re so missed mate. You really left your mark on everyone. You’ll live through us forever and on Sunday you’ll see how much you were loved.”

The delays of the summer mean the Steeldogs will enter the season with only two of their permitted three imports, but Hewitt sees that as an opportunity for others to step forward and stake a claim to be recognised as one of the team’s more productive talents.

In terms of being player-coach again, Hewitt – who helped out predecessor Greg Wood on the bench for a lengthy stint while out injured last season – has slipped back into the role seamlessly. He acknowledges his job has been made easier by having plenty of experience around him, including defenceman Ben Morgan, fellow forward Matt Bissonnette and close friend and former Steelers’ team-mate Jonathan Phillips, who came out of ‘retirement’ to lace up with the Steeldogs.

"I’m fine with the coaching side of it,” said Hewitt. “All the guys have been really engaged since I’ve come in and they are giving me everything they have got and it is just about getting used to things again.

"To be fair, I’ve got a good crew with me, I’ve got Jonner (Phillips) there to lean on, but I’ve got Morgs who is a fantastic coach and Bizz who’ll he doing more stuff like video and I’ll be leaning on him for a little bit of more experience and advice in some areas, like how the guys are feeling and what they see at the weekend because, obviously, I’m only one person I don’t see everything.

“And then I’ve got Lewis Jones who is our bench coach this year – he’s a good bloke and is eager to learn and will give his opinion. So we’ve got a good set-up. It’s early days, but we’ll soon get used to each other.”

Hewitt acknowledges the fact that having the majority of last season’s roster signed up again, ready for when the green light finally came for them to press ahead with the 2023-24 campaign, was crucial.

"It was key really because all the guys that are on the team right now were signed, it’s just that we couldn’t announce anything,” he added. “So, fortunately, we had done the business in that respect, we were probably just looking for one more guy – either an experienced player or an import that could produce some offence.

"In my opinion, we’re probably missing a 30-goal guy, which is a big hole. Losing people like (Lee) Bonner and (Jordan) Buesa – they both put up pretty decent numbers with us last year – and the really obvious one is Alex (Graham) who was potentially a 50-goal guy (at this level), although obviously that’s all minor after what happened.

"So you have to get points and goals from somewhere else and that’s not easy to do – scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in this game. But we’ll see how it goes. I’m happy with what we’ve got for now.”