Sheffield Steelers captain Robert Dowd on his hopes and expectations for 2023-24 Elite League season

Make no mistake, there is pressure on the Steelers as they head into the 2023-24 Elite League campaign, pressure to deliver a first trophy since the Challenge Cup they won in 2020, pressure - perhaps even more so - to secure a first regular season league title since 2016.

In a recent interview, Steelers’ owner Tony Smith was adamant this was a season which needed to deliver success.

It’s a good job then, that when it comes to having a leader on the ice, they’ve probably got the best man for the job.

When he first heard that Phillips was retiring at the end of last season, Dowd knew he would like to be considered as the next man to wear the coveted ‘C’.

He took nothing for granted, got on with his job of scoring goals and taking the game to opponents, even finding time to help Great Britain secure a return to the top tier of the World Championships.

Conversations were held with Steelers’ head coach Aaron Fox about the possibility of him succeeding Phillips, but nothing was confirmed officially until after the recent pre-season training camp.

It was, as Dowd describes it, a ‘special moment.’

“It’s a special feeling, obviously, being asked to be captain of this team, an honour - particularly following on from such a great captain like Jon Boy (Phillips) - they are some tough shoes to fill.

“But it was very exciting for me and my family. We have called Sheffield home now for many years so to be awarded the ‘C’ was really nice – it was special.”

Phillips, as he often admitted himself, was a softly-spoken, but calming authoritative figure on the ice and in the locker room – that was his leadership style.

By comparison, Dowd has never been one to shy away from showing his emotions on the ice, whether it be scoring or creating a goal or getting to grips - quite literally - with an opponent he has taken exception to.

And while the passion and the frustration will continue to seep through on the ice, Dowd insists his emotions will never be directed at the Steelers’ players around him.

“I aspire to be a good leader,” he adds. “I’m not going to be a captain that shouts guys down, or shouts and swears at guys.

“People can see that I play with passion and, at times, frustration but that’s always inwards and never pointed at other guys on the team.

“I’d like to think I will lead by example. I put everything out there most nights and I just want to be one of those leaders where other guys will follow suit and work just as hard.”

Phillips broke all manner of appearance records during his 17 years at the Steelers, breaking through the 1,000-game barrier in his final season.

Six years his junior, Dowd - injury permitting - is the man most likely to exceed most, if not all, of Phillips’ records.

Phillips lifted the EIHL regular season title four times, was a play-off winner on three occasions and, in 2020, he finally lifted his first Challenge Cup with the Steelers.

The Welshman’s first success came at the end of just his second season in South Yorkshire following his switch from his native South Wales, leading Dave Matsos’s team to a play-off trophy. A league and play-off double came the following year.

Dowd would dearly love to emulate winning silverware inside two years. Even better if he could achieve that in his first season as captain.

“It would be very special in the first year of wearing the ‘C’ to lift a trophy or two - it would be absolutely fantastic,” he added.

“We’ve obviously just got to concentrate on taking it one game at a time and building towards that but, yeah, like I say that would be a fairytale for me.”

Dowd believes Fox has put together a team capable of sustaining a challenge for silverware this time around, with 11 new faces arriving during the summer, including two back-up goaltenders.

While pre-season results matter little, the performances against Nottingham Panthers and Cardiff Devils - Steelers split their weekend with the former and twice beat the Devils - have given Dowd the belief that the forthcoming campaign offers plenty of promise.

“I’m very impressed with the additions that have been made,” said Dowd who leads his team out at home to Coventry Blaze tonight (7pm) before tomorrow’s trip to Guildford Flames.

“Obviously it’s a very tough job to be in Aaron’s shoes and to have to make those decisions to let guys go and bring guys in but, so far, I think we look so deep offensively and have so many offensive weapons.

“On the other hand, defensively, I think we’re big, strong and solid. I feel we’ve got a lot of good upgrades compared to last year - we’re a better outfit.

“It’s been a tough pre-season, but that’s what we need. We’ve been on the ice a lot but there were a lot of new guys learning new systems and so to put the performances in that we did in pre-season, was very promising for the season ahead.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​